Michael W. Garza's Children of the Mark was published by Severed Press in March 2015.
Information about Michael W. Garza:
Michael W. Garza often finds himself wondering where his inspiration will come from next and in what form his imagination will bring it to life. The outcomes regularly surprise him and it's always his ambition to amaze those curious enough to follow him and take in those results. He encourages readers to peek at his latest work as well as the material he's published in the past. He sincerely hopes that everyone will find something that astonishes, surprises, or simply scares the heck out of you.
Click here to visit the author's official website.
Information about Children of the Mark:
AJ Scott is a typical teenager. The only thing he wants to do is survive high school. Clair Anderson and Dougie Edwards have been his friends since the third grade. The teens stumble across a bizarre ritual and their night of adventure quickly turns to panic as they witness the culmination of the Cult of the Elder's attempt to pull a monstrous deity from the netherworld into our world. A hasty escape leaves the teens terrified and AJ marred from the event. His knew found malady proves to be much more than a simple mark and the trio are pulled into a world of deceit, monsters, and old fashioned horror.
A REVIEW OF MICHAEL W. GARZA'S CHILDREN OF THE MARK
Because I previously read Michael W. Garza's The Last Infection and found it entertaining, I was interested in taking a look at Children of the Mark. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, because it was a young adult horror novel, but it turned out to be an entertaining and relatively fast read with a bit of mystery elements.
Children of the Mark is an interesting young adult horror novel, because it's a combination of several elements found in the classic Hardy Boys mysteries and the novels and stories written by H. P. Lovecraft, Carolyn Keene and Enid Blyton. The author has created a fascinatingly Nancy Drewish kind of a story with Lovecraftian horror elements for younger readers. This extraordinary combination works well and offers good entertainment to young adults.
Here's information about the story:
AJ Scott, Clair Anderson and Dougie Edwards have sneaked into a warehouse and witness a strange ritual. They see how hooded figures try to summon a horrifying being to our world. They make a hasty escape, but something happens to AJ and one of his eyes turns milky. Soon AJ, Clair and Dougie find out that they've witnessed the gathering of a cult - the Cult of the Elder - whose members seek the power to rule over the world at the left hand of the Elder god of the netherworld, NasNoroth...
Michael W. Garza clearly seems to love good old-fashioned young adult detective and mystery stories, because there's something in this novel that reminds of the classic stories written for children and young adults. The only difference is that in those classic stories the authors never wrote about cults, occult happenings and elder gods.
The author writes well about the protagonists (AJ, Clair and Dougie) and what they do. It was enjoyable to read about their adventures and how they solved problems. They were quite resourceful teenagers and knew how to search for information and figure things out.
I think it's good that the author also writes about AJ's life in general, because many readers will be able to identify themselves with him. For example, the scene in which AJ helps Clair, who has problems with another boy, is a well written scene.
Mrs. Applebottom is an intriguing minor character, because she owns a bookstore. She helps AJ, Clair and Dougie and tells them about many things related to the Elder gods, because she has particular interest in them.
It was especially interesting to read about what AJ saw after his eye had become milky. He was able to see things that others couldn't see. He found out that he has a mark and he has opened himself up to the netherworld, and this has enabled him to see things that he wouldn't normally see.
I think that all young adult readers who are interested in reading about occult happenings and elder gods will love this novel, because it's fascinating to read about what's going on and what kind of monsters AJ sees. The author has created a good atmosphere that will keep readers glued to the story.
Because I'm a big fan Lovecraftian weird fiction and horror, it was intriguing for me to read about Lovecraftian elements in young adult format. In my opinion Michael W. Garza has managed to convert Lovecraftian elements surprisingly successfully to young adult format, because he pays attention to what young adult readers expect from their horror stories and what they want to read about in their stories. He seems to understand the needs of his target audience and knows how to write to young adults, which is nice, because not all horror authors are capable of writing fluent young adult fiction.
It's possible that older readers who are familiar with Lovecraftian elements may wonder if there are any tentacles in this novel, because tentacles are often considered to be an essential part of Lovecraftian horror fiction. I can reveal to these readers that there are tentacles in this novel, but I won't reveal more about this subject.
Children of the Mark is an old-fashioned yet modern horror novel that will appeal to young adults readers who love horror stories with a dash of mystery elements. Because Children of the Mark is a thrilling and entertaining novel that's pure entertainment from start to finish, it may also appeal to older readers who are interested in reading young adult horror.
My final words are:
This novel is good horror entertainment for young adult readers!