54351473._sy475_Fearing that mankind is heading toward nuclear extinction, a group of geneticists unleash a plot to save the world. They’ve discovered that mythological creatures such as werewolves, vampires, witches, and satyrs were once real, and that these monstrous genetic strands are still present in human DNA. These radical scientists unleash the bestial side of human beings that had been dormant for eons, and within months, most people are dead, and bloodthirsty creatures rule the earth.

Despite the fact that Dez McClane has no special powers, he is determined to atone for the lives he couldn’t save and to save the woman he loves. But how long can a man survive in a world full of monsters?

Source Format Pages Publisher Genre Publication Date
Random Things Tours ebook 256 Flame Tree Press Horror September 8th, 2020

Yup, you have all sorts of mythological creatures in The Raven. You also got cannibalism. Yikes. Luckily, it’s not described as the creepy type where a waft of lovingly made stew turns out to be someone’s grandmother. That type makes me gag, always. In The Raven, it’s the gory type. I can handle that. Weird. Anyway, the point is, as you may have got by now, the world is in shits, there are mostly mythological creatures roaming the earth and a few Latents (humans without any special powers) and every new face one meets can be the last face they meet because munch-munch. As far as post-apocalyptic horror thriller goes, it’s entertaining as heck and would make a really decent movie!

The Raven starts with action taking the reader straight down to business and giving a feel of the world as it is currently for our central character Dez, or the Raven as he will also be nicknamed. With the particulars and a look into the threats and dangers of the post-apocalyptic world out of the way, the book continues to give insight into the background of how we got here, the point of this desolate and kill or be killed world, why we’re on this treacherous journey with Dez (there’s a woman!) and what he is like as a person. Make no mistake though, you think you get to know this nerdy literature loving professor but he seems to be a gift that keeps on giving! ^^

There is plenty time for Dez to mull over his innermost thoughts as he ventures on his own. It’s interesting what the human mind can bring up… Things of import and not. I think author took a great risk, making a character vulnerable like that – one could easily bore a reader…. but as I mentioned earlier, Dez is one of those gifts that keeps on giving. He has so many inner conflicts, well, the past mistakes weighing heavily on his mind and there’s a woman. There’s always a woman. Goddammit, ladies, we make this world go around! 🙂 But, what I am aiming at is the fact that Dez is not perfect, perhaps even questionable at times, but I guess that depends on every readers own moral compass.

The Raven is not just gore, tear out throat, shoot an arrow to the heart, chases through the forest, break a bar stool on someone’s back. The Raven offers more among the crackling tension of a looming live or die fight; it has moments of intellectual depth and humor, you will be stabbed by bouts of empathy and sadness and bubbling feelings of victory. Dare I say, I thought the author was even ballsy enough to throw some stereotypical manly moments into the mix – you know, the moments of vulnerability over ones abs, for example. Or the moments of daring to check out another woman, gasp! 😀 Anyway, I feel this was a pretty wholesome experience.

My thanks to Anne Cater @Random Things Tours, Jonathan Janz and Flame Tree Press for making this blog tour happen and including me. I enjoyed this immensely!

Jonathan Janz Author PicJonathan Janz is the author of more fifteen novels and numerous shorter works. Since debuting in 2012, Jonathan’s work has been lauded by Booklist, Publishers Weekly, The Library Journal,and many others. He lives in West Lafayette, Indiana, with his amazing wife and three
incredible children.