Into the Void

Patrick Bannon #1

by Justin Herzog

A fast-paced supernatural thrill ride filled with demonic villains set in the heart of South Florida!

My name is Patrick Bannon, and I'm a demonologist.

Most people would agree that the study of demons isn’t a practical area of research. Lucky for me, Miami has never been a practical kind of city.

With more reported cases of demonic possession than any other two cities combined, the jewel of South Florida can be a dangerous place for those who don’t respect it, and when trouble strikes, it falls to me to set it right.

Now a renowned Catholic reverend is dead, and the church wants to know if it was suicide or murder.

Simple, except when it isn’t.

To make matters worse, word on the street is that Tiberius, the demon responsible for my brother’s suicide, is trying to claw his way back up from the Void.

One guess who sent him there.

Into the Void is the first in a brand new urban fantasy series set in Miami. With a colorful cast of characters and plenty of demonic summoning action, fans of M.D. Massey, Jim Butcher, Orlando Sanchez, John P. Logsdon, and Benedict Jacka will love this series.

299 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 28, 2019

About the author

A native Floridian whose resume includes everything from police officer to personal trainer, Justin Herzog fell in love with books from an early age and turned to writing as a career because anything else would have been unthinkable. He is married and currently lives with his wife in Orlando, Florida. They have one dog. He can reached at jherzogwriting@gmail.com or https://www.justinherzog.com

Reviews

[Brad Huestis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read… the Patrick Bannon series is definitely my favorite of the three series currently penned by Justin Herzog. This Miami-based urban fantasy mystery is written for a slightly older audience than the Marcus Aries and Forrest Wardens series. All are fun, fast, and entertaining reads, but I really like Into the Void’s the gripping story, colorful characters, and darker plot lines. All three series are great, and I hope Justin keeps all three of them going strong!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving an extra star for the Main Character actually acting noble and dealing with his issues in the end. The writing is not great, but it was clever here and there. Yes, massive plot holes. Yes, the churches are after money and fame. Yes, a bizarre revelation halfway through that makes you wonder why we had to read the first part of the book. Yes, one dimensional, overly sexualized females who really should have no interest in this guy. But! Despite his whining and general sad-sackness (hail ye Angst and Regret), I kinda liked him. Patrick goes out and gets shit done. I think the author makes him a bit too dense at parts (he misses some pretty big clues) but overall, the finale is satisfying. I might read the second one. Fun light read in Wizard/Spy/Demon-fighting Jim Butcher genre. (Is that a thing? Pretty sure it’s a thing.)

[Stephanie Mirro · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Unexpected treat!

I haven't read anything by this author before, and I haven't heard if him before, so I was pleasantly surprised by how fast I was drawn in to the story and how well it was written. The author did a great job really getting into the head of the main character Patrick, and the twists and turns kept me on my toes. I definitely recommend this one to any fans of urban fantasy.

[Carol (bookish_notes)]

Amazon tried to rec me this book while I was looking up other books on KU, but it seems like this cover is deceiving and not actually m/m urban fantasy since the author only writes heteronormative books? I mean, prove me wrong, but not interested.

[April Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will read the next one

While racing this I kept making correlations to the "Dresden Files" books. Book itself was good just couldn't stop the comparisons. As I had said, I will read the next one, already read the preview at the end of this one.

[Lisa Tobleman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time finishing this rather disjointed novel. It was like reading Jim Butcher fan fiction. Inspired by the new TV drama Evil or maybe the novel Angels and Demons. There is a male wizard Exorcist who does jobs for the church but he’s disillusioned and kind of a jerk. There is a secretary who helps said wizard/paladin/dude keep in contact with the world and possibly they like each other? He can plane walk and travel through Purgatory where hungry ghosts and bad ass spirits hang out. There is a upper level demon who he has a history with gunning for him and a housewife with terrible judgment in men who lets a pedophile have access to her kid. Oh and he has a sword and a magical flask of spirit water. I just couldn’t get into this book. I wanted to like it, there are aspects of storytelling that pique my interest, but it doesn’t read like a well edited fully thought out story. There are plot holes and a lot of talking. Actions don’t make sense (demon summoning book left at the home, a pedophile BG at a birthday party, the whole nun running a parish, and the way a university dig site is run...) I guess the inaccuracies of how the Church and academia works can be blown off from a “it’s a fiction novel” POV, but none of the actions of these people made logical sense. I just wanted to punch the MC for being a waste of space and whiny and I don’t understand the point of the personal assistant. It did start to pull together better at the end, but any story I have to work this hard to want to finish (it almost went into my DNF pile) is not a series I will continue.