Ash: Return of the Beast

by Gary Val Tenuta

ASH: RETURN OF THE BEAST is a modern-day supernatural crime chiller, a tale of revenge steeped in the occult. The story is a work of fiction inspired by a little known factoid about the death of Aleister "The Beast" Crowley (1875-1947), the notorious occultist whose favorite number was 666 and whom the British press once labeled as "The Wickedest Man In The World". Crowley’s body was cremated but the unexplained 1947 disappearance of the urn containing his ashes has remained a mystery… until now.

This diabolical tale propels the reader through a series of curiously interconnected events spanning the years from 1947 (and the death of Aleister Crowley) to the 1990s and the coming-of-age (and eventual stardom) of a "death-metal" rocker with the unlikely name of Rodney Duckworth.

The time-line shifts to the present day where Brian Kane, a gruff and gritty street-worn Seattle Police Detective, reluctantly teams up with the mysterious Rowena Ravenwood, an attractive and rather unconventional female FBI agent assigned to a most unusual investigative unit. Their task is to figure out why good, healthy, God-fearing preachers in their fair city are suddenly dropping dead... one at a time... exactly nine days apart.

What is the meaning of the strange symbols branded onto the bodies of these hapless victims? Are they all part of some bizarre cult? No eyewitnesses. No fingerprints. Is it really murder? Where’s the evidence? And what is the disturbing secret that Detective Kane is holding so close to his chest?

The investigation catapults Kane and Ravenwood headlong into life-threatening situations as they feel their way through the strange, dark labyrinth of the world of the occult and find themselves battling for their lives against the powerful forces of ritual magick.

A bloody carnage of unimaginable horror is about to be unleashed upon the world as the offspring of the fabled “Old Ones” are awakened from their ancient slumber.

The survival of the entire human race hangs in the balance and the clues to help solve the case are in desperately short supply. Worse yet, so is the amount of time left to stop the mysterious killer's reign of terror before all Hell breaks loose. And – according to Special Agent Ravenwood – that’s not just a figure of speech.

Genres: Horror

410 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 6, 2011

About the author

Having had a life long interest in paranormal phenomena, esoteric lore, the supernatural, occult and ancient mysteries and basically anything that could be squeezed into those categories, it should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that these same elements would become the fodder for my novels and short stories. I grew up devouring Poe, Lovecraft and Roald Dahl and those writers definitely had a huge influence on me. I wonder if they realize what they've done? Maybe I should dig out my old 1920s-era Ouija board and let them know. Nah. Probably not a good idea.

I'm a book cover designer as well as an author with a degree in Social Psychology. My professional writing career began as a contributing writer for Fate Magazine in the 1990s. One of my feature articles about the mystery of the alleged secret military group known as Majestic-12 resulted in requests to appear on radio programs across the U.S. and Canada.

I'm thrilled that my most recent novel, a supernatural crime chiller entitled Ash: Return Of The Beast (Kindle & paperback) is receiving excellent reviews and has been compared to the likes of Straub, Koontz, Stephen King, Dan Brown and Dennis Lehane. Seriously? Well, at least according to the reviews. So I mean, you know... far be it for me to argue. LOL

The first four novellas and novelettes in my series of "Twisted Tales From The Files Of The Second Chance Limousine Service" are available individually on Kindle (99¢) or in a single volume entitled "Wanna Take a Ride?" also on Kindle ($2.99). The titles of those stories are "A Bite Out Of Time", "1st Avenue Annie", "Atonement" and "The Good Librarian". A fifth in the series ("The Prank") was released in June, 2014 on Kindle (99¢). Check out the trailer: https://www.goodreads.com/videos/6788... A 6th addition to the series is expected to be released in August, 2012.

I live with my big black cat, Bear, in a cozy condo in the Pacific Northwest where, when I'm not writing, or designing book covers for other authors, I may very well be watching America's Got Talent or The Voice or reruns of Seinfeld or I might just be relaxing out on the patio, grooving to the mellow sax-jazz stylings of Stanley Turrentine. Then again, you never know. I could be listening to Dwight Yoakum singing about "Guitars and Cadillacs and Loud, Loud Music". Either way, it's all good.

