This book really has that small town horror vibe, and I was so excited to get to the end and see that I can probably find the sequel today. I love stories with clever kids and small town secrets, and things are going to get a lot worse before they get better! This is also a Halloween book, which makes it even more fun.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

This book was creepy and emboded the spooky halloween spirit. I will be continuing the series to find out if the Ojanox will be stopped. The only negative thing I can say is for me, at some points I found the timelines alittle confusing. This didn't take anything away for the store in a whole.

I was so excited to read this one due to the fact it's been popping up a lot in groups on facebook so I immediately started devouring it as soon as it downloaded. Daemon Manx has a distinct writing style and, with this book, brings you back to the glory days of 80s/90s horror. This book will pull you in from page 1 and creep you out the whole way through, then leave you mad because you have to wait for part 2!

I'm already reading the follow up to this book as it was THAT enjoyable.

The book captures everything that made me a horror fan when I was young - the atmosphere of fear and ghouls and halloween with the patina of days gone by where tech was something dreamed of in the future.

The dread builds slowly and surely as a small town in america is attacked by a creature direct from people's nigthmares, baffling the local authorties and doctors as corpses go missing and kids morph into strange beings in front of their eyes.

Character depth is spot on, so much so it feels as if you're watching a Duffer Borthers series rather than reading a book.

I could barely put this book down and I really cannot recommend it enough for the horror fans, retro or otherwise. Intelligent, real, human, inhumane and just really very enjoyable to read. Big up yourself Daemon Marx and thank you!

This is everything you are looking for in a horror novel:
A shadowy monster
Coming of age
Teenage angst
Creepy forest
Abandoned Asylum
And lots of blood

What started off as a 10-year old's Halloween party with his friends turns into something more when half his friends get sick, a murder happens down the street, and a big shadow is seen at an abandoned Asylum.

What is lurking out in the forest and is tormenting this small town?

The Ojanox is an excellently written book that reminds me of old-school 80s movies with a mix of Stranger Things thrown in. I had a blast reading this, and I am already downloading the other books in the series.
Daemon Manx is definitely an author to look out for, and I can't recommend this book enough!

Thank you netgalley, Last Waltz Publishing and Daemon Manx for the eArc of The Ojanox.

I've now read a fair few of Daemon Mank books and I really enjoy his writing style. He has a way of setting the scene. building in intense scenes, great character building mixed with a nice element of gory horror. The pacing of this book is medium with a multi POV and believe me, you will be so absorbed into the story, you will come to the end and you will want more! Seeing that this is the first instalment of The Ojanox series. I will be picking up and reading the rest.

4.5 for Storygraph. 4 stars for Amazon, Goodreads and Netgalley

This was such a great homage to the 80's and 90's horror. This is the first I have read from this author and I feel that he has a good voice and great command of character. The only downside is that the actual book will released in three additional parts a month apart. I will have to go on and read the other parts of this. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

*immediately goes to Amazon to get the next book* This is a whole TV series, and it's so damn good! Daemon Manx created this masterpiece and leaves you yearning for more! Our story begins in the small town of Garrett Grove, and while its citizens are getting ready for Halloween, strange things are happening all around. It takes you in a swirl of different views and enthralls you to the very end. The next book is out and is now sitting on my TBR ready for consumption. Perfect for the spooky season! If you enjoy a GOOD horror/thriller/mystery, this is the book for you! Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to read this and discover this hidden gem!

It was steadily getting creepier then there is mention of an old sanatorium on the hill and man!
I don’t know what it was about this story, maybe the symptoms of the kids but it absolutely scared the hell out of me.
Literally has everything; gang violence biological stuff, folklore, zombie stuff sinister old evil that we don’t know what it is.
Creeped me out from start to finish, real tingle down the spine stuff.
Cannot wait to start the second one!

This is small-town horror perfection!! The Ojanox I: Scream in the Dark is a four part series. I loved book 1, and now I'm big mad because I have to wait!!! Honestly, I am very eager to see how this story progresses.


We find ourselves in a small town in New York in the year 1979. Our young characters are gearing up to celebrate their best Halloween to date, complete with their very own haunted house attraction. Little do they know that something scarier and more sinister is lurking in the shadows. The children thought fake rats and prop coffins were scary, but the true horrors were only just beginning.

