cover image Midnight's Angels

Midnight's Angels

Tony Richards. Dark Regions (www.darkregionspress.com), $18.95 trade paper (338p) ISBN 978-1-937128-07-4

The battle between humankind and an evil cosmic entity proves surprisingly lackluster in this dark fantasy novel set in Raines Landing, Mass. Since a curse was placed on Raines Landing during the days of the Salem witch trials, no one born there has been able to leave the town. That's a huge problem for the locals when agents of the Dweller in the Dark, an evil entity that predates the creation of the universe, show up and begin transforming the townsfolk into soulless "hominids." Ex-cop Ross Devries and his sometime girlfriend, Cass Mallory, band together with other town regulars in the hope of learning what the Dweller seeks and how to neutralize its shock troops. Richards (Night of Demons) overwhelms the potentially interesting premise with repetitive scenes of the rampaging hominids, whose mindless marching recalls unimaginative zombie fiction. (July)