Reviews

[Rai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting occult crime thriller


Ash: Return of the Beast is a dark and compelling journey into the world of magick and the legacy of Aleister Crowley. The author has done excellent work in researching the life of the occultist, once called "The Wickedest Man in the World", and the world of dark magick. It is a very interesting read for those aspects alone, but more than that, it weaves a modern occult thriller, that contains shocking elements, with historical facts for a truly unique, fast-paced tale that commands the reader's attention and doesn't let go for a moment.

The story weaves effortlessly back and forth between the work of the detectives and the FBI, and an enigmatic rock star and his death-metal band Mega Therion, as a serial killer unleashes an intense rage upon members of the priesthood. Demonic forces rise as practitioners of dark magick summon them forth. The story is descriptive, unforgiving, and disturbing, as it races along a perilous course to a shocking ending.

Ash: Return of the Beast will appeal to anyone with a fascination with the occult, the paranormal, murder mysteries and police procedurals. The colorful main characters, with deep secrets of their own, bring the reader along on a macabre journey that spirals outwards to all kinds of intriguing places. From rock 'n roll to the very depths of the underworld itself, Ash is a wild ride into a shadow world you won't soon forget. Brilliantly conceived and executed - I couldn't put it down!

– Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first heard the idea for this book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Being a huge fan of the occult, I felt compelled to read a book that speculated on the remains of The Great Beast himself, Aleister Crowley. That being said, I can honestly admit that I enjoyed this book. I couldn’t predict where it was going to go or what would happen next which many times happens in Occult Mysteries. It’s almost like most writers have a cookie cutter of what the storyline will be but not Gary.

However this story did start out a bit slow for my liking. With the cremated remains of Crowley and on to where they go and what happens it sort of drags a bit there. But it fairly quickly went from drag to OMG turn the page! I spent half the book tense and upset and not knowing where he was taking me. I loved how he pulled me into the world of demons, devils and the rock stars on their path to revenge. What happened to that “rock star” as a boy horrifies me, but what happens to him because of that horrifies me even more.

The character creation done by Gary is fabulous. They are likeable and resourceful, and personally I foresee a bit of romance for Kane and his beautiful FBI agent Ravenwood. *looks pointedly at Gary*

I do admire the amount of research that the author must have taken to write this story. And he made sure that the information was readily available to you the reader but it isn’t done in the classic info-dump manner. Ravenwood is well-versed in the magical world and she educates Kane in all the supernatural aspects of what these crimes mean. As the pair decipher all the clues and realize that the person behind the grisly murders is in fact someone very adept in the Black Arts it becomes a gruelling race to find the killer before he complete his final rituals.

I am recommending this book to anyone who loves a bit of the Occult. It is a spine-chilling tale that truly belongs in any horror reader’s collection. It is definitely worth the money and the time invested reading it.

Details/Disclaimer: Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

[John Stipa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ash: Return of the Beast is a creepy tale of the supernatural come to terrorize the living. It reminded me of a TV series I watched as a kid called Kolchak, The Night Stalker. A normal police detective and FBI agent try to catch a phantom of pure evil. It’s not quite explainable and you can’t tear yourself away. Tenuta has definitely stepped up his writing game since his 2007 novel, The Ezekiel Code. I enjoyed the plot twists and the race against time. Really great pacing. And kudos to Gary for not overdoing the relationship between the protagonists. Good character development, for both the good and bad guys, good scene descriptions, especially the mansion, and great action scenes. If you are a fan of Stephen King, you would like this occult thriller.

[Miley Styles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this one was a good break after all the boy-meet-girl plots. Good writing and has some interesting concepts. There is even a riddle and some clues to solve - I was reminded of Dennis Lehane. :D All in all a nice read and very different from other horror fiction stories. The writer has actually touched my favorite topic: Alistair Crowley - one of my top occult influences and he even gave the whole Necronomicon tale a new spin.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jumping off from the sensational and contradicting events surrounding the death of Aleister “The Great Beast 666” Crowley, one of the most famous occultists in history, Ash: Return of the Beast is a detective story about fame and power and the dark arts.

There is a lot to like about Gary Val Tenuta’s Ash: Return of the Beast. This second novel from the author of Ezekiel Code is a competent crime thriller with satanic overtones—nothing like the threat of devil worshipers summoning Sumerian demigods across the spectral plane to shake up a standard police procedural. Tenuta is clearly well-versed in the esoteric knowledge of the occult—his enthusiasm for the topic is palpable on the page—and he cleverly uses one of the main characters as a foil to get the information across without sounding pedantic.

