Demon's Bane [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

I read this book a little hesitantly as I am not a real fantasy novel type. While going through the book I was indeed impressed and I was surprised how it held my interest, albeit my lack of interest in these types of books. Overall a good read, and something different.

*disclaimer : I know the author personally, but my thoughts/words/ideas/concepts are all mine and not biased.

David Douglas, a man of many talents, has made his dream come through. His first book has been published.

Before I start with review let me bring up that the cover design of the book and the included map has been done by the author himself. And David did not forget to add an appendix with the cast of characters. The front cover illustration has been done by J. W. Parente.

A Cover Note
I' afraid the cover is a bit misleading. It reminded me more of a fairy tale than of an entertaining fantasy story. I would have preferred a cover in the style of the picture on the back of the book which is the same that you see on the website. Anyway never judge a book by its cover. So what is the book about?

The Setup
As the title reveals demons loom large.......
The story takes place on the continent of Kartus. Senn Morel is "little man" (he turns 15 during the story) and has more than talent for magic. His life changes completely when demons possess his mother and they butcher his clan. After days on the run with few remaining clan members Senn is focused on one goal: get his mother back and revenge for the clan. But the demons are powerful and they hunt him across the country. Senn needs allies to fit his goal. How will the confrontation end? And what is the final plan of the demons?

My Take in Brief
The story is told in 22 named chapters from a third person point of view by switching between characters and/or groups. And these are the ingredients: A young hero in development, friends, allies, family roots, medieval style weapons (axe, sword, bow, spear), fastest way to travel is by horse or ship, a well explained magic system, magic objects like orbs and demons. You may toss in that this is nothing new under the sun. I answer you it depends on what you do with it.
And I must say Dave used the ingredients well. Fortunately Senn is not the omnipotent hero. The author is not afraid to kill important persons. He does a great job of explaining his magic system. I don't want to go in detail but there are different types of magic like earth magic, heat magic, cold magic. And Senn has to learn them all. Dave didn't forget to flavor the story with a pinch of humor. Let me give an example. Senn gets the task to trap an animal. Which kind of magic should he use?

"Earth magic was too slow - what would he do, persuade a bush to grow around the animal and trap it?" [page 60]

And there are two more things I would like to emphasize: Compared to other authors like Richard Morgan in The Steel Remains, David use a flowery language to describe sex. I found it pleasant because it leaves it up to you to depict the scene and of course it is less offending. But for me the most remarkable thing is his splendid representation of the demons which are not pressed in this often used black and white scheme. I don't want to spoil but remember the Black Mamba and Xiuhcoatl when you read the book. For me the demons are the "spice" of the book.
And due to the appendix with the cast of the characters you don't get confused.
On 278 pages you don't get so in depth philosophical thoughts but the more entertaining story which is as varied as the landscape. The travel takes you from large forests over plains to the sea. The story ends with the possibility for one or more sequels.
When you want to read a refreshing and really entertaining story in a non door stopper format with a plucky "little man", a good magic system and intriguing demons then I recommend to read Demon's Bane which is - I need to repeat it - David's debut novel.

Thank you David for some really entertaining hours. If your goal has been to "feed" readers with an entertaining book then you have hit the bullseye and therefore you get five stars!!