Ya know, this is the second book I've read from Manx, the first one being Arcranium. And I can honestly say Manx is a phenomenal storyteller. I felt like I was there with his characters,they felt like real and relatable people. Hell, they could be my own children. I was so worried and invested in these kids!!! I want answers, and I want resolutions! This story let me go through an array of emotions, fear, heartbreak, shock, hope... I need more.

The Ojanox- Book 1, Scream In The Dark is an amazing thriller/horror book! The premise of the story is unique and very interesting. I loved reading about the different characters, their lives, and how they are intertwined together in the small town. Taking place around Halloween, and the 70’s/80’s era, is an added bonus for the awesome creepiness factor.
This is my first book from this author and I really enjoy his writing style. The book is very well written.

This is book 1 in a series of 4. I can’t wait to read book 2!!
Thank you to NetGalley for an ecopy of this fantastic and creepy book!

The Ojanox I: Scream in the Dark
(The Ojanox Series Book 1) — by Daemon Manx

I was given an ARC copy of this book by the author, and I was pulled in right from the first chapter. It immediately takes you back to 80’s horror…and I love that! Set in a small New York town called Garrett Grove, it’s 1979 and everyone is getting ready for Halloween. Meanwhile, an ancient evil awakens near an old asylum and is lurking in the woods. People mysteriously get sick with some unknown illness, die under weird circumstances, and missing bodies too. This is excellent cosmic horror!
There is a large amount of characters but they don’t confuse you. They each hold their own place and personality in the book, and I actually felt I was attached to them. Like I knew them. World building was FANTASTIC!! The way Manx described Garrett Grove, it felt like my hometown and I knew it like the back of my hand.
The fear, dread, absolute creepiness throughout The Ojanox is palpable. I was terrified. A deep, pit of your stomach fear. The smallest noises within my house had me physically jumping as I read. It was SUCH a great book!
I am also thankful for author Daemon Manx sending me an ARC copy of Book 2 to read. There is NO way I would be able to wait until its release! I feel like Manx has created a hit series here. Well done, Sir, well done!!

Garrett Grove is the small type of town similar to where you might have grown up or had wished you knew while growing up where everyone knows every face and feeling unsafe is never an issue because families left their homes and cars unlocked on a daily basis (if you can imagine that). The year is 1979 and only a week before Halloween so ten year old Troy Fischer is allowed to have his first real big kid Halloween party that he and his friend Rob are turning Troy's garage into a really scary, haunted house if they're able to pull off all the gimmicks and hijinx they have planned with the help of Troy's teenage cousins operating the gears and special effects behind the scenes, and since Troy was able to invite all his ten-year old classmates it's guaranteed to make a couple of kids cry if not wetting their pants (at least that's his plan). There's also one special little girl Troy hopes to impress so he really hopes he can pull this crazy, spooky haunted house party off without too many mistakes because he and Rob have been waiting a whole year planning this night of nights!

Meanwhile, on the other side of town an evil, supernatural force that has been locked deep away into the cave systems for centuries, it has been biding it's time waiting for release so it can come into the light once again and feed it's hunger and it is so so Very Hungry! What will happen in this small town if this evil escapes in time for Halloween and all the children who have heard frightening stories passed down as folklore about an ancient entity which once haunted this specific area long, long ago but this would be impossible because legends and folklore are just traditional, fictional stories meant to scare the new generations of children coming up, so there's no reason for anyone to feel threatened or fear especially terror, rignt? WRONG! Something is coming to Garrett Grove and not just for the children either!


This was a wonderfully, nostalgic horror story centered around young kids but this was an adult story, it was definitely not a book intended for children to read. I enjoyed the storyline, the writing style and the 1979 small town America nostalgia which I couldn't get enough of being humorously entertained and spooked. The author 'Daemon Manx' did a fantastic job of capturing the essence of innocence with the children and creating such great, atmospheric scenes of small town living along with some really gripping and terrifying episodes of frightening horror which all blended seamlessly throughout the book. There was only one problem that I had with the book and it was a big one for me. It ended on a CLIFFHANGER! I cannot stand cliffhangers unless I know ahead of time, so even when I read many reviews I never got the impression that I would literally be left hanging😤. It very well could have been my fault for not realizing this point ahead of time but it's such a pet peeve of mine. With all that said, I now can't wait and need to hurry to read book two since I was deeply caught up in the excitement and the wonderfully written drama and horror that this book contained. I'm absolutely looking forward to reading more books from this talented author!