Most crime thrillers reside in the natural world, where the methodical application of logic and evidence gathering—“You know my methods, Watson.”—are ritualized, even fetishized. In Ash, the killer and cops are neither devious nor particularly clever, just dogged, which is not to say unhurried, in going through the motions of their respective tradecraft. “Using this code you just calculate the alphanumeric value of any word or phrase,” says a special agent versed in the occult. And voilà! For the universe Tenuta creates is only mysterious and coincidental to those who don’t know the rules. To those who do, fate is everything, and by hewing to standard operating procedures—from within an ancient text of demonology or following a hunch—answers reveal themselves.

Tenuta’s enthusiasm for the subject matter (a self-described “dweller of realms outside the box”) makes for an indulging read, but one cannot help notice the niggling, perhaps unavoidable, contradiction at the heart of the story. Turns out unfathomable chaos and total world destruction is literally held at bay behind a “to-do” list, downright bureaucratic in its superficiality: drink this goop, chant this esoteric verse, wear this robe, etc. As easily pickable as the door to another world is to unlock, it strains credibility to then wonder why it isn’t continually flung open by your average goth kids all the time. It is not that Tenuta’s good-guys should always prevail, as readers will find, but that something not quite buffoonish but almost incompetent strickens everyone at some point or other.

[Book Lovers Never Go to Bed Alone · Rating 3 out of 5]

There have been countless novels over the decades that somehow include, reference, or are about Aleister Crowley. His dark legacy has fueled fiction and non-fiction alike, much of it retreads the same old ground. Satan, that “book,” evil magic and so on have become tired tropes. Gary Val Tenuta’s latest work, Ash: Return of the Beast steps into new territory with the Crowley/ dark magic legend. Rather than simply focusing on a single aspect of Crowley’s legacy or Crowley himself, Tenuta creates a familial legacy.

The story centers around a death-metal musician named Rodney Duckworth. He’s compelled by something he cannot explain to purchase a large, crumbling mansion. Within its dark walls, he discovers he’s the heir to a very evil bloodline. The dead bodies mount and Detective Kane is assigned to the case. He is paired a detective who seem s far more at home among the pentacles and gargoyles than he is and we slowly begin to see there is far more here than meets the eye. As he struggles against the forces of darkness, ancient secrets are revealed that bring the novel to a shocking conclusion.

The narrative takes a different approach to the run-of-the-mill Satanist storyline. The action builds nicely and we are drawn into the web of evil and dark revelations as the story progresses. The narrative is rich with details on magic, mystical cycles, and ancient gods and goddesses. The relationship between Kane and Ravenwood felt uninspired and I never really felt a connection to any of the characters. This left the ending a bit flat (no spoilers here). The narrative structure is based around very specific segments of time, so pay close attention or the storyline can become confusing.

For those readers interested in Crowley, dark magic, Satanism, and demons, Tenuta delivers. He avoids many of the cliché elements of Satanism narratives and gives us an action-packed story that moves along well.

Originally published at Horror Novel Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts of this book that I liked very much. I liked how we were flipped back and forth between events in the past and the current investigation. I liked that this was a twisted tale that spanned decades before coming to fruition. I liked Kane but it bothered me a bit that he was so unwilling to be open minded at the beginning of the investigation. Yes, the things being presented were BIG things and well outside the norm but even if he didn't believe in them, the person committing the crimes did. That alone should have made him take them a little more seriously.

The beginning of the book moves a little slowly. There's a lot of information on Aleister Crowley and the events leading up to the present day that are laid out. However, I do think everything presented was relevant to the story and without that information, you'd be lost as to why some of the things were happening. Still, it takes a while to get to the meat of the story.

The investigation itself was intriguing but I really don't know how I feel about Ravenwood. While I liked her as a character, I'm not sure I ever saw sparks between her and Kane. While the attraction was hinted at several times, the connection didn't happen for me. I did like that Kane had some big mood swings. You never knew what you were going to get with the guy.

