Dark Rain

Raine's Landing #1

by Tony Richards

Raine's Landing, Massachusetts, can't be located on any map. On the surface it appears an ordinary New England small town, but anyone who stumbles in wants to leave immediately . . . and once gone, they forget they were ever there. Real magic pervades this village of shadows, practiced by powerful adepts descended from the original Salem witches. But a curse has made it impossible for any resident to step beyond the town line. Those born here must die here as well. Ross Devries and Cassandra Mallory saw their worlds destroyed by magic run amok, and dedicated their lives to keeping supernatural catastrophe at bay. But now a being more terrible than anything they've ever encountered has just crossed over the border—a powerful entity no known magic can defeat; a fierce, ancient god who feeds on terror . . . and blood. A new nightmare is descending upon Raine's Landing—and for Ross, Cass, and the entire trapped population there can be no escape . . . not even in death.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Novels

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

My latest book -- from UK publisher Endeavour Media -- is a bit of a departure for me. THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY -- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... -- takes the Great Detective all over the world, from the States to Africa to the Far East, taking in locations in Europe and the Caribbean along the way. How did I come to write these 13 new mysteries? It's explained in my blog, below.

I'm a writer mostly of supernatural fiction, author of a series of fantasy thriller novels set in the magic-filled town of Raine's Landing, Massachusetts. Currently, that series is up to #6 -- WITCH HUNTER --.with a seventh on the way.

But I write regular crime fiction too, with numerous tales published in AHMM, and a second novel featuring my ex-FBI agent turned private detective, Matt Barrett, is now out from Cemetery Dance Publications. It's called THE TRIBE. (The first novel was THE DESERT KEEPS ITS DEAD).

I've seen to publication almost 100 short stories, enough to fill 8 collections, the latest being THE UNIVERSAL AND OTHER TERRORS (Dark Renaissance Press), and my work has appeared in Asimov's SF, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Weird Tales and numerous top anthologies including Year's Best Horror.

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am such a wimp. Last night when I was reading the book at home by myself, I heard a noise outside and my dachshund started growling in my lap. I - very stealth-like - ran around the house checking to make sure all the windows and doors were locked. Even after that, I kept having to put it down because it was scaring me.

Being faint-hearted is the main reason why I don't read horror novels - which this book apparently is... despite the fact that I bought it thinking it was urban fantasy.

Others might read this book and scoff at me... is it scary like Stephen King? No? Well, I guess that isn't a good example since I've only read two of his books (Misery - which I liked; The Stand - which I threw off the balcony at the halfway point in Ixtapa, Mexico when I was about 16 because it scared me so bad).

The subject matter in this book is dark... entire families being slaughtered in horrific ways and the slaughterer laughing while he does it. The hardest parts for me are that the "bad guy" isn't human - he's a spirit so there is no sob-story in his childhood that made him the way he is. He is simply a malevolent evil. The other thing is that the author doesn't write tons of detail about the gore - he writes enough for you to paint the picture yourself... is this worse than if he wrote it out in detail? I'm not sure, but I think so. I have a good imagination - too good for a book written in this fashion.

Will I finish it? I'm going to try, but I'm not making any promises. It might just scare me and horrify me beyond my tolerance level.

[Brian Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this is a prime example of a brilliant concept plagued by poor execution. The idea, that a group of witches had escaped the Salem Trials, only to relocate in the nearby town of Raine's Landing and become trapped there is incredible. The town, although now huge in the 21st century, still retains an ancient curse that prevents its inhabitants from leaving or outsiders to visit. Here, in the typical American town, magic is a normal part of daily life... which ends up being exactly the problem our protagonists face.

While the characters are well portrayed, the mythos complex and the city richly detailed, Richards needs to SERIOUSLY fire his editor. As a British citizen, perhaps he should check out American slang and colloquialisms a bit better. He also seems overly fond of question marks, as they appear at the end of sentences that can in NO way be conceived in that manner. And then, I swear, sometimes the WRONG word just appeared for no apparent reason.

I'm still giving the book an overall "good" review, because, 1. The concept, plot and characters really all are quite good, and 2. as I'm halfway through his sequel, I haven't seen any of these previous error. So far "Night Of Demons" has actually proved to be superior in every way. I'll keep reading...

[John Bruni · Rating 4 out of 5]

The set up is great. A city made up of the descendants of Salem, and they're all witches and warlocks. Magic is at their very fingertips. The leaders of the city are all powerful adepts. There's just one problem: if you were born here, you can never leave. Others can try to force their way in, but a curse does its absolute best to deter such people.

And then something more powerful than any of them stumbles into town and decides it's going to take over, no matter how many people it has to kill.

Top it off with two protagonists who don't use magic, and you've got a smorgasbord of wonderful, tasty fiction. The only problem is, sometimes the execution is off, and it pulls me out of the story. It meanders at times. I would have loved a tighter story with fewer flashbacks, but this is what I got. That's fine. It was still fun. I really enjoyed the Little Girl. That was creepy as all hell. But one thing puzzles me. This grand set up feels like it should be a series. And Richards leaves it wide open to a sequel in the final chapter. I'm perpetually 10+ years behind in my reading, but I'm pretty sure I would have noticed another book in this possible series. Too bad.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A futuristic take on race relations. I was fascinated by the vision of the future and can totally imagine some of the genetic visions in the book becoming reality. In fact, I wondered if some of this was not already possible just not made widely available. There was a bit of repetition that caused me to look back and get reoriented that would have been better edited out but, now that I've finished, perhaps I need to go back and see if that repetition might not have been some foreshadowing. Even had it been, it might have been more effectively incorporated. I did not anticipate the ending, which makes me really appreciate the writing. If you like science fiction thrillers, I expect that you would like this book.

