The Pagan Night: The Hallowed War #1
Tim Akers
Titan Books
January 19, 2016
Reviewed by Stuart Conover
Synopsis:
The Celestial Church has all but eliminated the old pagan ways, ruling the people with an iron hand. Demonic ghouls terrorize the land, hunted by the warriors of the Inquisition, yet it’s the battling factions within the Church and age-old hatreds between north and south that tear the land apart.
Malcolm Blakley, hero of the Reaver War, seeks to end the conflict between men, yet it will fall to his son, Ian, and the huntress Gwen Adair to stop the killing before it tears the land apart. The Pagan Night is an epic of mad gods, inquisitor priests, holy knights bound to hunt and kill, and noble houses fighting battles of politics, prejudice, and power.
Review:
The Pagan Night is the first book in Tim Akers’ new series “The Long Winter.” In it we find that The Celestial Church has taken control of the world and removed Pagan rituals from society. In the novel we’ll find battles between generations, religions, demonic beings, and so much more.
The story follows Lord Malcolm Blakeley who is trying to keep the peace between the North, which include his family, and the South, which is run by the church mentioned above. The two sides break into war and what the Church itself didn’t count on was that this war would awaken ancient Gods who have been imprisoned and seek not only to be freed but vengeance on those who have imprisoned them. While there are plenty of strong secondary characters, none are fleshed out quite as much as Blakley is. That being said, none of them feel flat or underused as the story progresses.
Take a bit of fantasy, mix in the horror of the demonic, and put in some top notch writing and you’ll have Akers’ latest novel. While clearly firmly rooted more in the fantasy than horror, some of the darker elements can fit across both themes and the action will keep your eyes glued to the page. It will be a quick read from quality, not length, as you’ll want to find out what happens next. Of course as this is the first book in a trilogy you shouldn’t expect all of your questions to be answered right off the bat.
