I chose to read Sorcerers of Nightwing because of the spooky cover and the mention of a haunted mansion in the blurb. Halloween was approaching and I like to get into the spirit of things by watching sanity-curdling films, listening to Black Sabbath and hissing “GET OUUUUUT” through my neighbours’ air vents. When I got my copy, I promptly lit some gothic candles (ignoring the blazing sunshine outside) and spent an entire day searching for my Headless Cross album.You can probably tell, I was expecting to like this book. And I did. More than that, when I spend an entire day in my pyjamas without tweeting, washing, or eating anything but cheesy Wotsits, it means I loved it.Sorcerers of Nightwing is a Young Adult book, so don’t expect anything horrifically frightening, but it has what so many paranormal books lack: atmosphere. The descriptions of Ravenscliff are vivid, ambient and fun. The thunder and lightning should be a tacky cliché, but it somehow works. Spooky and mysterious, Ravenscliff is an awesome place that I wish was real. I wanted to explore it with Devon, sneak into the East Wing with him, candle flickering, bravado turned on but fully prepared to run like a Whippet and leave him behind should anything white and floaty turn the corner. The main protagonist, Devon March, is a nice lad who I didn’t want to slap even once (A true miracle). I felt intensely sorry for him, and even a little bit protective. He’s suffered a trauma or two, but he’s not the wallowing sort or the bad boy rebel type. He’s just a young boy trying to get on and work out who he is and what his place is within Ravenscliff. His character was a refreshing change from the usual emo stereotype. Hey, I loved Harry Potter and still wear my Gryffindor scarf on cold days but, wow, that kid could whinge. Sorcerers of Nightwing is well-written with a narrative that flows and a plot that is well-paced, mysterious and absorbing. It’s definitely more of a story-based book than romantic-based. I hate it when a romance takes over a perfectly good story. Keep that for an actual romance novel. I came for spooky sobbing and the creepy caretaker, and those things I got. I loved this book. It was a great concept with well-written characters, awesome storytelling and a wicked shock ending. I look forward to the next book in the series. I received a copy of the ebook through NetGalley in return for an honest review. Much thanks to Diversion Books.Reviews @ S J Hollis - unreliable narrator, bad spella http://sjhollis.blogspot.co.uk/
I was provided a copy of this eBook by the marketing department at Diversion Books for the purpose of reading and reviewing it. They are re-releasing the first two books of this series at present and, this fall, will be releasing the third book in the series for the first time in English.Devon March is the fourteen year old son of a single dad who has known from a young age that demons are indeed real. They are in his closet, they are under his bed, and on occasion, they pop out to try and disrupt his life. Devon's father has always prepared him for the battles, telling Devon he's stronger than any of them. This works for Devon.Then, Devon's father dies. Curiously, Devon's custody is given to Amanda Muir Crandall, the mistress of Ravenscliff Manor, someone Devon never even knew he existed. The neighboring town is antagonistic toward the Muirs, given the family and manor has a long history of ghosts, trouble and unexplained behavior.Into this mess Devon is thrown, upon which supernatural activity suddenly picks up in the area. Suddenly Devon must deal with a long-dead Muir trying to release demons upon the world, call Devon and his latent powers to the dark side, and generally serve a cold dish of revenge upon the remaining Muirs. Throw in that Devon suddenly has a budding romance with Cecily, who may or may not be related, and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader interested.Overall, I found this a very fascinating read. A true litmus test for me is when I have more than a single chapter to complete the book, and I forego sleep to do so. It's meant to be a YA novel, and I think it's pretty close to that. I was amused at the mix of "safe" cuss words while a few uncensored "B.S." bombs were dropped.My only beef with the book is that there are times throughout it when I speedbumped on a particular word or phrase. It could be the wrong word ("puss" instead of "pus"), a missing word or incomplete sentence, or some other anomaly that made me re-read a passage. It wasn't enough to cause major problems, but considering the book was originally written in 2002, you would have hoped such errors would have been caught by now.I will definitely be hunting down the second book in the series as well as the third, when it's finally released in English by Diversion Books this fall.
Do You like book Sorcerers Of The Nightwing (2003)?
I have to say this may be the only book I've read that actually scared me a bit. For a YA book, there is certainly plenty of horror to be found in Sorcerers of the Nightwing. When I got to the illustration of Alexander I had to put the book down and take a break, it was that creepy. This book excels in so many things. The 14 year old main character is not childish at all, and that is very refreshing. He's a pretty good detective too. All of the mysteries in this book are page turners. I couldn't wait to find out about ghosts, legends, graves, and Devon's parents. I had to keep reading and reading and reading hoping to find out more details. The strength and determination of the main character is admirable. This book was just so fun...and creepy at the same time. I loved it! I highly recommend it!
—Ithlilian
Review to come....Oops, forgot to review this book, and now it's a year later. Is that possible? Wow, time really flies.I will say while I don't clearly remember every detail of this book, I do remember that there were parts where I was just skimming through in order to finish it. I'm not sure if the writing style was too childish for me to truly enjoy (though I'm sure a fourth grader probably would), or if there just wasn't enough forward motion with the plot. Either way, I left the book feeling just so-so about it.I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
—Suzanne
My gut reaction to this book is that it is a "Harry Potter meets Pennywise the Clown, set at the Dark Shadows house and edited by Darren Shan" spook-fest. If that statement sounds like a criticism, you are wrong! I love the boy wizard, Stephen King, Barnabas Collins and the author I consider to be the middle-grades/YA master of horror. Ravenscliff is a creepy YA horror series that I would love to see grow its readership!I'm a huge fan of horror lit and movies and this first novel in a series sets up some interesting paths that it could follow. I know that "Sorcerers" was originally published in 2002 and that the e-book that I read courtesy of NetGalley is an updated re-issue of that title. I could tell that the technology and pop culture references had been freshened up a bit, but the underlying narrative I'm sure hasn't changed. Fun fact - I actually bought this book way back when it was initially published for my former school library's collection. It remained on my "to-read" list for the four years that I was there, and when it went out of print, I didn't consider buying it for my current school. Devon March knows that he is different and throughout "Sorcerers" he begins to find out exactly how different he is. The man he thought was his father has died and he is sent to live at the Gothic Ravenscliff at Misery Point. I chuckled at the Dracula references that are tossed about during Devon's journey to his new home. He meets a motley crew of characters who become his friends and he begins the quest to figure out where he came from and why he has magical powers that give him dominion over demons. Did I mention that there's a really creepy clown on a demented children's show that only certain people can see? I've been leery of clowns since I read/saw "It" like most sane people.There are plenty of mysteries that are set up in this story that I hope will pay off in later books. Very few things are resolved by the end of this tale, but it does have some very exciting action sequences. The sequel Demon Witch: Book II: The Ravenscliff Series is also due to be out soon to be followed by a third book, Blood Moon, that was not published before in English. Hopefully, Devon and company will get at least a 4th book, as I've read that the 3rd book ends on a cliffhanger. It's always good to find new horror lit for young people that doesn't involve paranormal romance, as my male readers are mostly not into that. Welcome back, Geoffrey Huntington!
—Emily Northcutt
