Book Review: Mammon by J.B Thomas

Title: Mammon
Series: The Ferryman Chronicles #1
Author: J.B Thomas
Publisher: Random House Australia
Release Date: September 1st, 2011
Source: From Publisher (Thank you)
Goodreads Synopisis: 
Forget anything you ever heard about possession, exorcisms, salt circles and pentagrams. The modern demon is far more difficult to catch - and even harder to destroy.

After the savage, tragic deaths of their parents, Grace and Joe Callahan learn that they they are descendants of the sarsareh - an ancient order of mercenaries who hunt very special prey. Grace and Joe take their place in the Order, but are treated with hostility and fear by other recruits.

For the Callahan siblings have powers that fascinate and terrify.

Joe is a Ferryman, capable of opening dimensional rifts, while Grace's telepathic abilities surpass anything the Order has ever seen.

To complicate matters, Grace falls for her older, more experienced squad leader, Ivan. Meanwhile, the sarsareh elders have their own plans for Joe.

But none of that will matter if the powerful demon Mammon manages to convince Joe to open a gateway to his demon world and overrun Earth with his armies.

If he succeeds: game over.


My Thoughts:
I’ll start by saying that Mammon is now up there on my list of all-time favourites and is worthy enough to rival some of my favourite series (The Mortal Instruments, Divergent… you get the picture.) The entire book, from start to finish was action-packed, thrilling and just plain remarkable.

Just so I can dedicate the rest of my review to just how marvellous the novel was, I’ll first mention the not-so-good parts of the book, although truthfully, there’s not much. The only problem for me was the beginning. While it was written brilliantly, the start was rather slow, and just wasn’t strong enough to leave an immediate impression on me. Several times I did stop reading it to do other things (yes, my attention wavered), but the rest of the book more than compensated for the beginning.
Now, on to the good part. What did I like about the story? Everything. The characters, plot, writing style and pace; everything was perfect. After the first 20 pages or so, I was utterly hooked; my attention never wavered again and I stopped reading halfway through another book just so I could finish this one. The whole demons and sarsareh concept completely enraptured me. Since I haven’t read many books that focused mainly on demons, Mammon was a fresh and unique read for me.

The plot was compelling and I liked how all the events that occurred happened for a reason. It all developed and built up to the intense and riveting climax near the end of the book. I loved how Mammon never strayed from the main plotline, and there were subplots that enticed me they but never overrode the main storyline. The relationship between Grace, our main character and Ivan, her team leader was a nice complement to the main plot. I also liked how there was no unnecessary love triangle – finally!

The characters were all incredible! But one particular character totally won my heart. Ivan. Sexy, charming and strong.

“And boy, was he ripped. Not obscenely, his muscles weren’t bursting through his sleeves, but just enough to create an impression of lithe, gymnast-like strength.”

Oh, why don’t you exist in real life? Ivan did remind me of Four from Divergent, (whom I love) but Ivan is still Ivan. I’m certainly looking forward to learning more about Ivan in the next instalment. Grace was also likable. She wasn’t whiny or immature and I really liked how she stood her ground and never allowed anyone to take advantage of her, thereby earning my respect. As for Joe, he was impulsive, and much in need of anger management. At times, I really wanted to just smack him and shake some sense into him. But then again, he was an essential character and the catalyst for some of the major events that occurred. Without Joe, Mammon would just not be complete.

Overall, Mammon is an exciting and character-driven novel packed with endless action and unpredictable twists. It will leave you aching for more, especially the heart-pounding fighting scenes and the deliciously sweet relationship between Grace and Ivan. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll pick up a copy of this book and read it immediately. I don’t know how I’m going to survive until the second instalment comes out!


Rating: 5 stars!

Quotes:
"He was using that voice again, that deep, soft tone that was just for her."