Sleeping Beauty meets Faust in this spellbinding ride through time and magic realms.An absent-minded dreamer, Hrot feels miserable in his primitive times—so he sells his soul in exchange for a decade in Renaissance Prague. There he delves into the occult in a desperate attempt to sneak out of the deal. Four centuries later, young reporter Jasmin Bierce leaves Alaska for Europe to avenge the death … Europe to avenge the death of her husband. Facing more enemies than she expected, her quest for revenge turns into a flight for her life. As she stumbles into the ruins of a medieval castle, she meets an immortal specter who calls himself…Hrot.
Although he saves her skin, Hrot unwillingly drags her soul into a pact with the fiend who cursed him. The fiend makes her husband’s killers look like a flock of doves—but Jasmin’s heart is awakening to Hrot’s devotion, and she travels in time and skirts infernal dominions to save him. If she ever wants to break the curse, however, she must succeed where Hrot failed.
Buy Deception of the Damned today to see if she can outwit the Emissary of the Otherworld.
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(Full disclosure—this was a book on which I did the editing and book coaching.)
This novel has an intriguing premise and is primarily about whether Hrot and Jasmin can outwit or out-bargain the Emissary, exploring whether a “deal with the devil” can ever end in your favor. That being said, there are elements that aren’t usually my “cup-of-tea” (just because of the genre). Here’s a closer look at the Narration, Content, Characters, Artwork, World-Building, and Overall Response.
Narration: 4 out of 5. The author has a very strong style of narration and the imagery and descriptions are one of the strongest aspects of the book, drawing readers into the strange, dangerous world of the story.
There are moments, though, when the story’s language heads towards crudity and vulgarity, and yet the horror passages can be delivered in a way that is beautifully horrible rather than just strictly gruesome, creating a unique juxtaposition—it isn’t all dark and dreadful, nor is it all luminous and beautiful. In some ways, it makes the world of the story that much more “real” in its feeling, but that doesn’t necessarily make it consistent where a reader’s desires might be concerned—some, like me, might enjoy one side more than another and find the mix believable and yet regrettable at the same time. Of course, fairy tales have had their share of gruesome, but usually, those aren’t enriched with so many beautiful passages at the same time, so the mixture can throw one off a little.
Content: 4 out of 5. In many ways, this is a reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, with Hrot as the captured princess and Jasmin as the hero that has to save the day and rescue him from his peril. Of course, he’s the one who also “got himself into the situation in the first place,” but that adds the Faust-side to the story, making a beautifully crafted offering that mixes the familiar and the unknown.
The content is very thorough, and we get to see Hrot’s problems and struggles in all their clumsy glory before Jasmin gets her chance to “save the day,” and while some readers might find this frustrating, longing to “get to the part where the Emissary meets his match,” I found its thoroughness part of what made the world-building so complete.
Characters: 4 out of 5. For a story that explores human relationships, it’s a little light on scenes that actually establish why Jasmin would care as much as she does. In the end, I feel like her feelings for Hrot are never truly explored. A relationship certainly exists, but we don’t get to see it, and I almost wonder that she falls in love with the role Hrot offers her—to be a hero and make a difference—rather than with the man himself.
Similarly, the other characters in the story can feel “fairy-tale like” in their depictions. They feel consistent with the world of the story, but they aren’t necessarily the kind of person you could meet in real life, and given that some of them presumably live in the modern world, it makes for a unique, otherworldly mix. However, each character retains what makes them unique throughout the book, despite the changes in circumstances and plot, and that consistency makes the book all the more enjoyable.
Artwork: Subjective. I thought the cover beautifully captures the dark, otherworldly nature of the book. Presumably, the woman is Jasmin, but her clothes resemble those of Anath, so it feels a bit figurative rather than resembling a realistic snapshot—which fits the story, with its symbolic, fairy-tale feel.
World-building: 4 out of 5. The world of the story is rich and multilayered, and thanks to the narration and pacing, readers get to experience it all, from the dark, horrible recesses of the Emissary’s realm to a version of Renaissance Prague to Hrot’s time and Jasmin’s modern-day world. Each place felt different and unique, and we were able to understand how they interact—to a degree. The explanations of how the Emissary’s power works and interacts with the other spiritual entities of the world weren’t as complete as they could be, and the modern world felt similarly like a “slice of it” rather than a thorough examination, but in many ways, this fits the fairy-tale tone of the story, in general.
Overall Response: 16 out of 20, for a total of 4. If you like Faust and dark fantasy with slower, thoughtful plots, you should definitely read this book. It might not rush from danger to danger, but the threat of the Emissary is always there, and the solution to the “deal with the devil” can leave you guessing until the very end.
For a first book, this novel is really well crafted. I enjoyed the pacing of the novel and was immediately drawn in by the prologue; the second half was brilliant. The characters were well developed. In fact, Hrot was a bit of a surprise as at first, he didn’t have the makings of a hero. Throughout a majority of the novel he was really quite pathetic, despite his intellectual curiosity. His clumsiness was astounding, and it was a wonder he didn’t kill himself the first few chapters of the book. Still he was fundamentally likeable, and I rooted for him the whole way (except for a certain section of the novel which I won’t spoil for you).
