Mammon by J.B. Thomas

Title: Mammon
Author: J.B. Thomas

Release Date: 1st September 2011

My Rating: 3/5

Blurb:
Forget anything you ever heard about possession, exorcisms, salt circles and pentagrams. The modern demon is far more difficult to catch - and even harder to destroy.

After the savage death of their parents, Grace and Joe Callahan learn that they they are descendants of the sarsareh - mercenaries who hunt very special prey. Grace and Joe take their place in the Order, but are treated with hostility and fear by other recruits.

For the Callahan siblings have powers that fascinate and terrify.

Joe is a Ferryman, capable of opening dimensional rifts, while Grace's telepathic abilities surpass anything the Order has ever seen.

But none of that will matter if the powerful demon Mammon manages to convince Joe to open a gateway to his demon world and overrun Earth with his armies.

If he succeeds: game over.

In A Nutshell:
An urban fantasy story with a spy/action type feel to it where demons are fought, rifts to the underworld are opened, good guys turn bad, powerful abilities are developed and people die.

My Review:
Mammon is a suspenseful, urban fantasy novel with a spy/action-type feel to it. Our main characters, Grace and Joe, become part of a secret group of demon hunters, but these demons are not your run of the mill beasties.

J.B. Thomas has created a whole new demon mythology where the majority of demons are created from ordinary people who choose less savoury life choices which lead them down the wrong path. They are people who have had plenty of chances to change their lives around but always pick the evil path. Of course, there are also your supreme demons that have scuttled up from somewhere unimaginable, such as Mammon, the big-bad of this novel, who looks like a normal guy. Did I mention that some demons have powers? That’s ok, so do some of our good guys.

What is Mammon’s main goal and why do Grace and Joe want to fight him? He not only killed their parents but also wants to use all his evil human demon friends as hosts for his otherworldly beastie friends to use once they come through a rift, a rift that Mammon wants Joe to open.

Part one of Mammon starts with strange things happening to Grace and Joe. They are confused by them but they don’t know what to do. When Joe decides to show his dad what he can do, his dad freaks out. It is then that their parents tell them that they have unique abilities, and by using them, they have alerted demons to their whereabouts. While waiting for their safety escort, the house is attacked and their parents are killed. It is here, in part two, that the story really begins, when Grace and Joe arrive at Renfield, a secure facility where their parents used to work, and their aunt still does. Here they learn how to fight and use their unusual talents with others whose lives have been influenced the same way.

To be honest, I struggled a bit at the beginning and didn’t really feel connected to what was going on, although once part two kicked off (there are three parts to the story) I was fully involved. I liked the different relationships that existed at Renfield and that many of the others there were incredibly hostile to Grace and Joe when they arrive. Aren’t people supposed to be nice to the new kids?? Well they’re not here. Everyone has an ‘axe to grind’ so to speak.

Grace and Joe’s behaviour is quite real. They make mistakes and act the wrong way. They underestimate what it is they are doing and typically, Joe gets led astray by power and a pretty girl. Grace is not without a little crush too. With a slight channelling of Vampire Academy (sexy older Russian trainer), Grace quickly falls for her team leader Ivan. While this is quite significant to Grace, it doesn’t detract from the real purpose of the story.

Demons are fought, rifts are opened, good guys turn bad, new abilities are developed and people die. The sequel will open up a whole new can of worms!

Mammon is book one in The Ferryman Chronicles and in book two, I would really like to get to learn more about Joe, as we see quite a bit of Grace and are able to get a feel for her in book one. I also hope that the unanswered questions concerning Marcus and the goings on at the asylum have some light shed on them. In Mammon, I really liked the small appearances by Sarah, Seth and Lucius (some of the other people at Renfield) so I would personally like to see more of them in the sequel.

Thankyou to Random House Australia for this review copy.