Sons of Darkness had enough mystery and suspense to keep me reading until the very end.

Quite enjoyable and the storyline was easy to follow.

Would be interested in reading other books by this author.

I met Gail Z. Martin through her #HoldOnToTheLight campaign and was curious to see what kind of fiction she writes (there’s a lot of it, which is a good thing because she’s very good!) I didn’t know that Sons of Darkness is tied into several of her other series, but no prior experience was necessary to enjoy this story.

Martin is highly experienced in her genre and handles pacing, tension, character development, and a host of new twists on old horror themes with deceptive ease that makes for a smooth, fast-paced reading experience.

The book revolves around two men who are both mirrors of one another and distinct individuals. Travis Dominick, ex-priest, psychic medium, and former member of a secret Vatican order of demon hunts, encounters Brent Lawson, vet, ex-cop, ex-FBI agent, former member of a supernatural-black-ops, and surviving twin whose ghost brother hangs around, trying to make contact. Travis’s first thought about Brent as he rescues him from a psi-vampire is: There’s a newbie out there who thinks he’s Van Helsing.

Soon, however, the two overcome their animosity to work together as supernatural invasions mount and a pattern emerges: every fifty years, a hell gate opens and increasingly terrible disasters feed the spirit dwelling there, climaxing in a horrific blood bath.

One of the challenges of writing a stand-alone book within a series, or linked to other series, is the balance between giving the new reader all the necessary background, developing the characters well enough, and yet not boring readers who are already familiar with the cast and setting. Martin does a fine job here, and although not every secondary character came fully alive for me, I always knew enough about them each time they were mentioned so as to not be confused. As I mentioned earlier, the handling of exposition, action, and pacing was top-notch, except for a couple of minor bobbles late in the book when a small but essential piece of action happened (unnecessarily, I thought) off-stage, but these flaws were minor compared to the overall pleasure of the story.

Now that I’m hooked on Travis, Brent, and the crew, I’ll be looking to follow their previous and future adventures with anticipation.

The usual disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book, but no one bribed me to say anything in particular about it, one way or the other.

Travis and Brent join forces after they keep running into each other while hunting some of the creatures of darkness. They are both drawn to the same area east of Pittsburgh that has a 50 year cycle of disasters and is building up to another climax soon. Joining forces with other members of the Night Vigil, they attempt to try and head off a major fire. But first, they have a creepy Silverado to locate and the nexus of the disaster to pinpoint. Read Sons of Darkness and find out if they succeed. And survive!

Well, that was unexpected... I love fun surprises ;)

So, I mentioned when I finished Sons of Darkness that it was a pleasant surprise. What I didn’t mention is that when I started this book I suffered from a serious case of Déjà Vu. You see, I went into this book totally in the dark (no pun intended.) I had just finished Dark Rivers and within the first few chapters I realized that a lot of these characters and places sounded awfully familiar. So familiar that I couldn’t ignore it so I did a little bit of research. Turns out I wasn’t going nuts. I knew that there was a connection between Morgan Brice’s Witchbane and Badlands series. What I didn’t know was that Morgan Brice and Gail Z. Martin are one in the same and Travis and Brent make an appearance in Dark Rivers. What is even better is that Gail Z. Martin and her husband, Larry N. Martin have another series that ties into all these series, Spells, Salt, & Steel – which BTW, I’m currently reading. Lots and lots of books! I’m one happy reader 😉

As for Sons of Darkness? Wow… a lot happened in this story. At first glance it seemed like a lot of random coincidences, but the scary part was that they were all tied together. Travis and Brent didn’t meet under the best of circumstances. It was actually pretty lucky that Travis found Brent when he did, although Brent didn’t appreciate it at the time. They were both a little “prickly” but I loved getting to know them. They both had their trusted contacts and the longer they worked together, the more they realized that they might actually need each other. They also both had pasts with groups that were trying to reel them back in. Groups that neither one of them wanted to have anything to do with, for good reason.

The danger was real in Sons of Darkness and although Travis and Brent were used to relying on their friends, neither one of them were really anxious to work with each other. That changed quickly with a little supernatural shove from Brent’s past. To end the terror that was threatening the area they had to rely on more than each other and risk more than they expected.

There were a lot of interesting twists and turns and the supporting characters, some that readers had met before, were just another thing to love about Sons of Darkness. I personally love it when one series run parallel to another series – in this case, more than one series. The connections are fun and the possibilities are endless, which is great. Through my “research” I found out that there’s lots more to come for Brent and Travis. I’ve quite literally found a literary gold mine and I can’t wait to see what Gail Z. Martin, Larry Martin and Larry N. Martin have in store for readers next. 😉

Sons of Darkness by Gail Z. Martin, a dark engrossing read. Two brothers with unusual magic and their friends are on the run from the Merchant Princes, banishing monsters and helping people. When they start to put different pieces of the puzzle together they realize there is more happening than they can explain.