Did he really make a deal with the devil with true agency, or was he manipulated into it? Did he really have the intellectual capacity to be an alchemist? Who knows because he was such a klutz!
Jasmine, the protagonist of the second half of the novel was also a delight. I loved her moxie and inner-strength. The side characters were also wonderful and I wanted to get to know them a bit more. The villain, good Lord, I wanted somebody to shred that jerk to pieces and send him into an eternal pit of despair. The second half of the novel, all in all, was quite strong and more of a page turner for me because the action was punctuated with beautiful descriptions and slower pacing for the characters to struggle with internal conflicts.
My only criticism was with some loose ends. There is an assassination attempt against one of the side characters, but it was never explained who wanted to kill this female character. I also wanted more of a window into the alchemist’s world. That would have made the first half more interesting to me. Still, these considerations are minor.
(I also really liked the design of the book; normally I don’t go for fancy graphics in eBooks, but they were designed well. The cover was also gorgeous! She deserves a gold star.)
Overall, outstanding first novel! I can’t wait to read the sequel.
Deception of the Damned tells the story of Hrot and Jasmin, two wonderfully drawn characters who come together under the most dire of circumstances. After an intriguing pro-log we begin part I and learn of Hrot’s story. He lives in an era where it seems like it’s cold and snowing all the time. To say life is hard is putting it mildly. The book is full of stunning locations, my favorite being Prague in Renaissance Europe where Hrot finds himself after making a deal with The Emissary – to a bad result I might add. In part II we met the Jasmin from the prolog, now grown, who, while trying to solve her husband’s murder, meets Hrot, falls in love with him and decides to help him. The ending in part III is fast paced and very satisfying. This is an exciting novel spanning centuries and continents all exquisitely held together by P.C. Darkcliff’s skillful writing. He is a masterful story teller who writes descriptively and confidently throughout this highly entertaining tale. This is his first novel. Consider me a new fan. I’m looking forward to reading more from him in the future. Highly recommended.
Deception of the Damned is a tale of love and betrayal that covers thousands of miles and hundreds of years. Magic and spirits clash with the modern world when two people, destined to meet despite the centuries that separate them, make life-altering deals with the entity knows as “The Emissary.”
This book was an entertaining and fast-paced read that any lover of dark fantasy would enjoy.
Finished this book the other day and, though I generally dislike fantasy, found it enjoyable. I think the several sub genres helped, like when the author mixes drama, paranormal and humor into each scene. There’s a lot of dimensional and time changes in this book, but the author handles it well and I never had an issue keeping up. Halfway through the novel we are introduced to a new character in present day. It threw me off a little, but once I got through a few more chapters, I quickly realized why the author chose to do this. It shifted the story in a direction and helped me see where the original character, Hrot, ended up. I liked both main characters, Jasmine and Hrot, and the smaller characters were great in adding some depth to the story. I enjoyed all the fantastic elements and the supernatural elements. I enjoyed all the different scenes and settings, like Alaska and Prague. A globetrotter of a book. One last thing I’d like to add: There is a scene in the book where Hrot is trapped in the realm of the emissary, and I got an incredible Lovecraft fix from it. I miss that kind of writing and relived a lot of memories from that scene.
I just finished the novel Deception of the Damned by P.C. Darkcliff and what a fun, exciting read it is. There are two terrific hooks that start this novel off, the entire prologue and the first line of Chapter One, “On the first day of his doom.” This novel is so well written that everything in it feels real, despite it being a combination of fantasy, adventure, drama, romance and at times subtle humor, all fiction of course. Part of its fun for me is that the story spans the globe with vivid descriptions of lands and landscapes, past and present. It has great characters, especially the main ones, the somewhat hapless Hrot, the heroine Jasmin, and the Emissary of the Otherworld. If you want to spend time enjoying a good escapist fantasy with dark but ultimately rewarding undertones, I highly recommend this book.
I absolutely love this book! It is a completely absorbing and original story, written in a beautiful, nearly poetic language.
The characters are wonderfully developed, and even the evil and supernatural ones feel so real that you can easily relate to them. They beautifully portrait the time periods the book takes you through.
The plot is so gripping that I could not put the book down. It is full of action and adventure and unexpected twists, but it can also slow down and be deep and emotional whenever necessary.
Make sure you pick up Deception of the Damned. You are in for a big treat!
*FULL DISCLOSURE* I did NOT finish this book. I made it to chapter 6 before I started to fall asleep. It’s no where near bed time, so I’m done with this. Good luck to you.
You’ve heard of books that transport you to other worlds but you’ve never experienced it before, so you don’t know how it feels? Pick up Deception of the Damned, and by the time you finish reading the first chapter, you will have been transported into the world of the story. Alas, you won’t even realize it has happened as you will already be lost in this tale of gods and devil, of the primitive and the medieval and the modern- all at once, because this tale is an epic that travels through time. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I certainly would.