EH. IT was ok. I was not totally enamored of this book and to be honest, it did not scare me at all. However, I do enjoy the way Janz writes and I would probably read more by him. But I don't recommend this particular book.

An Apocalyptic Book Like No Other!

The destruction of the world came about two years prior when the missiles were set off not from Russia, not from China, not from South Korea but could anyone have guessed The United States. That's right the good old United States Of America when a group of rogue scientists decided to take matters into their own hands since it would end by nuclear destruction where nothing would survive a nuclear hit, they decided to release viral pathogens into the air which also had included DNA traced back to what humans believed were fantasy legends, folklore and mythology. Now whether these scientists really knew what the ultimate effects of these deadly viruses would attain is anyone's guess because the majority of people died when the bombs hit except a select few who were given the name of latents since they had no special powers enhancing their genetic makeup. You see, this virus brought about living nightmares coming true which one could never have dreamed up in their wildest imagination. Monsters, my friends, living, breathing real life monsters that everyone has read about or have seen in horror films yet magnified many times over. Creatures that were all normal human beings before "The Shift" as many called the end of the world as they knew it. Vampires, Wererwolves, Satyrs and so many more of the worst abominations that the world could never have been imagined. Then you have the few latents left struggling to exist and find food and safety while the creatures walk free with their hunger and bloodlust never satisfied. One of these latents is named Dez McClane who used to be an English teacher in the old world and is now at the center of all this horror and this will be the tale of his frightening and tortuous journey to find others like himself who can be trusted and hopefully survive in this he'll on earth as it has truly become.

This was such a well-written book filled with excellent storytelling and characters that I just didn't want the book to come to an ending. Be forewarned there is graphic, grisly violence with non-stop action and bloody gore throughout so if one is too sensitive they will definitely have nightmares disturbing their peaceful sleep. Dez McClain was a top notch character and so likeable in all aspects of his horrific journey that I couldn't wait to see what all his travels to survival would bring for him. I have read several of Jonathan Janz's novels and I am always on the outlook for a new one. I didn't know this book was part of a series so the next book in the series is called "Blood Country" just released in October 2022 so I'm very excited to say that I can't wait and I'm reading that very soon. All horror readers if you enjoy creature feature books with the best writing and storytelling and did I forget to say Fun? Oh, yes so much fun, so please don't hesitate to get your hands on this book, you won't be sorry but remember "nightmares are included free .with the price of this book" so don't say you weren't given a warning!

I want to thank the publisher "Flame Tree Press" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this unbelievably creepy story and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this fantastic horror book a rating of 5 GRISLY AND BLOODTHIRSTY 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

The Raven was a fun post-apocalyptic thriller that had me intrigued as to how in the world that combination of genres would work. But work it did because I really enjoyed my time with this book!

The Raven is a truly must-have monster horror orb from the epic blood bathing first fight scene of a conclusion.
Dez is a latent being living in a world of mythical creatures made real through a quasi-expansion system brought about by a group of rogue scientists who released the pathogen into the air into the atmosphere or killed or transformed the human world. However, a privileged few survived in their "native" state, and that's where The Raven comes in. his partner,
Along the way, Dez meets werewolves, cannibals, a psychopath, and a host of other mythological horrors; Maneuvering one with brutal efficiency while licking the other, the battle rages on.
The setting is scary and engaging, and the concept allows for a deeper exploration of the inhabitants of the new world and their stories. The finger that crosses this is the beginning of something much bigger

Here's an excerpt from my review on my website. "Credit to Janz for taking a premise that puts several genres into a blender to create this dystopian smoothie, heavily seasoned with Spaghetti Western. Dez is, however, not the typical steely badass that Clint Eastwood was in his movies, but rather a man trying and failing to make sense of a new world where he’s been bumped down several notches on the food chain." And here's the link: http://bewarethescarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2021/06/have-you-read-this-raven-by-jonathan.html

The Raven is an action-packed journey through a post-apocalyptic nightmare world where familiar monsters – werewolves, vampires, witches, satyrs- rule the world. Dez McClane doesn’t have any special powers, but that doesn’t stop him from setting out on a quest for justice. Seriously, this book has everything a horror fan could ever want and is a pulse-pounding thrillride from start to finish

Jonathan Janz has become one of my favorite authors. This book started off slow for me, but halfway through I was hooked.

This one just didn’t work for me like other Janz titles have. I just can’t put my finger on it. The book is written well and I can see that a lot of other readers really liked it. If the story continues to another book, I’d probably check it out.