All in all, this was a twisted thriller that fizzled a bit on the relationship front. The murders were dark, the magick was darker, and the bad guys got what was coming to them.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Kshitij · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just the kind of book I want it to be. I’ve been interested in occults for sometime; reading, writing and researching about the related topics. So when I came across the synopsis of the book I could not ignore it. Ash: the return of beast, deals with the story of Aleister Crowley, a notorious occultist of his time. It’s amazing how the parts and events comes together to create a story with strong characters and believable plot.
Priests around the city are murdered and officer Kane and FBI agent Ravenwood knows it has something to do with death metal band Star Rye Cowl, but as they strive to uncover the truth they found themselves plunging further into mystery. Agent Ravenwood was a strong and unflawed character and at times she was just too good to believe. Mystery is very engaging and story has some really terrifying scenes but as far the topics of occult and paranormal are merged and created together, I don’t see many books in market better than this. At times, it reminded me of Roman Polanski’s Ninth Gate.
Ash: Return of the Beast is a kind of book, not everyone can write. Author’s passion and interest of paranormal is largely responsible for creating this masterpiece and every fan of horror and supernatural must read this. Believe me, it’s that good and compelling.

Final words: It’s like a bible of occult.

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this in ebook form in exchange for a book review. I finally started reading (Cursing myself for not doing so sooner) and could not stop! It’s a very graphic story; with murder, rape, dark magick, Death-Metal musicians, and did I mention Alestier Crowley? What’s not to love with this story!? I’m a Stephen King & Dean Koontz fan and I will be purchasing this in “book form” to add to my little shelf of horrors. Ash: Return of the Beast is for mature audiences only. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves crime thrillers with a little paranormal added.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an ending!

An intriguing plot that kept me reading. I was totally blown away by the ending, which was a little sad.

[R. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imaginative

Fast-paced and exciting. The author draws a bit from H. P. Lovecraft and raised the stakes for the characters at every turn. Really keeps the pages turning.

The ending is wild.

Have fun with this one, horror fans.

[Maddalena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review.

Until now, occult was a declination of the horror genre that I still had to explore, so curiosity was the main motivation that drove me to read Ash: Return of the Beast. Though it was an interesting and at times intriguing read, I'm still not certain, however, that this is exactly my cup of tea...

The premise for this story comes from a real-life individual whose existence I knew nothing about until now: Aleister Crowley was, in short, an occultist and satanist who had been dubbed the "wickedest man in the world", and after searching for more information about him online (not to mention seeing his unsettling picture!), I'm hardly surprised at the definition. The novel opens with the mysterious disappearance of Crowley's ashes to reach the present days and follow a series of gruesome murders targeting pastors of various denominations and involving a disturbed rock singer. A detective from the Seattle PD and an agent from the FBI are thrown into an uneasy alliance to solve the murders and deal with the dark forces that threaten to overwhelm the world. Be prepared for an unexpected, not to mention troubling, ending though...

The narrative part of the book is indeed interesting and fast-paced, once the necessary introductory material and back-story have been dealt with, and as soon as the events start to roll, and take on the appearance of an unstoppable avalanche, the reading becomes almost compulsory and gains added speed through the author's choice of going back and forth in time (even when it's a short time frame) to show how small events in the past have come to impact those in the present and are leading toward the narrative climax. There are several excursions into branches of the occult culture, like numerology, that make for a fascinating reading, even for someone as skeptical as myself.

Where the book did not work for me, unfortunately, was with the characterization: apart from the frequent head-hopping and several typos, that could prove quite distracting at times, I could not get a sense of the various players, both main and secondary ones, as people - to my eyes they appeared more like props put there to carry the story, and as such they were not invested with the qualities I usually need to take an active interest in them, to care for them. The majority of the character building rests on long dialogue exchanges that seem aimed more at broadening the reader's understanding of the occult sub-culture rather than at the fleshing out of the people present on the scene. Even when personal details were added to the mix, it happened in a "telling" rather than "showing" mode, and that did little to deepen my knowledge of what makes these people tick.

Detective Brian Kane, for example, is described as a gruff man with a strong down-to-Earth tendency, who finds it extremely difficult to accept the information provided by his counterpart, FBI agent Rowena Ravenwood: this was meant to show the antithesis between his disbelieving attitude and her vast knowledge of the occult world, gained through years of work in the special FBI branch that deals with such phenomena. What I did not like in this representation was Kane's excessive use of colloquialisms that to me felt both unnatural and contrived, and not at all like an organically ingrained speech pattern. Ravenwood, on the other hand, was given the task of pedantically "educating" Kane, falling prey to long, drawn-out explanations to which the detective replied with repeated requests for clarification and declarations of skepticism that in the long run proved somewhat irritating. Ravenwood's long-suffering patience and her considerations about Kane's on-off "inner Teddy Bear" soon followed along the same route, and unfortunately all these elements prevented me from enjoying the story as I had wished.

