Wild, Dark Times by Austin Case - Review

Wild, Dark Times

Expected Publication Date:July 23rd, 2019

Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal

It’s the summer of 2012 and Elizabeth Megalos is a disillusioned art-school grad getting by as a bank teller in St. Louis. One evening, she’s attacked by a possessed coworker and saved by a mysterious, wise-cracking sorcerer named Eddy. He drags Elizabeth and Hugh—a skeptical scholar of the occult—to Europe, where he introduces them to his three magical celebrity friends. Once there, Eddy explains the group’s mission: preventing a Demiurge—a creature out of Gnostic Christian mythology—from fulfilling the visions of doom in the Book of Revelation. The Demiurge has been drawing power from the misguided beliefs in the Mayan apocalypse and is set to start the destruction on Dec. 21st, 2012. Through ritual magic and a series of psychedelic experiences, the group learns that Elizabeth is the key to taking down the Demiurge, though she can’t imagine how she will be the one to stop Armageddon.

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My review:

Wild, Dark Times by author Austin Case is fascinating. Opening my eyes to a world that I had not paid much attention to before, this book grabbed me by the soul and held on for dear life. It was as if the Demiurge had taken over my mind and forced me to read until I sobbed big ugly tears. I could not put this book down.

I will admit that I was in a perpetual state of confusion for the first few chapters until Eddy became clearer as a character, but it was worth the wait. Wild, Dark Times is at times disgusting, yet thrilling too. The characters get their energy from massive amounts of drugs and constant talk of sex. Normally, these would put me off a book, but I was so far gone in love with these characters that I could not put the book down if I had wanted to.

The whole way through I found myself wanting to join them on their adventures until some heartbreaking events occur, and I could not help but feel the hurt deep in my bones.

A book this powerful only comes along once in a blue moon and I will admit that this is the best book I have read this year, maybe in several years.

The best thing about this experience though is that I looked at the world in a way that I never have before and felt enlightened. I feel the need to know more about the culture of these characters who were so real to me.

If I had one complaint about the novel, it would be the ending. I was really hoping for Elizabeth and Eddy to get together in the end, or even have Elizabeth become pregnant from their one encounter and carry on the line. Heck, I would even have been okay if Elizabeth had chosen Hugh, but, alas, I did not get my way.

I must award Wild, Dark Times a full 5 out of 5 stars and I would like to thank the author for drafting this book that touched me so. I also need to thank Shannon from R&R Book Tours for allowing me to take part in this tour.

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About the Author

Austin Case received a Master’s Degree from the University of Amsterdam in Western Esotericism and Mysticism. His academic knowledge of the occult and other peripheral phenomena has given him a unique take on fantasy and speculative fiction.

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