Book 12 of 2015

Dark Shadow of Babylon by Julian Speed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If the cover of the 'Dark Shadow of Babylon' by Julian Speed doesn't give you the creeps and scream horror, paranormal, and suspense, I know the book will. In fact, I wasn't expecting near as much as this book provides but since it is a rather long book (approx. 404 pages) I was pleased every page was just as unnerving to me as the last one. Between the suspense and fear I was able to keep turning page after page and read on, enjoying the action, death, and so much more.

Not all the characters in the book are human (at least not any longer) so it is hard to actually say how believable or realistic they are however I did enjoy all the characters. They were developed nicely and didn't leave me in the dark about which were human and which weren't. I liked that all the characters made sense and they were not just random characters in the book but followed the plot and a legend or myth known which is what explained their presence. Each had their own distinct personality or existence and the characters varied from terrifying to amusing.

The opening of the book is in 61AD during the Roman Invasion although the majority of the book takes place in modern day (2012) in West Virginia. The author wrote a great description of the book so you can read that for yourself. I feel there is no need for me to recap it but there is one thing I want to touch on about what the author wrote in his description. He wrote, "Dark Shadow of Babylon is a horror/paranormal novel with light elements of suspense." While I do agree compared to the paranormal/horror of the story , the suspense is less dominate but I personally think he is too modest and downplayed the suspense. By the very nature of his writing, suspense is projected in the sentences. A perfect example is, "They looked at each other with worrisome expressions and said not a word. The screams on the circus grounds had ceased and silence seemed to be the only thing that kept them company as they nervously looked around expecting something to jump out at them at any minute." The whole novel is encrusted with this building type of suspense as well.

I thought this novel was great and I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves paranormal, horror, and suspense.


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