Despite this purely personal misgivings, though, the novel offers a quick, engrossing read - with the forewarning that it contains strong themes not recommended for the very young and the squeamish: if horror, supernatural and Lovecraftian-like creatures rising from the darkest depths are in your chords, then this book is certainly for you.


http://spaceandsorcery.wordpress.com/...

[Anya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ash: Return of the Beast by Gary Val Tenuta; an occult thriller about a dead black sorcerer, a broken cop, a mystical FBI agent and the end of the world
When Tenuta asked me if I would read and review his occult thriller, I have to admit I was a little nervous. I don’t handle scary or gruesome tales well at all, and it was rather outside of my normal reading, but I’m glad I gave it a try! The prologues were a little tough for me to get through due to their gruesome nature (not for youngsters!!), but once I got to the meat of the story I was compelled by Tenuta’s writing and characters to find out what happened!

Goodreads | Amazon
Title: Ash: Return of the Beast
Author: Gary Val Tenuta
Pages: 8058 Kindle locations
Genre-ish: Occult Thriller
Rating: ★★★★☆- Compelling, a couple of warnings
Setting: Ash: Return of the Beast is set in the modern day Seattle mostly, except when they go exploring various regions of Hell, and all that magic stuff ;-)
Premise: Aleister Crowley was a major figure in the occult back in the day, but he’s not finished despite that whole death thing. When preachers start getting murdered and mutilated, a Seattle cop and mystically-informed FBI agent have to team up to figure out what is going on and stop it before the world ends.
Strengths:
Ravenwood and Kane are great characters with several secrets they keep from each other and their chemistry develops at a good pace through out the book. This is a refreshing change from the boy-meets-girl books where everyone is suddenly in love with each other :).
A lot of research evidently went into this book, and I learned some interesting things about the history of the occult.
The dark elements of this book are certainly dark, and if that is something you are interested in, you wont’ be disappointed!
The writing was really compelling, even though there wasn’t really much of a mystery, I still was always excited to pick up my Kindle and keep reading.
Weaknesses:
A few typos which is typical of self-published books, however mixing up a characters name (albeit a secondary character) is a little weird (I think it was Coldwell to Cawell or something like that).
Rape (including of children), mutilation, suicide and vengeful spirits are all included in Ash: Return of the Beast, you’ve been warned. I didn’t think that I was going to make it past the prologues (yes multiple) with how much heavy stuff was happening, but once I made it past those, it was mostly a cop thriller.
The multiple prologues and epilogues just didn’t work for me. It seems that there should only be one of each and simply a break between different sub-plots….
The “Teddy Bear” lines that Ravenwood used to describe Kane at times got a little repetitive…. Show don’t tell!
Summary:
I really had no idea what to expect when accepting Ash: Return of the Beast for review, but I’m really glad I did. It’s definitely for mature audiences only, and you need to know that there is some really dark stuff, but if you are okay reading about all of that, then you will probably enjoy Ash: Return of the Beast. I’m a fan of those crime thriller shows on TV, and found a very similar feel for most of the book, except with the whole magic is real thing. As long as you know what you’re getting into, you should definitely pick up a copy of Ash: Return of the Beast! I’m also very much looking forward to future work by Tenuta, maybe something less dark next time? :D

[Roxanne Bland · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! An FBI agent and a Seattle police Lieutenant try to stop the spirit of Aleister Crowley from returning and unleashing hell on earth.But what is it about e-books? I've noticed more misspelled words, misused synonyms, and whatnot in just about every book I've read. Just an observation--and for me, a puzzling one.

[Makayla Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful scary read. You can tell extensive research was done for this book. All I can really stress are...

READ FULL REVIEW HERE: http://makaylasbookreviews.blogspot.c...

[Peter Cornell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy good

What a ride! Twists and turns galore. Van Tenuta incorporates elements of H.P. Spacecraft's Chuthlu Mythos and a detective novel and comes up with a crazy good mystery adventure. Good stuff.

[Loreley Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Couldn't put this one down. It was exhilarating and scary all at the same time. Will definitely read more of his books.

[CYNTHIA PELLOT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

I really enjoyed this book. It was the perfect blend of horror, supernatural, tragedy and sexual tension. I couldn't stop until I finished! Really great book!