Absolutely loved this! Janz is the real deal, and I've loved everything I've read by him! I loved the blend of apocalyptic thriller and horror, and both supernatural and human issues and troubles. Putting cannibals, vampires, werewolves, AND humans together in a single book seems like it may be a daunting task for some authors, but Janz NAILS it here! Fun from start to finish, such an exciting book.

The Raven is a unique take on an apocalyptic world. Apocalyptic stories being my favorite little corner of the horror genre. In The Raven, Janz creates a twist unlike any I’ve come across and it’s pretty damn inventive. A wide variety of mythical creatures and monsters are now alive and loose in the world. When we meet Dez he is alone and doing his best to stay alive. In the beginning I found Dez to be detached and cold, which is probably required for him to survive the unknown around every corner.

Then, as the story unfolds he warms, feels real with believable actions believable, and I found myself loving this character. Jonathan Janz then adds another layer with Dez keeping a journal outlining his journey. The telling of a  story within a story if you will. His journeys goal to exact revenge on the man who took his wife. There were several points I was sure Dez wouldn't escape the tight spots he found himself in. When Dez arrived at the Four Winds the action was kick ass with a couple of excellent battles taking place. The Raven is filled with some great characters and some tense moments. I couldn’t help but feel for Dez and the few people who aren’t monsters. The Raven is a fun read and another winner from Jonathan Janz, an author who I can count on for giving me great read after great read.

The Raven is such a different apocalyptic novel. Yes sure we have survival, enemies, danger and all the things that go with an apocalyptic world but we also have a very different monster. In this world we have a mixture of mythical creatures. So instead of battling only vampires we have others such as werewolves, cannibals, satyrs and many others. The way that these mythical creatures have been brought upon is so interesting. Unfortunately this lacked a little bit of substance for me. While I did enjoy the majority of it, the concept especially, I felt like the writing was a little one dimensional. This made the story somewhat easy to read but it left something to be desired. Something that I do want to point out is that Janz's world building is on point. I really enjoyed the different apocalyptic settings and some of the gore that was displayed around the four seasons. He definitely outdid himself with the atmosphere in this story. Also,

If you can ignore some of the cheesy lines and dialogue and want a super atmospheric read then definitely give The Raven a try. Janz did a wonderful job at spinning a different kind of apocalyptic novel that I feel like most will enjoy.

Janz has covered it all in this book -werewolves, vampires, monsters and other fierce creatures. The characterisation is brilliant & unusual- a fabulous cast for his post-apocalyptic tale .
A great storyline that seems like it could be the beginning of a series, an exciting one at that.
I'd love to see what Janz does next!

Monsters, monsters everywhere!

Another rad adventure from the mind of Jonathan Janz.
A really fun setup and cool cast of characters to venture through the post-apocalyptic world with in Janz's latest offering, THE RAVEN.
Lots of action and some nice and even a few thought-provoking sentiments.

If you dig Janz or post-apocalyptic novels, you will love this.

I’m a huge reader of dystopian, apocalyptic and horror novels and this had plenty to offer. It also had some strange beings, which is something else I’m drawn to.

Dez was a fun character. Though I felt at times that some of his actions weren’t quite believable, who am I do judge when he’s roaming the wilderness, having to face down creatures of myth with no special powers of his own. I chalked it up to future character growth. Which he did do. And there were some really good bad guys. Can I call bad guys really good? Sure, when they are doing dastardly deeds like they’re supposed to.

There’s a couple of scenes that were like apocalyptic shootouts at the OK Corral. Loads of action there. Be prepared for some gory stuff that makes you cringe.

I read this in one sitting and had quite the fun time. Another winner from Janz.

A post-apocalyptic novel, with humans transformed into mythical monsters, thoroughly enjoyable and intriguing. Imaginative fiction at its best!

As soon as I finished this book, I jumped on my computer to write the review. There's so much to love about this book, and I couldn't wait to share! I picked this novel because Janz hasn't disappointed me in the past, and his record remains in tact. Jonathon Janz creates a post-apocalyptic world where a group of rouge scientists caused the evolution of vampires, werewolves, cannibals and monsters. Society has unraveled. The few humans without supernatural abilities are forced into hiding, but most end up as a cannibal's lunch.
Enter our hero, Dez. Dez used to be an ordinary suburban dad, but he's adapted to the new world with the help of a crossbow and the deep seeded desire to avenge his loved ones. This makes him a relatable and formidable protagonists and creates empathy between his situation and the reader. He must battle both the physical demons and the emotional demons that haunt his every move.
There's tons of gore splattering the pages of this fast-paced horror adventure. Visceral descriptions suck readers into the nightmare of this unforgiving world; however the plot allows for the examination of common social issues such as classism (those with special abilities live better and safer lives then those without) and how fear causes otherwise good people to act immorally.
The ending leaves room for a series, which I hope develops. There are questions unanswered and characters I want to learn more about, but I left feeling entertained. If you're interested in a unique world of monster villains and don't mind gore in your horror books, this is the read for you!

