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Dark Seduction
Coerced into accepting a bet to pay off his debt, Zen Barker is catapulted into the middle of an ancient feud, the perpetrators of which are hell-bent on revenge. But there are serious strings attached to the wager, and he soon finds himself in a nightmarish alternate reality where monsters reside. Now if he fails to win the bet, he risks not only losing his life, but unleashing the monsters into our world. Although not renowned for his good luck, this is one bet Zen can’t afford to lose ... for everyone's sake. (Around 42,000 words)
134 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 14, 2012
4 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Shaun Jeffrey
26 books181 followersShaun Jeffrey was brought up in a house in a cemetery, so it was only natural for his prose to stray towards the dark side when he started writing. He has had five novels published, The Kult, Killers, Evilution, Fangtooth and Deadfall, and one collection of short stories, Voyeurs of Death. He has also had over 40 short stories published in places such as Dark Discoveries and Cemetery Dance. His novel The Kult was optioned for film.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 10, 2012
Actually a 3.5 rating.
This novella was a little discombobulating at first as it jumped from Zen to Verity’s points of views. It gained more cohesiveness towards the end though as the two joined forces to end Melantha’s vendetta against the gadje, those who wronged her gypsy tribe.
Nonetheless, the character development was still good. Zen was an inveterate gambler who got in too deep and made a desperate gamble to get out of debt. He learns the price is too high in the end. Verity was an estranged daughter who wanted to mend fences with her father only to find she was too late. Their paths cross when she goes on a search for the woman who may have caused the death of her father.
The Shadowland Zen learns of is inventive and horrific. At times I wondered if this book was more horror novel then fantasy. I think it was a combination of the two.
The end was very abrupt and unsatisfying. It felt like the story got chopped off at the knees. Maybe there will be more stories about Zen, maybe there won’t. It kind of felt like this was a teaser. Then again maybe it wasn’t. It was very bewildering.
Despite the fast-paced, inventive plot I can’t be completely happy with this story. Even though it left me unsettled like a good horror story should, I can’t be satisfied with the way the story ended or started off.
Read my reviews here and the Akamai Reader!
This novella was a little discombobulating at first as it jumped from Zen to Verity’s points of views. It gained more cohesiveness towards the end though as the two joined forces to end Melantha’s vendetta against the gadje, those who wronged her gypsy tribe.
Nonetheless, the character development was still good. Zen was an inveterate gambler who got in too deep and made a desperate gamble to get out of debt. He learns the price is too high in the end. Verity was an estranged daughter who wanted to mend fences with her father only to find she was too late. Their paths cross when she goes on a search for the woman who may have caused the death of her father.
The Shadowland Zen learns of is inventive and horrific. At times I wondered if this book was more horror novel then fantasy. I think it was a combination of the two.
The end was very abrupt and unsatisfying. It felt like the story got chopped off at the knees. Maybe there will be more stories about Zen, maybe there won’t. It kind of felt like this was a teaser. Then again maybe it wasn’t. It was very bewildering.
Despite the fast-paced, inventive plot I can’t be completely happy with this story. Even though it left me unsettled like a good horror story should, I can’t be satisfied with the way the story ended or started off.
Read my reviews here and the Akamai Reader!
April 16, 2012
What would you do if Hell came to you? Zen is the one unlucky guy who gets to find out.
I felt this story started a bit slow but really picked up the pace and ended fantastically. I would love to read more about the shadowland and what goes on in there. Despite the slow beginning I really cared for the characters and wanted them to pull through even the ones who only appeared in the story briefly, excluding the badies of course I just wanted to see them go down! I loved the whole concept of the story (gypsy's, shadowland/Hell and magic) and I am tempted to try jumping over my own shadow but what if it's real, maybe I'll give it a miss.
Although I don't rate this as highly as Shaun's other books The Kult, Killers and The Mutilation Machination which I think are amazing I still really enjoyed it. If you like dark fantasy this book is definitely for you.
I felt this story started a bit slow but really picked up the pace and ended fantastically. I would love to read more about the shadowland and what goes on in there. Despite the slow beginning I really cared for the characters and wanted them to pull through even the ones who only appeared in the story briefly, excluding the badies of course I just wanted to see them go down! I loved the whole concept of the story (gypsy's, shadowland/Hell and magic) and I am tempted to try jumping over my own shadow but what if it's real, maybe I'll give it a miss.
Although I don't rate this as highly as Shaun's other books The Kult, Killers and The Mutilation Machination which I think are amazing I still really enjoyed it. If you like dark fantasy this book is definitely for you.
January 8, 2013
If you came to this title looking for a romance novel, think again; this was graphic horror with no elements I would consider romantic. The pacing was off, the content was racially exploitative, and the entirety of it was highly unsatisfying. I forced myself to read it to the end, hoping something would redeem it somehow; I oughtn't have bothered.
Author, if you read this, please understand that I don't mean this as an affront to your person. I think if you had adjusted the topic to -not- be so insensitive to the Rroma, and if you had made it significantly longer a work to enable better pacing and exposition, it could've been something good. As it is, there wasn't time for the reader to learn to appreciate the story universe you created, before throwing random details out of left field which made very little or no sense and did not serve the plot whatsoever. Good luck in future ventures.
Author, if you read this, please understand that I don't mean this as an affront to your person. I think if you had adjusted the topic to -not- be so insensitive to the Rroma, and if you had made it significantly longer a work to enable better pacing and exposition, it could've been something good. As it is, there wasn't time for the reader to learn to appreciate the story universe you created, before throwing random details out of left field which made very little or no sense and did not serve the plot whatsoever. Good luck in future ventures.
April 16, 2012
This is a dark tale of ancient revenge. Zen who has defaulted on a debt, seems to be offered a way out but there are serious strings attached. We find that he is able to cross into another reality, a horrific reality, and he finds out about his origins and the identity of his real mother.
There is some good writing here; you can feel the evil in this dark world and the helplessness of those who fall under the Glamour, the Dark Seduction of Melantha. There is good character development too. We had the backstory of several of the protagonists which gave us reasons for what seemed otherwise like monstrous behaviour. I felt sympathy for Verity, a woman who is sucked into this out of concern for her father. A good, dark read!
There is some good writing here; you can feel the evil in this dark world and the helplessness of those who fall under the Glamour, the Dark Seduction of Melantha. There is good character development too. We had the backstory of several of the protagonists which gave us reasons for what seemed otherwise like monstrous behaviour. I felt sympathy for Verity, a woman who is sucked into this out of concern for her father. A good, dark read!
April 16, 2012
Once again Shaun delivers a great story, full of action suspense and twists. I'm not really a lover of monsters, but I totally love an evil woman, and Melantha's character totally fulfilled my expectations in this respect, with her thirst for revenge and destruction.
The fast pace kept me interested, and so did the will-he-won't-he... There's never knowing how Shaun's stories are going to end...
It's not my favourite story, but it's still a great read, which will no doubt please the fans of magic, darkness and horror. After zombies, serial killers, gypsies and altogether weird stuff, one wonders what's going to be next, and it's a rather exciting feeling !
Keep them coming Shaun :)
The fast pace kept me interested, and so did the will-he-won't-he... There's never knowing how Shaun's stories are going to end...
It's not my favourite story, but it's still a great read, which will no doubt please the fans of magic, darkness and horror. After zombies, serial killers, gypsies and altogether weird stuff, one wonders what's going to be next, and it's a rather exciting feeling !
Keep them coming Shaun :)
June 8, 2012
This story starts in a betting shop and finishes in the mysterious Shadowland. Zen, who is down on his luck, ends up in debit to the albino man. To clear this debt he has to kill somebody in the village of Trinity. It's in this village that he meets up with Verity, who is also looking for the same person.
Shaun has again done his research. The Roma retribution thread was really facinating and had me rooting for Melantha. What a stong character, just wish I had her power of Glamour ;)
I'd certainly be interested in another tale from the Shadowland.
Shaun has again done his research. The Roma retribution thread was really facinating and had me rooting for Melantha. What a stong character, just wish I had her power of Glamour ;)
I'd certainly be interested in another tale from the Shadowland.
April 26, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. From the very beginning I was sucked in to it and really enjoyed all the twists and turns the book had to offer. It was a gripping read that I found very hard to put down. I had to know the fate of Zen, Leo and Verity. I really want to read more about some of the characters we met in Shadowland so hope that Shaun has more to come from them.
April 16, 2012
The opening scenes pulled me in. I needed to know what would happen with these characters. As the story built, I became even more immersed.
As a lover of dark fantasy, this book met all of my expectations. Original and thought provoking.
As a lover of dark fantasy, this book met all of my expectations. Original and thought provoking.
August 3, 2022
Okay Read
April 10, 2013
Dark Seduction review
This was a gritty, gripping tale that kept me picking it back up, despite the annoyances it gave me. Some of the wording and visual phrases were either confusing or more than a little off putting. Jumping back and forth from one character to the other was a bit staggering, and would have worked if their actions were more interwoven, but the plot was intriguing, and kept me coming back after setting it down, wanting to know the fate of the two heroes.
The details and descriptions were very poignant, but more than a few times were a bit too graphic for my taste. I would give this an average rating, it is a decent read if you can get past the odd writing style. Deep at its core it is an interesting story, full of perils, intrigue, and interesting characters.
This was a gritty, gripping tale that kept me picking it back up, despite the annoyances it gave me. Some of the wording and visual phrases were either confusing or more than a little off putting. Jumping back and forth from one character to the other was a bit staggering, and would have worked if their actions were more interwoven, but the plot was intriguing, and kept me coming back after setting it down, wanting to know the fate of the two heroes.
The details and descriptions were very poignant, but more than a few times were a bit too graphic for my taste. I would give this an average rating, it is a decent read if you can get past the odd writing style. Deep at its core it is an interesting story, full of perils, intrigue, and interesting characters.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews