Gay science fiction/horror seems to be a trend of mine lately. My book for the month of July is Augur of Shadows by Jacob Rundle. It is Book One in the Destined series.
Jacob John Rundle was born in 1985, in Galesburg, IL. He attended Knox College, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Russian Language and Literature. He served eight years in the United States Navy as a Nuclear Mechanic. After finishing his time with the Navy, he moved to New Orleans, and it is where he resides, pursuing his dream of being a writer.
The novel possesses a mixture of fantasy, science fiction and horror elements. The premise is grief-stricken seventeen-year-old Henri moves to New York City with his mom after recently losing his father. He starts having vivid dreams that tell of things to come, and his visions are not nice by any means.
Henri has a chance encounter at his high school with a mysterious young man, Siméon to whom he is instantly attracted. He also connects with an old friend, Etlina. The newly formed threesome start dealing with some incredibly disturbing events that have now intertwined their destinies in order to bring forth a cataclysmic event to aid against the Primordial Evil. With the guidance from some otherworldly beings, Henri and his friends will do what is needed to stay alive and save the world.
That’s a lot to tackle in a novel geared for young adults and at first I found the book slightly difficult to follow, but soon it finds its pace and the plot moves forward nicely. There are monsters, fight sequences and a budding gay romance all mixed together. This is a good initial start for the series and sets up nicely for the sequel which I look forward to reading.
