Evocatus: A Novel

by Burke Speed

Jamie is a young veteran with a painful history, most of which he'd rather forget. He tried to escape in a familiar place, but with a new job. A new life, really. In his mind, it was simple. He was done battling for others. The end.

It was a great plan . . . right up to the whole "fight for your life in a mini-mart" thing. Without warning, Jamie is attacked by a sword-wielding man and warned to stay away. From what, he's not sure.

Unexpectedly, he is invited to join a covert band of brothers that fights to keep these evil beings, called Malum, at bay. To accept their invitation is to add death matches against evil to his resume. To decline is to live . . . at least for a while.

Kate is a beautiful barista and an important member of this undercover organization. She just might have the key to victory over the Malum but is kidnapped before she can tell what she knows. Everything hinges on a timely rescue of Kate as Jamie's past and present collide.

Now an Evocatus, a veteran called again to duty, Jamie must decide how far he's willing to go to fight-and love-again.

302 pages, Paperback

Published June 23, 2020

About the author

Burke Speed graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in 1992 and was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force as a Second Lieutenant. He served as an F-16 instructor pilot, flight examiner, and squadron commander during his 26-year career. He is now a retired Colonel and command pilot with more than 2,900 flying hours, including 101 combat flights, and he has Masters Degrees in aeronautics and military operational arts. Burke and his wife, Carroll, have been married for over twenty years and have three children.

Reviews

[Tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I’m not usually a fan of fantasy/ spiritual warfare so I wasn’t expecting to enjoy is as much as a did. I liked that it was told from the first person experience and it had humor to lighten up a heavy topic. I’m glad I took a chance on it!

[linda l. mclaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun clean read, lots of demon destruction but no gore or depressing darkness, plenty of humor

I really liked this book, had all my favorite elements and none of the stuff that turns me off in other books. A warrior who was forced out of the military by a knee injury is summoned to fight against evil demons in the shadow world that hides behind the one we know. He fights with a band of brothers who are also among the called. The there is plenty of exciting action but no real gore and also plenty of humor, I laughed out loud several times as our guy learned, sometimes the hard way. A fun read for anybody that enjoys battle action leavened with plenty of humor. I especially appreciated an mc that was believable. His military background made his fighting ability realistic , he was good but did make mistakes . However the mistakes are never idiotic and he actually learns from them!. (One of my major pet peeves is an mc that makes idiotic decisions just to drive the story in a direction the author wants it to go). Even better he does not spend whole chapters whining about being picked and even enjoys his training and working with his team (well some of it, lol). My only quibble is I would have liked a bit more depth in certain areas . The other guys on the team came across as more quick sketches than fully developed characters and the shadow world itself was never fully explained, hopefully this will be expanded on in future books. I am not sure if this is his first book but if so it is an excellent start and I am looking forward to reading the next installments. (PS this is a full book with a real ending, no cliffhangers but it plenty of room for sequels).

[Selena Jijina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evocatus has something for everyone: Humor, romance, action, dimensional fantasy and adventure. My favorite was the main character's sense of humor. His thought process is down to earth and relatable. The book flows easily and is a page turner! I'm gonna give it to my sons to read next, they're gonna love it!

[Deedra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written book.I enjoyed it! Andre Santana was an excellent narrator. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Jonathan Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Start led slow but good ending