“Mortal Instruments meets Hellboy in this riveting urban fantasy series that is a prequel to the Visions of Darkness Trilogy.”
He was born into a rare demon-hunting lineage…
All his life, Max Damiano has trained with his family and waited for his arcane talent to awaken. On the morning of his fourteenth birthday, his wish is granted: he is a telekinetic.
Now he can fully take part in the family’s Work of keeping the world safe from demons, remnants of a long-gone universe, the Qlippoth, whose very existence is inimical to our world’s reality. His first assignment? To investigate the disappearance of a dozen children in the New York City area. In the center of the disappearances is the New York Under Market, a market for the arcane community run by the transglobal Underwood Corporation.
Concerned that their Market is at the center of these alarming disappearances, the Underwood Corporation hires Max and two of his siblings, Tom and Sadie, to investigate. Will they be able to catch the demonic malefactor in time?
One thing is for sure, it will not go quietly.
Secrets of the Under Market is the first book in the Damiano Legacies series. If you love urban fantasy novellas packed with arcane magic and high-stakes action that will keep you on your toes, then you won’t want to miss Max Damiano’s riveting adventures that take demon slaying to a whole new level.
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Reviews:
“Mortal Instruments meets Hellboy in this riveting urban fantasy series that is a prequel to the Visions of Darkness Trilogy.” He was born into a rare demon-hunting lineage… All his life, Max Damiano has trained with his family and waited for his arcane talent to awaken. On the morning of his fourteenth birthday, his wish […]
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Reviewer: Angel for Bookangel.
The Damiano family have dedicated their lives to protecting the earth from demons, while the majority of humanity is ignorant of this. On his fourteen birthday Max Damiano awakes as a telekinetic and now able to work with the rest of his family in their task. Sent with two of his siblings to investigate a series of child abductions, they find they are centred around the Under Market, a place where those who know of the supernatural can buy and sell things without the knowledge of everyday people. With the permission of the owners, they start questioning the merchants but find no clues. Coming back later at night, they find magical trails that lead to one of the establishments, but when they investigate, Max finds himself kidnapped. Waking up alone, he finds he is trapped along with the missing children with no obvious way of getting out. When the kidnapper appears, it is obvious they are a demon, but then Max realises they are looking to feed them all to their offspring, who are shortly to be born.
This is an urban fantasy novella introducing the Damiano family and youngest son Max in particular. It quickly sets up Max as the baby of the family and their role in protecting the earth as well as explaining how they can remain hidden in a contemporary society. Only the gifted can see the supernatural and most people's brain process it as something mundane. This gives the author the freedom to have whatever supernatural they like running around in broad daylight without having to work around it. The plot is easy to follow, concentrating more on Max's viewpoint of the supernatural world and how he and his family fit into it. The mystery they are looking into is also solved quickly and while it is resolved, it does through up a few plot threads to continue into future stories. As a character, Max stands out and it is his reaction to the rest of the world that helps to colour the scenes, whether or not he is paying attention. Strangely enough, there is plenty about how he feels towards other people, but little on how Max feels about himself. The only downside is that some of the demonic enemies are signposted in what they are going to be, and it would have been nice to have something different.
Formatting wise, the book is fine, although it could do with breaking into more paragraphs, as the scenes run into one another. This can make it a little tricky to work out where things have changed and characters appear. I didn't notice any obvious spelling errors and the book was easy to complete in a single sitting. At the back there is more material from the author, if you are interested in the new setting.
Overall, it is an enjoyable story, the story is quick and introduces the Damiano family and their demon hunting ways.
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