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Rosten Gate

By

Must read 🏆

A startling and thought-provoking story about revenge and redemption, this tale is full of adventure and things that go bump in the night.

Logan is not a happy man. He's not really a nice man, either. He roams the truly post-apocalyptic landscape searching demons of every ilk. He intends to destroy them all. His life is death, revenge, and regret. He gives new meaning to the phrase "man on a mission."


I felt the thrill of the hunt like a drug that I couldn't get enough of. It was my purpose for living and my reason for waking up in the morning. When I fed that animal, it carried me.


In his pursuit of all things evil, Logan stumbles into Vera. She's not very impressive to him, being young and small, really more like a kid than a woman. But Vera is so much more than she seems. Her mission runs a slightly separate course from his. They're both out to save the world in their own way. But while Logan hunts demons to destroy them, Vera hunts the keys to Hell itself. She wants to close the gate of Hell that opened 13 years ago, plunging the world into chaos.


Then there was Vera. She continued to find ways to infuriate me. In what world would asking the potential bad guy about the bad guy symbol actually result in success?


These two are like the Odd Couple on the worst road trip ever. They are nothing alike: one fresh, hopeful, and young, the other jaded, calloused, and world weary. Logan sees no hope in Vera's plan and finds her effervescence annoying, at best. But for reasons beyond his control, they become partners in an impossible quest.


The author has created an amazing vision of the world after the gates have been opened. It's surreal, horrifying, and exactly the kind of train wreck you don't want to see but can't look away from. This world is brought to life with his vividly descriptive and sometimes sardonic prose. The reader is flung from moments of sheer horror in which humans struggle to survive (and often lose this struggle) to moments of wit, beauty, and grace.


It was the glare of a gorgon and I was without a mirror.


I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy post-apocalyptic tales, fantasy, adventure/thrillers, or stories of people finding redemption where they least expect it. Be prepared, though. For every lofty, beautiful, and profound moment in this novel is balanced by sheer terror, carnage, and malevolence,


A true heroine is she who hefts the world up onto her own shoulder--she who makes others better. It's the most sinister thought that 'someone else will do it.'



Reviewed by

I am an obsessive reviewer, having discovered several years ago that I have a passion for helping indie authors get their books discovered, and for helping prolific readers like me find great new voices. I run the gambit from romantic suspense to psychothriller and almost anything in between.

About the author

I am an avid fan of fantastical worlds that suck you up and refuse to let go, the kind of stories that demand you keep reading from one page to the next. Whenever I’m not writing or working, I can be found with my wife, son, and our puppy hiking through Pennsylvania’s wilderness. view profile

Published on May 05, 2022

100000 words

Contains graphic explicit content ⚠️

Worked with a Reedsy professional 🏆

Genre: Fantasy

Reviewed by