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The Midnight Ground
As middleman to the magical community at large, Adrian Hartworth never sticks around. His nomadic lifestyle keeps him a step ahead of friends, enemies, and all too often, law enforcement. Then he saves Abby Simmons and her grandfather, only to find himself unofficially adopted into their unlucky family. Years of experience tell him that the cancer killing Abby is anything but natural. His instincts say flee.
Driven by the guilt of a past filled with bad choices, Hartworth delves into Abby’s misfortunes and the town’s dark past. What he discovers lands him at the heart of a century-old battle against an evil he knows he cannot defeat. The man who never sticks around will face a choice: take a stand against a power that will crush him, or a leave a young girl to die and damn thousands in the process.
"A broken hero, a cursed town, and impossible odds, along with top-notch world-building and gripping prose. Eric Dontigney knocks it out of the park, and I can't wait to see where he goes with this series."
- Julie Frost, author of PACK DYNAMICS
Driven by the guilt of a past filled with bad choices, Hartworth delves into Abby’s misfortunes and the town’s dark past. What he discovers lands him at the heart of a century-old battle against an evil he knows he cannot defeat. The man who never sticks around will face a choice: take a stand against a power that will crush him, or a leave a young girl to die and damn thousands in the process.
"A broken hero, a cursed town, and impossible odds, along with top-notch world-building and gripping prose. Eric Dontigney knocks it out of the park, and I can't wait to see where he goes with this series."
- Julie Frost, author of PACK DYNAMICS
Kindle Edition
Published December 30, 2018
About the author
Eric Dontigney
17 books16 followersRaised in Western New York, Eric Dontigney has lived in New Mexico, Florida, Wisconsin, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. He currently resides near Dayton, OH. He is a fan of photo-realism paintings, coffee and well-made food. He has a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 2, 2020
I could have enjoyed this.
I would have enjoyed this book more without the sideswiped at "right-wing extremism" and that rural people are some sort of disgusting hicks. I get it was about character building, yada yada but in the Current Year I'm sick of it. Just stop. Hint to author- don't alienate half of your readership.
I would have enjoyed this book more without the sideswiped at "right-wing extremism" and that rural people are some sort of disgusting hicks. I get it was about character building, yada yada but in the Current Year I'm sick of it. Just stop. Hint to author- don't alienate half of your readership.
November 28, 2020
By the time I realized this was exactly the genre of fiction I avoid like the plague (horror/demons/possession/etc), it was too late: I was hooked on the story! A page-turner. I don't believe in demons, possession, etc., so all that stuff ran off me like water off a duck's back, but if you also don't believe in that stuff as long as the sun is in the sky but once it gets dark then you're not so sure, then perhaps this isn't for you.
There's a touch of humour in the dialogue which smoothed the reading for me. The characters were mostly believable (I didn't really get the Sheriff character, or what happened to him). I was hoping for more from or about Lil. But perhaps that's reserved for a future book as I see that this is book 1 in what seems to be a series starring Adrian Hartworth.
Hm. Think I'll give book 2 a try. This genre is definitely not my cup of tea (the last thing in this genre I read/saw was the movie "Omen" when my friend persuaded me to go and see it).
Although it deals with evil and mentions God, angels, and the sanctity of human life, it's not what I'd call a Christian book and I wouldn't recommend it to a Christian. Or to anyone under 18.
I'll definitely check out other books by this author. Hopefully, they're not all in this genre.
There's a touch of humour in the dialogue which smoothed the reading for me. The characters were mostly believable (I didn't really get the Sheriff character, or what happened to him). I was hoping for more from or about Lil. But perhaps that's reserved for a future book as I see that this is book 1 in what seems to be a series starring Adrian Hartworth.
Hm. Think I'll give book 2 a try. This genre is definitely not my cup of tea (the last thing in this genre I read/saw was the movie "Omen" when my friend persuaded me to go and see it).
Although it deals with evil and mentions God, angels, and the sanctity of human life, it's not what I'd call a Christian book and I wouldn't recommend it to a Christian. Or to anyone under 18.
I'll definitely check out other books by this author. Hopefully, they're not all in this genre.
December 31, 2018
I liked this book a lot. It's a paranormal mystery, which is not my usual reading genre, but it felt like a thriller with some intriguing extras. It's fairly long, so I had to stop occasionally to eat or sleep, but it was hard to put down even for five minutes. The writing style reminds me of Stephen King, in that there's a lot of detail, in both description and character development, but every word is fascinating. I never wanted to skip over anything. I got to know the main character very well, and most of the other characters, too.
The story is dark and scary, but the thing that kept me from sinking into the swamp of despair was the generous sprinkling of humor. And the cat. I fell in love with the cat at first sight and kept looking for it to return. I'm not a patient reader. I had already composed a note to the author asking what happened to it, when it finally reappeared. Of course, it's not just a cat.
The story is dark and scary, but the thing that kept me from sinking into the swamp of despair was the generous sprinkling of humor. And the cat. I fell in love with the cat at first sight and kept looking for it to return. I'm not a patient reader. I had already composed a note to the author asking what happened to it, when it finally reappeared. Of course, it's not just a cat.
November 4, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. It is the first book in a few years that I haven't put aside for something else, and the first book among those that I enjoyed nearly everything about. . Good job,Mr. Dontigney - if you can hold my attention you more than deserve the good review...
Midnight Ground is a quick but compelling read. It feels like a more mature Dresden novel, notably (and thankfully) missing are the unnecessarily convoluted plot twists in the last 30 pages that seem to crop up in most books these days... There are tons of tantalizing hints of his past, and a few ominous clues about what's coming up, which is necessary, but these hints/clues do not overwhelm the main story, which is something many authors cannot handle very deftly. Well done here though. I want more. Very promising debut of this character, I hope there are many more sequels to devour. Will now be eagerly exploring the author's other works.
Midnight Ground is a quick but compelling read. It feels like a more mature Dresden novel, notably (and thankfully) missing are the unnecessarily convoluted plot twists in the last 30 pages that seem to crop up in most books these days... There are tons of tantalizing hints of his past, and a few ominous clues about what's coming up, which is necessary, but these hints/clues do not overwhelm the main story, which is something many authors cannot handle very deftly. Well done here though. I want more. Very promising debut of this character, I hope there are many more sequels to devour. Will now be eagerly exploring the author's other works.
November 10, 2020
Pretty goodz don't preach at me about your polotics though
I could really do without the politics and the "hicks," commentary. Far right news station? Seriously. I'm actually sick of it and almost stopped reading right there. I will continue reading (currently on chapter 13) and update this review if the political "commentary" becomes bearable or not. I don't need politicization and propaganda of everything. I was born with it in a Sociailist country that I was born in. Thankfully in this country there are still other choices if it comes to books. No choices if it comes to other entertainment but books are still available with no propaganda in it. Basically if the author tries to shove more of it down my throat I will put it down no matyer how interesting it is and read something of the same or better quality wihout the needles politicization and SJW agenda.
I could really do without the politics and the "hicks," commentary. Far right news station? Seriously. I'm actually sick of it and almost stopped reading right there. I will continue reading (currently on chapter 13) and update this review if the political "commentary" becomes bearable or not. I don't need politicization and propaganda of everything. I was born with it in a Sociailist country that I was born in. Thankfully in this country there are still other choices if it comes to books. No choices if it comes to other entertainment but books are still available with no propaganda in it. Basically if the author tries to shove more of it down my throat I will put it down no matyer how interesting it is and read something of the same or better quality wihout the needles politicization and SJW agenda.
January 6, 2021
This is a good one. Can't wait for more.
I couldn't put this book down and finished it in under a day. Great story here, good characters with lots of interesting back stories that can get filled out in future novels. Really good world-building, too.
It's a different spin on the urban magic genre (there is definitely some Harry Dresden influence in there). Its going to be interesting to see where the author takes these stories. Plenty of opportunities for short story collections, too.
I couldn't put this book down and finished it in under a day. Great story here, good characters with lots of interesting back stories that can get filled out in future novels. Really good world-building, too.
It's a different spin on the urban magic genre (there is definitely some Harry Dresden influence in there). Its going to be interesting to see where the author takes these stories. Plenty of opportunities for short story collections, too.
August 27, 2021
Strong start, loses itself a bit in the middle.
The character set-up was interesting and brief, which I like. But by the middle of the book, there were long exposition paragraphs that went for way too many pages. At that point, you already had a feel about what was going on and the scary atmosphere lost its bite.
Apparently, ethereal demonic entities like watching right-wing news to the point of throwing a tantrum if you change the channel. I didn't get that, how come an entity that is older than civilization has a preference for news? If that bit was explained, I missed it.
The character set-up was interesting and brief, which I like. But by the middle of the book, there were long exposition paragraphs that went for way too many pages. At that point, you already had a feel about what was going on and the scary atmosphere lost its bite.
Apparently, ethereal demonic entities like watching right-wing news to the point of throwing a tantrum if you change the channel. I didn't get that, how come an entity that is older than civilization has a preference for news? If that bit was explained, I missed it.
January 7, 2019
Eric's writing really draws the reader of his works in and places them in the realm of the characters. This is the second book I have had the pleasure to read, and I look forward to reading more. The first chapter immediately captured my attention and before I knew it I was a few chapters in. The story line flows so smoothly along the timeline that one can truly feel involved in the story. I cannot wait to read more stories.
November 15, 2020
The narrative begs the question, if humans have moral or political and economical reasons to hide magic, what reasons do demons and other supernatural entities have? The causes given in the story are humane and something the good side might concern itself with, but why should evil bother? Mr. Dontigney care to explain?
November 2, 2020
Wow - A+
Excellent writing, character building, and story line.
Nice system of magic and world building that did an excellent job of keeping my interest, in a nice twist on urban fantasy.
Compares favorably to Dresden Files, and very realistic.
Excellent writing, character building, and story line.
Nice system of magic and world building that did an excellent job of keeping my interest, in a nice twist on urban fantasy.
Compares favorably to Dresden Files, and very realistic.
November 9, 2020
A good read
Solid main character and a great job of navigating the forces evil in their many probably possible manifestations. Many threads of curiosity about backstory and future story were created.
Solid main character and a great job of navigating the forces evil in their many probably possible manifestations. Many threads of curiosity about backstory and future story were created.
February 16, 2021
Well crafted story
Life kept getting in the way or I would have devoured this far faster than I did. This was a very intriguing paranormal mystery. I was happy to see different practices referenced. I highly recommend this for a good read.
Life kept getting in the way or I would have devoured this far faster than I did. This was a very intriguing paranormal mystery. I was happy to see different practices referenced. I highly recommend this for a good read.
December 4, 2020
Nicely complex
An intriguing story leaving me wanting more. Lots of unexpected depth and complications kept the tale moving along. Looking forward to the next book.
An intriguing story leaving me wanting more. Lots of unexpected depth and complications kept the tale moving along. Looking forward to the next book.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews