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Ryder Novels #1
Demonsong
Breathtaking thrills in this masterful fantasy adventure from USA Today and Amazon #1 best seller, Luke Romyn. "ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT !! I couldn't put it down. Loved the new characters and cannot wait for the next installment." -- Anita Alexander Formerly titled DEMONSONG 2015 BOOK OF THE DAY .org Summer Book Awards Winner - Best Adventure What do you do when the person you fear most is the only one you can trust? San Francisco is infested. Crime stains the streets and the SFPD battles to keep it under control. A case comes across Ryder’s desk that leaves the brazen detective at a loss. What kind of beast could commit such horrendous acts? And then she meets him. The killer mouths a tale so incredible that Ryder is forced to laugh it off. But then he proves himself by doing the impossible. Torn between her need for facts and her inability to deny what she sees with her own eyes, Ryder teams up with a man she cannot trust in order to thwart an enemy of colossal power. "Luke's books are told like you are sitting next to him. They are fast paced, roller coaster rides that will make you question what you think you know about the world we live in. Ryder and the gang will have you guessing until the end...of book one and beyond." -- Relentless Peace "Luke is brilliant at character development. You will become engrossed in his fast action thriller novels. Challenging your mind and beliefs in the world as you think you know it." -- Christi
486 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 17, 2015
28 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Luke Romyn
39 books3,335 followersA terrifying storm lashed Sydney’s North Shore on June 21st, 1975. Boats were swamped and jetties smashed in what some claim was the worst storm to hit the coast for four decades.
In the midst of the chaos, Luke Romyn’s parents battled to get to a hospital to birth their baby boy. Normally their idyllic island cottage was a near-paradise; on this night the journey to the mainland in their tiny boat seemed like a passage through Hell. Their son was born near midnight, but part of the storm never left him.
When Luke reached fifteen years of age his father was killed while working in Fiji, leaving Luke and his mother alone. At times, the only things to get Luke through his grief were the stories playing out in his head, endless fantastical tales of lands both distant and near, with characters who would protect him from any tragedy.
At eighteen, Luke began working in nightclubs as a bouncer. Unbeknownst to him, this was simply the first step on a trek which would dictate much of his life from that point on. For over two decades since, Luke has worked in the security industry; from bouncing in some of Australia's roughest pubs and nightclubs to protecting Mickey Mouse and the Disney crew from the overzealous jaws of tenacious toddlers. He's been bodyguard for celebrities internationally and chased feral pigs and snakes from jungle sets on Steven Spielberg productions. Luke has traveled the globe and spent time in some of the most amazing locations the world has to offer.
This experience fuels the Australian writer’s ever-expansive imagination, and he pours it into his novels, combining fact with fiction, history with fantasy, delivering engrossing action-thrillers which leave fans gasping for more. Luke’s quick wit has seen his social media following explode, and he is currently one of the most prolific social media celebrities in Australia, with several hundred thousand followers across the internet.
Publishing his first book, The Dark Path, in 2009 saw it voted in the top 10 horror novels of that year, even though Luke denies ever intending the novel to be classed as horror. Luke Romyn is now one of the most popular indie authors in the ever-growing eBook market and personally completes everything from cover art to final formatting, working tirelessly with editors so as to refine the best stories possible for his readers. The results are international bestsellers you’re certain to love diving into. Hundreds of thousands of readers can’t be wrong.
In the midst of the chaos, Luke Romyn’s parents battled to get to a hospital to birth their baby boy. Normally their idyllic island cottage was a near-paradise; on this night the journey to the mainland in their tiny boat seemed like a passage through Hell. Their son was born near midnight, but part of the storm never left him.
When Luke reached fifteen years of age his father was killed while working in Fiji, leaving Luke and his mother alone. At times, the only things to get Luke through his grief were the stories playing out in his head, endless fantastical tales of lands both distant and near, with characters who would protect him from any tragedy.
At eighteen, Luke began working in nightclubs as a bouncer. Unbeknownst to him, this was simply the first step on a trek which would dictate much of his life from that point on. For over two decades since, Luke has worked in the security industry; from bouncing in some of Australia's roughest pubs and nightclubs to protecting Mickey Mouse and the Disney crew from the overzealous jaws of tenacious toddlers. He's been bodyguard for celebrities internationally and chased feral pigs and snakes from jungle sets on Steven Spielberg productions. Luke has traveled the globe and spent time in some of the most amazing locations the world has to offer.
This experience fuels the Australian writer’s ever-expansive imagination, and he pours it into his novels, combining fact with fiction, history with fantasy, delivering engrossing action-thrillers which leave fans gasping for more. Luke’s quick wit has seen his social media following explode, and he is currently one of the most prolific social media celebrities in Australia, with several hundred thousand followers across the internet.