I also want to thank 'Daemon Manx' for sharing some of those personal, raw and painful life experiences that he went through which gave him the time and self-awareness to become the creative and brilliant writer that he had become. What another fascinating story in itself that would be well worth reading for everyone!

Many thanks to the publisher "Last Waltz Publishing" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this digital copy and any thoughts or options expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating g of 4 1/2 TERRIFYING AND CLEVER 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!

It's almost Halloween in the small mountain town of Garrett Grove. The year is 1979, and something horrifying is about to be unleashed.

10 year old Troy is getting ready for his friends to come over for the incredible haunted attraction he's set up in his garage. What he doesn't know is that something strange is already going on in the town. His best friend Rob, who spent so much time helping him set up Scream In The Dark, is sick with the flu. But as more children get sick and their symptoms horrifically intensify, is it really just the flu? The doctors, police force, and coroner are about to have their hands full in ways they've never imagined. And that's just the beginning of the nightmare.

This was my first book by Daemon, and it absolutely won't be my last. I loved the setting and the time frame, the characters, heck I loved everything about this book. I can't wait to read the rest of the series, and look forward to seeing what happens! Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of the ARC!

As a horror reader, there are a lot of ways that you can do small town horror, or ominous evil entity. Manx brings his A game in horror writing to make this story unlike what you have read previously. Piece by Piece first showed me their ability to pack so much into a small story, and Manx has only honed this skill in their new series starter.
I think that the best aspect of a horror story is a slow but constant dread. You may scream less times than in a movie, but that feeling will stay with you much longer. Manx mastered this, and I can't wait to see what they have in store for the remainder of Ojanox! Amazing character descriptions and a definite set stage for the remainder of the stories.

This ticked all my boxes:
- Halloweeny
- Cosmic horror
- Nostalgic
- Weird

It was fun & spooky and I will definitely be reading the next books in this series!

What a fantastic start to a series! This was a wild ride from start to finish. I love the creativity of the Scream in the Dark haunted house. I thought it was interesting that there was no main character, instead the reader followed many different characters through different parts of the book. I liked seeing different aspects of what was going on by seeing them through the eyes of multiple people. It gave a bigger view of the impact the "contagion" is having on the whole town. I really wish I didn't have to wait for the next installment because I want more NOW. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series!

What a fantastic start of the Ojanox series! As soon as I started reading Scream in the Dark, I knew it was going to be a great read!

This is a proper horror story with both likeable and hideous characters and a creepy and unsettling terror unleashed in the small town of Garrett Grove. I loved everything about this book, the depth of the characters, the descriptions of the places and the atmosphere created by the author. And not only that, but also the creepy and still unidentifiable creature/entity/god that is plaguing the small town during the Halloween season.
As children and adults start to get sick, something terrible is going on and no one has a clue as to what that is, (including me lol) and now I have to know more to get to the bottom of this!

The story Daemon Manx has created is solid and so beautifully written that I read it in two sittings! I love his writing style and the dialogues in this book are perfect and totally realistic. I have already got attached to some of the characters like Troy and Rob to name a couple, and that is down to the author’s descriptions of their background through their memories and how well they are portrayed.
The town of Garrett Grove feels as real as the one I live in and that makes this read even more compelling! Anyone who is a horror fan needs to read this series, especially those who love their horror old school!

Thanks to the author for a copy and this is my honest opinion.

The tension, the suspense, and the horror here are outstanding. This truly feels just as tense and absorbing as watching a horror film. Daemon creates a world and cast of characters we fear for with such a dark atmosphere. I’m looking forward to reading the entire series and will be re-reading the entire series again once all four books release. Congratulations Daemon you’ve made a fan for life.

“The children simply floated before him, suspended by some invisible force. “What the —" He sensed the presence at once. It was easy for evil to recognize itself. Butchie was overcome with the urgency to run but found it impossible to move.”

THE OJANOX Book 1 SCREAMS IN THE DARK by Daemon Manx Out tomorrow July 16th!!

Oh the dread! The Evil! The atmosphere! What a great start to this story!
Part one is short but there is so much going on. Not an overwhelming amount but a captivating amount. Each little unveiling just drops your jaw lower and makes you want to read faster. It’s exciting and I just want to scream because I want to see how it all comes together. But at the same time, this feeling of anticipation is what I love and I want it to last.
I want…I need book 2. Starting as soon as I can.