I had so much fun reading The Raven, as I typically do with Jonathan Janz’s stories, it was just as entertaining as the others I have read and perfect for October reading!

In this story readers are following the main character, Dez, through a post-apocalyptic world where a group of extreme scientists have unleashed a sort of “genetic bomb” that unlocks the monstrous traits that exist in most humans. As some of humanity acquired vampire, werewolf, cannibal, witch, satyr, telekinetic, etc. traits, other people remained powerless. Dez is a Latent (a human without powers or monstrous traits) just trying to exist in this chaotic, cutthroat world. I really enjoyed this unique take on monsters and the concept that rather than all these monsters being mythical beings, it was truly just humans who had these monstrous traits all along.

I also really enjoyed Dez’s character as he is truly just an honest but flawed human being. I related to him a lot (which almost never happens with characters in horror books!) because he struggles with a lot of self-doubt and obsessive thoughts, which was just so refreshing to me. You have to think even in an apocalypse, irrational anxiety and obsessive thinking are one hundred percent going to weasel their way into your brain!

I think The Raven might also be a good book for horror fans who are looking for something not quite as scary as some of Janz’s other books. That’s not to say that it isn’t scary in it’s own way, it’s morally and physically scary, just in a different manner from The Siren and the Spector! There aren’t a whole lot of jump scares and it’s kind of fun and adventurous as you read about Dez tangling with more terrifying monsters throughout the story.

Basically the earth is overrun by creatures from myth and folklore after that a group of scientists thought it would be a good idea to trigger dormant monster DNA in humans. In this post apocalyptic hellscape humans are in the minority, and Dez McClane is one of the few left trying to survive in a world of werewolves, vampires, cannibals, and other monstrosities. Dez is facing all odds to find his wife, and along the way he comes across many colorful characters, even teaming up with a few by the end.

So I’m COMPLETELY onboard just from the premise (the whole post-apocalyptic monster world thing), but then Janz goes in with the quality writing, interesting well-developed characters, and top notch action/suspense and this became a book I read voraciously. Like I was on vacation and I just wanted to ignore everyone and read. It didn’t take but till page 40 that I knew I had something special in my hands. So many memorable characters and scenes, and so many cool ideas!

Apart from the obvious monsters, I love the idea that Latents are still out there, meaning anyone could at any moment turn into something crazy (which does indeed happen in the balls-to-the-wall insane climax of the book). There’s also plenty of suspense, brutal violence, and well-balanced humor throughout. I’m seriously trying to avoid writing this like a gushing fanboy, and likely failing. I just enjoyed this book so much!! It’s also set up perfectly for a sequel, so I’m gonna need @jonathan.janz to hurry up with that

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the world and the risk that was going on in this world. I look forward to more from the author.

THE RAVEN is a dystopian novel by author Jonathan Janz. In this new world--which begins two years after a catastrophic event that . . . changes . . . many of mankind--we go along with Dez, a lone man searching for someone who was taken from him.

". . . He hoped it wouldn't get him killed."

The characters we encounter are all unique. For example, Dez is a "Latent", which in this new era equates a "normal" person without any kind of extra or supernatural abilities.

Powerless, some would say.

Others run the gauntlet, incorporating all manner of beings. The one thing that really stands out to me, is that no matter what the situation, there are always humans looking to exploit it for their personal gain.

". . . Deep down, the human race is--or was--pretty goddamned selfish . . ."

The action starts out strong, with breaks for introspective thoughts by our main characters on things that happened in the past. Although these sections give us the backstory of what caused the world to be as it was now, other parts--where Dez obsessed over his lover and son--got a bit repetitious as the novel went on.

". . . Everyone looks human. No one looks like a monster, not all of the time . . ."

The creativity and magnitude of the different "groups" here was staggering. Almost anything you could think up was addressed at some point. this is a novel that could easily become a series, in my opinion, as there was so much left unexplored yet.

"You learned, or you died."

Overall, a novel of epic proportions, catering to horror lovers of all kinds. The idea presented could easily be expanded on in sequels, although this book concluded well enough for its own story. I did feel that some of Dez's thoughts got a bit repetitious, and others were just unnecessary to the plot. However, my general opinion was a fast paced tale--with a few "lulls" in the action--that tackles a subject I would love to read more about.

". . . there was some good in the world, but you had to look hard to find it."

Recommended.