Excitingly, reviews of Dark Farm are coming in, leading up to my launch date of 5 May 2021
Now my writing, editing, formatting and cover design have been finalised, I’ve posted Dark Farm on book review sites BookSirens and NetGalley. If you would like your own free advance review copy, you can register with these groups, or else access a PDF, EPUB or MOBI version of Dark Farm for free on my site.
Here are the first two reviews, along with links to the posts:
Rubie C, Reviewer, NetGalley
What a book! This I would put under dark magic. Its crazy. Dark, beautifully written. Really enjoyed this fun read! See post.
Catherine, Reviewer, BookSirens and GoodReads
I clicked on Dark Farm because the cover intrigued me, reminding me of a Lovecraftian monster, which made sense once I read the synopsis. Dark Farm is heavily inspired by the universe of Lovecraft, a treat for me who’s a huge fan of this author’s work, but I admit I had doubts about how this book would manage to pull it off and keep its promises. It seemed really ambitious – and it is. It’s the first time I’ve read anything by this author, so I didn’t know what to expect at all when it came to his writing and imagination. There’s a lot in this first book of a new fantasy series, which can lead to disaster in some of my previous reading experiences where the author doesn’t really seem to know where they’re going and what to do with all of this.
I’m glad (and kinda impressed, to be honest) that it’s not the case here. Dean Alan Raven seemed to have done a lot of thinking, maybe many early drafts to see how he could put things together in a way that makes sense instead of being a mess by trying to include as many things as possible. His writing style makes clear that he knows fantasy and horror and the story is compelling from the first chapter to the last one (by the way, Mr Raven, I do hope you won’t make us wait too long after that ending because I need the second book!) The world-building and the magic system are strong enough and exactly what I was in the mood for.
Another thing that made me want to read this book is the story between two brothers. I love stories with siblings, that’s no secret. Kane is a great character, and I loved his motivation and will to protect his brother. It’s not just a story about monsters, gods and the threat of apocalypse, it’s also a story about family. The other characters are all compelling in their own way, and they’re different from each other. It’s annoying when you have a cast of characters where you struggle to differentiate them from each other, but it’s definitely not the case here. Arika is one of the most interesting characters in my opinion, and Wilfred one hell of a sorcerer. I loved that the Necromonicon was included, we’re definitely in a Lovecraftian universe but without reading a fanfiction by a fan of the author – Dark Farm is also its own story. I also got old horror/fantasy movies vibes, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the author was a fan of the genre both in literature and cinema.
I won’t say much more, because it would spoil the story. If you’re interested in an original dark fantasy/horror and if you’re a fan of Lovecraft, I definitely recommend to read this book. See post.
Dean Raven 