Shades - The Demise of Blake Beck

by Anders Rauff-Nielsen

For Blake Beck, it proves to be no ordinary day when he finds a razor blade in the morning mail. As Director of Black Ops within the CAC, Blake hardly expected the morning mail to include a letter from his boss telling him to kill himself.

The razor blade is intended to be Blake's ticket to Shades – the realm beyond life where all souls go to await their celestial paperwork. Following his instincts to save himself, Blake soon finds himself caught in the frontlines of the age-old war between Dæth, the ruler of Shades, and Mr. Ferre, the first undead.

As the uncovering of a mystical medieval manuscript threatens to turn the tide of the war, Blake has no choice but to embark on a fateful hunt to secure the manuscript’s hidden secrets, while his old nemesis Vincenzo looms in the shadows, out to claim the secrets first. Unfortunately, the resurfacing of Blake's one true love, as well as his own sense of right and wrong, threatens to put an end to his endeavors as Blake discovers that he is merely a pawn in the chess game of gods...

Genres: Fantasy

Paperback

First published August 22, 2016

About the author

Anders Rauff-Nielsen is an award-winning Danish game designer and fiction writer who has made an international career working with games, storytelling and world-building since 2006 – a career based on a lifelong passion for stories and games, supported by a master's degree in Philosophy and History.

His previous work as a writer includes three years of writing fiction for the international hit trading card game Chaotic, a how-to book on story-telling and role-playing games, and the groundbreaking augmented reality fantasy adventure Noorhjem. In 2015, he was invited by the Danish Cultural Agency, under the Danish Ministry of Culture, to help investigate the future of digital literature.

Reviews

[Aravind]

This is a fantasy involving undead people and the realm of life after death incorporating some historical facts in the mix. The story itself didn't impress me as I couldn't understand the point of a lot of things said and done in it. The 'Dan Brown'ish elements do not gel properly with the rest of the story. There were some moments where the author showed a lot of promise. I feel that the author could have done a lot better with the premise he created, but has fallen short.

[Liell]

This is a grown-up urban fantasy story with a ton of historical, philosophical and factual depth. The mysteries (some times very real!) of art, architecture and history is masterfully woven into a story of life beyond death. The story is a fast paced and action filled, yet still philosophical and with a focus on historical detail.

[Chris]

Great story!

[Jane Blanchard]

Shades – The Demise of Blake Beck by Anders Rauff-Nielsen is a vampire story with a different twist. It is about the battle between the vampires (the soul eaters) and the hunters (those seeking to kill the vampires). Once a person dies, it lives in Shades until the powers that be let it continue forward or is left to regret life’s errors.

Shades somewhat imitates life. The physical surroundings are similar to earth but different. People continue to “live” their life but in dispair. The is a hierarchy and those at the top ruthlessly control those who are not.

I found it difficult to get into the story. Why does Blake Beck suddenly kill himself? Why does Death take him on as one of the hunters? Some of the questions are answered at the end, but most are not.

If you enjoy a novel approach to old themes, you might like to read this book. For me, it was just an OK read.

[Amy Shannon]

Vampires and Heroes!

Blake Beck, a new kind of hero. I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful story, and its decent into the next realm "Shades". It becomes a mystical battle of the shadows, and it's a unique story. I recently became a fan of vampires and the world of other realms, and this story just spoke to me. Truly enjoyable and a wondrous energetic read!