Damoren

Valducan, Book 1

By: Seth Skorkowsky

Narrated by: R.C. Bray

In the same vein as Supernatural, Hellboy, and Blade

A secret society of monster hunters. A holy revolver forged to eradicate demons. A possessed man with a tragic past. A rising evil bent on destroying them all.

Matt Hollis is the current wielder of the holy weapon, DÄMOREN. With it, he stalks and destroys demons. A secret society called the VALDUCANS has taken an interest in Matt's activities. They see him as a reckless rogue - little more than a "cowboy" corrupted by a monster - and a potential threat to their ancient order.

As knights and their sentient weapons begin dying, Matt teams up with other hunters of his kind such as LUIZA, a woman with a conquistador blade; ALLAN, an Englishman with an Egyptian khopesh; MALCOLM, a voodoo priest with a sanctified machete; and TAKAIRA, a naginata-swinging Samurai. As the hunters become the hunted, they must learn to trust one another before a powerful demonic entity thrusts the world into a terrible and ageless darkness.

©2014 Seth Skorkowsky (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"Narrator R.C. Bray delivers delicious doom in Skorkowsky's series opener.... Bray's distinctive voice complements Skorkowsky's battle-hardened warriors." ( AudioFile)

Wonderful new series begins with a bang

Where does Damoren rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'd rank Damoren in the top ten percent of all audio books I've heard: the combination of Skorkowsy's propulsive prose and Bray's delivery is a perfect match. The action never stops, yet the characters come through as individuals. Kudos for these two for a terrific collaboration on a gripping story that is the beginning of a series yet has a satisfying conclusion all its own.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Damoren?

I fell in love as soon as Matt Hollis, current wielder of the holy weapon, Damoren, was introduced. Matt and his fellow demon-stalkers makes a believer out of me. Matt, the reckless loose cannon that can slash his way through any opposition is masterfully drawn, and his enemies will make you cringe. Although normally I'm not a fan of named weapons, in this story, each special weapon has its job, and a unique personality wielding it.

Have you listened to any of R. C. Bray’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first audio-book I've heard that is narrated by R.C. Bray, and it won't be the last.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Bang goes the evil.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended for fans of paranormal adventure.

One of the best monster hunter books

This is isn't high literature, but it is a ton of fun. Fun world building, great characters who are diverse without being forced and progressive without being arrogant. RC Bray is just awesome and I've become a fan of his narration through this. My only note in retrospect is that I think this would have made an awesome second part in a series.

Good read.

The performance pulled me into the story. Dark action fantasy. Good world building and character development.

a different kind of story

What did you love best about Damoren?

It was surprising I love good fantasy this was a really different take.

What other book might you compare Damoren to and why?

The Rook a little or maybe the Dresden novels but different

Any additional comments?

possessed revolver Way cool... Well written it was a fun listen. I listen in the car on the way home from work I sat in the driveway for 20 minutes listening before I could get away to go in the house.

Spectacular

This book took off in the first chapter and the ending was epic! I liked how the author put his own spin on familiar things. It made it exciting and kept me wondering what was going on. This was one of the few books I couldn't put down. I recommend this book to anyone that loves the supernatural and action based adventures. Can not wait to read the next book!

hot sexy demon killing action

A very unique story about hunting demons, battling with inner demons, and friends that demonize you. The narration is insanely good. Flawless switch from multiple accents and distinct characters.

I am hooked!

A great story read by the best, R.C. Bray. I just purchased book two and hope there will be many more!

An excellent new voice in Urban Fantasy!

I had never heard of the author before, but the synopsis sounded interesting, so I gave it a shot. I am so glad I did. The book takes a fresh look at Urban fantasy, in a world where all monsters are just Demons inhabiting humans, and a group of warriors called the Valducan Knights wield holy weapons to slay them. Matt Hollis is actually not a Valducan, but was trained by an exiled one, and he hunts demons solo. He was brought into the order to help deal with a huge uprising of Demons, not quite trusted by the other hunters. It is a great adventure story, with excellently laid out battle scenes, nicely planned and executed character growth, and an expanding world in which to create further stories. It has triumph, loss, disappointments, rejoicing, an incredibly well rounded emotional ride, which is all you can ask from a book. RC Bray does his usual fantastic job of narrating, differentiating the characters, adding humor and menace as needed, all while keeping the tension ratcheted up. I would recommend this book to any fans of Jim Butchers, Simon R. Greens and Tim Marquitz. Not the warmest, fuzziest UF tale around, but an excellent well rounded one.

A plethora of devious demons!

It was not difficult to listen to Damoren and notice some parallels to Larry Correia's Monster Hunters International series. There is an international organization dating back centuries chartered with finding and eliminating those pesky beasts only this time,

The demons were created to prey on man. They evolved. They repelled. There are many species. And ... they have a plan.

Unrelated allusions to BSG aside, the real facts are that Seth Skorkowsky expertly wrote a riveting and exciting novel that stands on its own in terms of creativity and plot details. The primary characters are given enough backstory to make them interesting and the protagonist, Matt Hollis, is both likable and somewhat of an intriguing enigma on his own.

Couple that with a top tier narrator like R. C. Bray and be prepared to over-prioritize listening sessions.

Hey, not bad!

Would you listen to Damoren again? Why?

Probably not. Without the central mystery, it's just an above-average action story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hard to say. The characters were not as fully developed as I'd like.

What aspect of R. C. Bray’s performance would you have changed?

Accents, man. Get better at 'em.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Any additional comments?

If you had told me a week ago that I would find and listen to an enjoyable urban fantasy, I'd say, "what, is Peace Talks out already?" I don't mean to suggest that all good urban fantasy begins and ends with Jim Butcher, because I'm sure that's not strictly true. It just seems like it. Mr. Skorkowsky, in his debut effort, shows quite a bit of promise. Sure, the prose wasn't absolutely spectacular, and the characterization wasn't quite as gelled as some would like it, and protagonist Matt Hollis is a BIT Gary Stu-ish at the moment, but Skorkowsky has set himself up with a set of wonderful tools for great storytelling.

All in all, the plotting is well-done, the central mystery engaging, some of the more horrific scenes VERY well executed (let's keep the dark in that dark fantasy, Mr. Skorkowsky!). The climactic set piece hits all the right notes. All that remains is some polish and elbow grease, but properly applied, I think we've seen the first hints of a potential new talent.

I don't say this often: I'm looking forward to the sequel.