Publishing his first book, The Dark Path, in 2009 saw it voted in the top 10 horror novels of that year, even though Luke denies ever intending the novel to be classed as horror. Luke Romyn is now one of the most popular indie authors in the ever-growing eBook market and personally completes everything from cover art to final formatting, working tirelessly with editors so as to refine the best stories possible for his readers. The results are international bestsellers you’re certain to love diving into. Hundreds of thousands of readers can’t be wrong.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 4, 2015
This is the second book by the author I've read. The first was Blacklisted. It’s a military thriller that I've been waiting for the next book in the series. I saw this book in a Facebook post and thought I'd look into it. I'm always hesitant with strong female leads as they can tend to be more on the emotional side of storytelling, not that I'm a sexist or anything but...well I am a dude so...shoot people and blow stuff up and I'm a happy camper.
I can say that in this case I had nothing to worry about. Patricia Ryder, the heroine of this series is a man's women....hmmm, well you know what I mean.
There's a serial killer running around San Francisco. A particularly disturbed individual that decapitates his victims. If that wasn’t gruesome enough the crime scenes don't add up and no one seems to be able to explain why.
If Ryder didn't have enough to deal with, trying to solve the murders, she has to put up with her male colleagues who would love nothing better than to see her gone. Roaring around town in a 1970 Doge Challenger lovingly named Susie-girl grabbed from the impound lot, she's on the hunt but this case is far from your normal homicidal maniac killing spree and it doesn't take long for her to come to the attention of the killer and Ryder has suddenly gone from the huntress to the hunted, or is she?
There's a presence that wants into this world, our world, and it's not taking no for an answer. Ryder unknowingly has the power to stop it but will she believe? Will she be able to trust where logic says not to? What about her father showing up out of the blue even though he's been dead for a long time, never mind the fact that he's older than everyone thought, much older? San Fran and the world will never be the same.
I had a hard time putting this book down. There are some really great lines from Ryder that had me laughing and shaking my head but I was glad that the author didn't try to force that humor in when we get into the meat of the story as some do.
This is a very visual book, the items and places have just the right amount of description to form the mental image without going overboard in an attempt to fill pages.
There's a twist at the end you don't see coming. Well written and well-hidden, that's the thing that kicks this book up a notch and ensures you're onboard for the next book in the series.
I'd easily recommend this to readers of multiple genres because it fits well into many different ones.
Good on ya Luke, Keep up the good work.
I can say that in this case I had nothing to worry about. Patricia Ryder, the heroine of this series is a man's women....hmmm, well you know what I mean.
There's a serial killer running around San Francisco. A particularly disturbed individual that decapitates his victims. If that wasn’t gruesome enough the crime scenes don't add up and no one seems to be able to explain why.
If Ryder didn't have enough to deal with, trying to solve the murders, she has to put up with her male colleagues who would love nothing better than to see her gone. Roaring around town in a 1970 Doge Challenger lovingly named Susie-girl grabbed from the impound lot, she's on the hunt but this case is far from your normal homicidal maniac killing spree and it doesn't take long for her to come to the attention of the killer and Ryder has suddenly gone from the huntress to the hunted, or is she?
There's a presence that wants into this world, our world, and it's not taking no for an answer. Ryder unknowingly has the power to stop it but will she believe? Will she be able to trust where logic says not to? What about her father showing up out of the blue even though he's been dead for a long time, never mind the fact that he's older than everyone thought, much older? San Fran and the world will never be the same.
I had a hard time putting this book down. There are some really great lines from Ryder that had me laughing and shaking my head but I was glad that the author didn't try to force that humor in when we get into the meat of the story as some do.
This is a very visual book, the items and places have just the right amount of description to form the mental image without going overboard in an attempt to fill pages.
There's a twist at the end you don't see coming. Well written and well-hidden, that's the thing that kicks this book up a notch and ensures you're onboard for the next book in the series.
I'd easily recommend this to readers of multiple genres because it fits well into many different ones.
Good on ya Luke, Keep up the good work.
October 28, 2015
3.5 stars
Detective Patricia Ryder is a cop in the Chicago PD. She has spent the last few weeks hunting a killer that has a habit of chopping heads off. Then some weird stuff starts happening. She meets Darius, who is single-handedly trying to save our world from something called "the Swarm". Naturally they run off on an adventure to save the world!
Some of the characters I found a little stereotypical, Ryder is a hard-nosed female cop, with a foul mouth and a sarcastic streak a mile long. Darius is extremely determined and won't let anything stop him from completing what he set out to do. Joseph is different, suffering from severe epilepsy and a strong case of OCD he has a lot more depth to him.
Urban fantasy is not really my thing, but I think 3.5 is a fair rating. Fans of the genre will really enjoy this. Also recommended for people who like guns, there are a lot of guns in this book, most of which went over my head. My knowledge is limited to whatever is on CoD.
Detective Patricia Ryder is a cop in the Chicago PD. She has spent the last few weeks hunting a killer that has a habit of chopping heads off. Then some weird stuff starts happening. She meets Darius, who is single-handedly trying to save our world from something called "the Swarm". Naturally they run off on an adventure to save the world!
Some of the characters I found a little stereotypical, Ryder is a hard-nosed female cop, with a foul mouth and a sarcastic streak a mile long. Darius is extremely determined and won't let anything stop him from completing what he set out to do. Joseph is different, suffering from severe epilepsy and a strong case of OCD he has a lot more depth to him.
