Awakening
Hunter’s Gambit
The Awakening changed the face of reality itself.
A cataclysm of dimensional proportions, the event unleashed all manner of demonic beasts upon the world of man and left humanity's scattered survivors trapped in an endless battle for survival.
That's a battle Council Academy all-star Seth Wright learned the hard way, barely surviving his first encounter with demonic entities. Now aware of the peril mankind faces, he's desperate to learn what he must to defeat them - but the only person willing to help him is veteran demon hunter Astral Daamon, and only so she can pursue her own investigation into corruption within the walls of the Council Academy.
But what they uncover together is far more terrifying than mere conspiracy - challenging everything Seth thought he knew about fighting demons. Beneath the foundations of the academy itself, an ancient and malevolent evil is stirring from its slumber - and unless Seth is willing to sacrifice what he believes could protect humanity from annihilation, this demon will rise and devour everyone he cares about.
Seth is being forced to weigh the lives of his classmates against the fate of humanity. When the moment comes, will he make the right decision?
What People Are Saying
IMAGINATIVE WORLD AND WELL-REALIZED CHARACTERS
“The writing takes on this really effective ramping quality to it, building on the tension within each sentence. This trick really complements the overall tone, which is appropriately dark, though not necessarily bleak. Action segments get a good bit of this treatment, but most impressive to me are the moments of psychological stress and dread, which capture the otherworldly powers at play with apt weight. The story is told in a shifting third-person limited, and each viewpoint character's voice is felt through their narration with little asides and commentary befitting their varied personalities, something that goes a long way in acquainting us with their perspective without outright telling us their every little feeling.”
— JR Castle
Beta Reader
IT’S TIME!
“The quality of the prose, rhythm, and extensive vocabulary very easy to grasp. The dialogue is well delivered and intertwines with ease with the more descriptive or action-oriented passages. The whole offers a level of detail and world building that almost stands on its own. Hunter’s Gambit is in the VERY high range of Fantasy.
It's very easy binge-reading, and one can easily catch up on updates in a good weekend near the AC/fireplace depending on the season or your geographic hemisphere.
The point of view changes are very smooth, an important point because of the florescence of characters. ”
— Space Pickle
Beta Reader
GRIM, DARK, GRIMDARK-ER
“From the beginning you get to feel the grim aesthetic and the grandeur that permeates throughout this story. The world is fleshed out to smaller details, and the fleshed out parts are mostly not delivered to you through exposition.
The characters and their interactions create a story that feels deep. The various perspectives that these characters offers immerses the reader into the story.”
— The Cabbage Preacher
Beta Reader
EXCERPT FROM
AWAKENING HUNTER’S GAMBIT
Gunfire echoed in the darkness. Fading souls transformed into parents and children huddling in terrified silence. The red emergency lights flickered in the open space, not designed to provide adequate visibility, hiding the hopeless in pockets of darkness. A blast reverberated through the secure hold; one less defense unit. A chorus of cries erupted from those too young to know better as powdered debris fell from the steel girders above.
The citizens of Clearwater dared not voice their rage with the enemy on their doorstep. Baleful glares were cast to the parents of the unruly young. ‘Quiet them before they call the monsters to us,’ their muted terror screamed.
Silence was pointless. Only young demons relied on their physical senses to seek their prey. Older demons would latch onto their prey's fears, nurture their sin, and consume them one petty action at a time. Fear was a catalyst, a means to justify the cruelty of the surviving few.
Sin. Omega cast her ephemeral gaze over the collection of souls, searching for her gem. How sin manifested was often predictable; humans were hardly complicated animals after all, catering to their base urges. Humans… had their uses; as long as she didn’t rely on them to do the right thing in a critical moment. She could shepherd them in the right general direction, prolonging existence itself by days, or in some cycles, a couple hundred years.
She considered the sorry souls in her presence. Survival at the expense of the weak.
Mothers and fathers pulled their young in their embrace, dampening their offspring’s cries into whimpers. Parents smothered their children in love and lullabies. Singing their goodbyes in terrified sobs.
The gentle infanticide reminded her of the ancient World Wars. Governments used propaganda to rally national pride, which had the side effect of making small communities suffer in quiet despair. When invading forces inevitably came, murders, mercy killings, and suicides rose, decimating communities. The perfect blood sacrifice is when the lamb slaughters itself.
She didn’t care what desperate actions these animals chose. These people were never meant to survive. She had seen Clearwater’s end time and time again. If they had been keen on living, they would have kept the seal to the demon maintained as their ancient ancestors had. It wasn’t her fault that invaders came and raped the land of its protective resources, and eradicated the culture that held the warnings. It was humanity’s fault for engineering its own destruction.
An explosion rocked the emergency shelter with a deafening blast. With hands clutched over their ears and eyes squeezed tight, the refugees muttered half remembered prayers to a God they didn’t believe in.
Omega’s essence drifted through what remained of the citizens of Clearwater, dismissing dimming souls from her desperate search. A beacon of hope should not be so difficult to find in such a hopeless situation.
Unless…
Omega turned around. A child stared at her. Not even the most powerful of psychics had communed with Omega, not for lack of trying on their part. Had she acknowledged their superficial incantations, madness would soon follow.
The child was a six-year-old female, whose trusty teddy bear hung limp in her hand. The bear’s beaded eyes gazed up at Omega, waiting to be thrown into action.
Everything about the child suggested a will of its own. Her mess of long ebony hair clung to the green ribbons that once held unruly pigtails in place. Her father had sat patiently with her, combing out her hair for today’s parade, centering the unicorn ornaments on top of each tail. Both unicorns were still in her hair, biting down on their cluster of strands with everything they had.
A human mind would deny what they were seeing, then unsee it. One of the damned unicorns shuffled a little higher, certain that no one would notice.
The ruined white frilly dress had been carefully chosen by the child’s father. It had no bears on it, so the child didn’t understand why the dress was special. All she knew was that her father insisted she kept it clean. She had failed in that task and remained unrepentant.
What Else People Are Saying
STYLISHLY AMAZING
“Detailed and precise, I can see a lot of love and thoughtfulness for Awakening: Hunter's Gambit. The passion is written in words.
If you are a reader into a deep dive into the descriptive world and complex, but interesting plot, this is the book for you!”
— Sinfully Kitten
Beta Reader
V2.0
“The writing style reminds me a lot of Scott Westerfeld's, who was one of my favorite writers so this automatically put me in a happy fond mood to keep reading!”
— V Verity
Beta Reader
INCREDIBLE WORLDBUILDING!
“The worldbuilding is absolutely incredible. Everything feels vivid and alive. The way the destruction and the demons have shaped the world makes sense, and the threat they cause seeps through everything so far.”
— Thalia
Beta Reader
EVOCATIVE WRITING STYLE
“Anyone who enjoys reading stories with high-stakes and descriptive writing will love Awakening: Hunter's Gambit. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys great action scenes!”
— Jack of Heart
Beta Reader
A REALLY COOL STORY!
“The author is really skilled at conveying the dread and hopelessness of the foe, along with the sheer badassery of some heroes. It just has the right balance between giving us too much and too little, allowing the readers to be invested.”
— Rookie 12
Beta Reader
DARK IN ALL THE ‘RIGHT’ WAYS
“If there's a way to be 'dark' in a 'right' way, then the author has done it. The world created is unsettling - cruel, twisted, deadly. Full of mind games, dangers from demons and people, and a society that is believably corrupt.”
— Luna Sea
Beta Reader
INTRGUING DEPTHS
“I loved the prose and the clever way the author shifted it to reflect the mindset of the POV. The prose in the first few chapters is rich and surreal. In the following chapters, from a human’s POV, it’s grounded to our world, our experiences, the ordinary and the wondrous. Still, despite the shift, it’s still consistent in its descriptiveness and the vivid imagery it induces.”
— SRo-se
Beta Reader
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
“What struck me first in this series is the masterful usage of language in the descriptions of the demons, Omega and her mission.”
— Loyal Royal
Beta Reader
SCALE AND DEPTH TO THE MAX
“The first four chapters of this book are like the opening sequence to an epic movie. The scale of the action is kicked up a notch by the multidimensional and temporal possibilities in this new world.
I really like the slow burn of the pacing, lines like ‘Shades of potential pasts filled the shelter with the faded whispers of overlapping moments,’ tell me to sit back and let the story unfold at its own pace. These and other descriptions have a hint that they are flavored by the POV of the chapter which adds good depth to the character. ”
— Peter Roberts
Beta Reader