[Amy Phelps · Rating 3 out of 5]

so i read it and im still confused. what is the little girl, what is an adept, how did the people become judges, lawyers, drs & teachers if they can’t leave the town? dont know if i would want an online diploma dr operating on me. So at the very end did they just defeat the enemy or did they lift the curse finally?

[Harrison Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

It had potential, but an ex cop coming out of retirement after his family was killed to help defeat a seemingly unbeatable force, witches creating magical lightning bolts in a Porsche, and how everyone openly does magic made this book too generic and silly to finish.

[Jennifer Buchmelter]

I didn't know that this book is part of a series until the last few pages. The story didn't make sense so I won't read the following books.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book sitting on on of my book cases at home. It has been there for a while. I am not sure who bought it (it probably was me) and I never read it. I started reading it last week and finished it today 6/19/12.

It has a very good plot that keeps you guessing and at the end it makes you want to read the second book "Night of the Demons".

The plot is very basic--withces leave Salem because of the witch burinings, one witch goes bad and gets burned and condems the whole town for eternity. Just your everyday life. I did not expect it to be so good. I usually do not read a books so fast but this one held my interest so much that I actually did not listen to my audio books so I could read this one.

I may have to wait to read the next book because the end did get a little intense so I may have to put some space in between the two books. But I do have it on my wish list on Amazon.

[Tony-Paul Vissage · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Science Fiction Book Club selection is a tense, thrilling story. The story of Ross' meeting with Saruak, his recognition that the man is a danger, though at first he isn't certain why he know this, interspersed with flashbacks explaining the loss of Ross' family leads inexorably to the conclusion that he, the one unmagical person in a town of adepts, has been chosen to save them. His interaction with the congenitally magical inhabitants, as well as the delineation of their characters, is well thought out. None of them is a villain, for all their pride or shallowness or power.

The ending practically says, "Sequel on the way!" and I certainly hope that's true because there would seem to be much more to the story of Ross Devries and the others, and I know readers are going to want to see it.

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a flu the other day and as I am want to do I read a cheep thriller. This one was called Dark Rain by Tony Richards. Both my parents read it and said it was shlocky and I should read it.



I read it and had a little trouble with the fact that no one had sat down with him and edited it. Its a classic example of why the publishing industry should not cut corners on editors. (I do realize how tacky it is for -me- to talk about this because I am so bad with language on here but this is a website and that is a professional book and had it been mine I would have insisted that someone fix the errors I couldn't.). But even so I felt that the guy who wrote it did a good job with the story, the characters were well thought out, the story line had good pacing and the world was real and believable. I liked it and would read another of his books when I was sick.

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The town of Raine’s Landing was cursed long ago, during the time of the Salem witch trials. When one woman was open about her abilities, the town expectantly burned her alive. Her last words were those that keep the people of Raine’s Landing from ever leaving and those from the outside to come in. (They must keep a very close and analytical eye when marrying.)
When an ancient, powerful, and malicious spirit comes walking by, it notices the small New England town, and decides to have some fun.
Ross Devries, an ex-cop, is the only person who lives in Raine’s Landing who has never done any magic. Together with his friend Cass, with who they share the same tragic loss, and with the aid of some very strong, influential, and insane adepts and an unknown entity known simply as the Little Girl, will battle the Matchi Manitou or die trying desperately to lift the town’s curse.

[Jonathan Briggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lost town of witches in Massachusetts is policed by a pair of non-magic-using private detectives. I smell hopeful franchise. I also smell cheez. "Dark Rain" is cutesy horror-lite (or dark fantasy, if you prefer, you girl) that borrows from better-known series, attempting to lure away their stragglers. It's a little Harry Potter. A little Kenzie-Gennaro. And a lot generic. Richards rearranges the cliches without ever doing anything fresh or different with them. "Dark Rain" isn't a horrible book. It's not memorable enough for that. It's just a time-waster. And I apparently wasted more time on it than its publishers at Eos did. No one bothered to edit for typos and out-of-character British colloquialisms.

[Shelly Wainwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would consider this book to be in a paranormal action category. It was not really scary but the action was pretty raunchy. The story was quite clever and yet almost felt predictable. I did like this book however and yes I would consider reading it again and recommend it. At some points in the book I felt like I was right there and then wished it was like a movie so that I could see a bit clearer. But all and all this was a good read and interesting could not put down till the action had a chance to relax.

[Michael Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally well written

The concept of a town cut off from the rest of the world with none of the residents being able to leave is fascinating. In a little town where the descendants of genuine Salem witches use magic as the norm, the author sets the scene for a brilliant story. The characters are well rounded and interesting. The battle scenes with the Manitou are gripping. I have become a fan of the Raine's Landing series.

[Reese Copeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a good book. A definite sense of good vs. evil. Good story, complex characters and good character development. The only turn off seems to be there may be a sequel in the works. Sometimes, it's just best to let a good story end.

[Avid · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally don't read fantasy but after reading the back cover I felt it was interesting enough and as a horror movie. Its entertaining but nothing more. Its very different from most premises that I've read in this genre.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! This book was so good. I can't wait to read the sequel.