Review: The Sacred Radiance (Paxton Locke #4) by Daniel Humphreys

Hello Happy Readers!

I’ve got a review for you, but first I have to address something to the author of the book, Daniel Humphreys…

Dan, with all due respect… you sonovabitch!

Dan is my friend, so I can say that. At least he was… after reading this book… hmmm… mumble grumble…

But… I won’t spoil anything for you Happy Readers by telling you WHY he’s an SOB. Read the book and you’ll know.

I will tell you that A LOT of stuff happens in this book, and you need to read it if you are a fan of this series so far.

If you have not read any of the previous books, then you should go back and pick up book #1, Fade, and read it first.

Here’s the blurb & links to The Sacred Radiance on Amazon.

Amazon Blurb

Life is normal for Paxton Locke.

As normal as it can get as a government agent working against the supernatural, that is. But Paxton has a steady job, a house, a life in one place. A life that he’s sharing with Cassie. It’s stability he has never had, a life he could have only dreamed of while ghost hunting in his RV.

But there are still unanswered questions from the attack against Division M, and whispers of a wizard at work. Paxton and his team head to England to investigate, but immediately meet up with resistance and mercenaries for hire out for blood.

Soon Paxton and his team realize ancient wizard Aleister Knight is gathering items for an insane, destructive ritual deeply tied into the history of England. He plans to bring England to all its formal glory, and the only way to stop him is to descend into the bowels of his island fortress.

Pax must stop the ritual, even if his angelic observer is whispering in his ear for him to turn back. To let it happen will be catastrophic, and Pax can’t stand aside for it. He can never stand aside and let evil happen.

Will Paxton and Division M defeat Aleister Knight? And how high of a price will Pax pay to do it?

My Review

I give this installment of the Paxton Locke series a 4 out of 5 star rating.

As usual, the story and character development are top notch. The world building is complex. There are so many more interesting details to know about in this underworld of magic that is overlaid on the top of ours that are just waiting to be revealed. It almost feels like I was being pushed through a tour of the biggest library on the planet and wan’t allowed to stop and peruse the titles on any of the spines! That’s one of the reasons I’m holding back that 5th star… dangling threads! There’s so much cool stuff in here and I wanna know about it, dad-gummit!

The series is still split between two major plot threads… The Void and Aleister Knight. Since there’s been a gap in time between my reading the last book and this one, I don’t remember if the character focus was split as much last time. Paxton does not get as much attention in this installment. Instead, there are other focus characters like the Division M agents and Roxanne the ghost-girl who take up a good bit of word count. Those parts are great, but it also makes the portions with Paxton in it seem a bit rushed.

Which brings me to the other reason I’m holding back the 5th star…

I’ve gotten to where I hate cliffhangers. You get a major one in this book. I know it’s a series — you have to expect that to a certain extent in a series — but this one is especially hangy and cliffy.

But 4 stars are well deserved. The build up is intriguing, and once the action starts, it is pretty much non-stop. I can’t wait to read the next one.

Hey, Dan! You still need some beta readers? Are you done yet?

Oh, that’s it, Happy Readers! Go get a copy and enjoy!

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