Urban fantasy is not really my thing, but I think 3.5 is a fair rating. Fans of the genre will really enjoy this. Also recommended for people who like guns, there are a lot of guns in this book, most of which went over my head. My knowledge is limited to whatever is on CoD.
April 24, 2020
Fantastic!!!!
I love Ryder. Heck, I want to be Ryder!! How great would it be to live in one Luke's books? This book was so fantastic, imagine chasing a serial killer only to find out things aren't what they seem. Then to find out you aren't what you thought you were. Then to find out what you initially thought was true isn't. Luke has your head spinning in a good way constantly.
I love Ryder. Heck, I want to be Ryder!! How great would it be to live in one Luke's books? This book was so fantastic, imagine chasing a serial killer only to find out things aren't what they seem. Then to find out you aren't what you thought you were. Then to find out what you initially thought was true isn't. Luke has your head spinning in a good way constantly.
December 28, 2017
Lots of action
A fast moving action adventure. Plenty of blood and guts. A decent mystery buried in the center of it all.
A fast moving action adventure. Plenty of blood and guts. A decent mystery buried in the center of it all.
July 30, 2016
This book seemed to be full of tropes that I really dislike. We start of course with the asshat cop who calls woman dykes if they dare to reject his advances. He is also slimy and unpleasant. Of course he is. We always must have moronic cop charicatures harrassing the poor attractive female who can only beat these bullies by being a cold bitch. And Patricia really is the steriotype of the female who is cold and unpleasant and has to behave like a man to get anywhere in life. I found it impossible to like her or have any sisterhood sympathy with her. In fact, I despised her.
*sigh*
Then we had the strange language that the author decides to use in his descriptions. He starts by telling us that 'Leonard dove through online files like a seal through a school of penguins'. Right. He goes on to say '...the source was the ultimate answer but it was disguised as a donut. At least that was how he envisioned it. Each penguin was merely masking the delicious donut at the center of their distracting school, hidden within their mass of swirling flippers and clacking beaks, ready to sidetrack him should he pause for more than a nanosecond...'
*WTF???*
I mean seriously, WTF is the author waffling on about??? I like donuts and penguins as much as the next person but descriptions like that do not encourage my inner seal...or something. Oh I don't know what the other is waffling about. When the sociopath comes into it, he seems to talk in baffling riddles that even Bilbo Baggins would have trouble with. I barely understood a word of what was being said. That kind of confusing narrative made it pretty hard to get into whatever the plot was.
This author also likes tp publish his books with really tiny print which makes it pretty hard to read. I have perfect eyesight but had to slow my reading down to a crawl to read each word which was very frustrating. If I has sight issues, I would have found this book a nightmare to try and read so make sure you check the writing suits you before buying it if you feel so inclined.
This book is just too puzzling for me. Cold and horrible characters, weird writing style, confusing plot and descriptive passages that boggle the mind. Overall I thought this was very poor with nothing to enjoy. I had similar lack of interest in another book by the author so it is safe to say that I don't intend to read his books again!
*sigh*
Then we had the strange language that the author decides to use in his descriptions. He starts by telling us that 'Leonard dove through online files like a seal through a school of penguins'. Right. He goes on to say '...the source was the ultimate answer but it was disguised as a donut. At least that was how he envisioned it. Each penguin was merely masking the delicious donut at the center of their distracting school, hidden within their mass of swirling flippers and clacking beaks, ready to sidetrack him should he pause for more than a nanosecond...'
*WTF???*
I mean seriously, WTF is the author waffling on about??? I like donuts and penguins as much as the next person but descriptions like that do not encourage my inner seal...or something. Oh I don't know what the other is waffling about. When the sociopath comes into it, he seems to talk in baffling riddles that even Bilbo Baggins would have trouble with. I barely understood a word of what was being said. That kind of confusing narrative made it pretty hard to get into whatever the plot was.
This author also likes tp publish his books with really tiny print which makes it pretty hard to read. I have perfect eyesight but had to slow my reading down to a crawl to read each word which was very frustrating. If I has sight issues, I would have found this book a nightmare to try and read so make sure you check the writing suits you before buying it if you feel so inclined.
This book is just too puzzling for me. Cold and horrible characters, weird writing style, confusing plot and descriptive passages that boggle the mind. Overall I thought this was very poor with nothing to enjoy. I had similar lack of interest in another book by the author so it is safe to say that I don't intend to read his books again!
March 27, 2015
Having enjoyed reading most of the rest of Luke Romyn's books, I figured to give this new one a try. I was not disappointed. It was a thrilling read, lots of adventure and enough mystery to keep me from putting it down. The characters seemed to come to life on the pages, and it was easy to visualize what was going on. I was a little disappointed by the ending, but considering it is part of a series, I guess the story will continue in the next volume and tie up all of the loose ends. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next book!
April 5, 2015
I always enjoy Romyn's imaginative storytelling and Demonsong was another thrill ride of a novel. There were times I thought I could predict the next plot twist only to be blindsided by events. As with many of the author's works, this tale is primarily about the struggle of good versus evil. But who is good and who is evil in this saga? We are left knowing only that nothing is what it seems.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews