The Hat Man Shadow Ward Review
In a world where angels, demons, and gods fight over the possession of mortal souls, two conflicted pawns are ensnared in a cruel game. The enigmatic seer Estella finds herself thrown together with Count Mikhail, a dogmatic Templar dedicated to subjugating her kind. But when a corrupted cardinal and puppet king begin a systematic genocide of her people, the two become In a world where angels, demons, and gods fight over the possession of mortal souls, two conflicted pawns are ensnared in a cruel game.
The enigmatic seer Estella finds herself thrown together with Count Mikhail, a dogmatic Templar dedicated to subjugating her kind. But when a corrupted cardinal and puppet king begin a systematic genocide of her people, the two become unlikely allies.Taking humanity back to their primordial beliefs and fears, Estella confronts Mikhail’s faith by revealing the true horror of the lucrative trade in human souls. All organized religions are shops orchestrated to consume mankind. Every deity, religion, and spiritual guide has been corrupted, and each claims to have the monopoly on truth and salvation.In a perilous game where the truth is distorted and meddling ancient deities converge to partake of the unseen battle, Estella unwittingly finds herself hunted by Lucifer.
Traversing the edge of hell’s precipice, Estella and Mikhail are reduced to mere instruments. Their only means to overcome is through courting the Threefold Death, the ancient ritual of apotheosis—of man becoming God.The Shadow Crucible is a gripping epic set in medieval England where the struggle for redemption is crushed by the powers of evil. Tamara Lakomy is a new and compelling voice in the world of dark fantasy. I received a review copy of The Shadow Crucible in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank T.M.
A couple of nights ago I finished reading the new book from Heidi Hollis, The Hat Man: The True Story of Evil Encounters.This is a fascinating book that deserves to be read by students of various areas of research, including UFOs, hauntings, alien abductions, demonology, other realms of existence, the afterlife, and much more, too, including the Men in Black – the latter being an issue I. An episode of the 1985 Twilight Zone series titled 'The Shadow Man' dealt with a teenage boy who had a shadow person living under his bed. The episode portrayed the shadow man as fitting the 'hat man' appearance commonly ascribed to shadow people and notably added to the shadow people mythology that shadow people can kill human beings but will.
Lakomy and Select Books Inc. For this opportunity.This novel was influenced by the scriptures found within the Nag Hammadi scrolls which were written sometime between the 2nd and 3rd-century A.D. And resurfaced about 70-years-ago. Lakomy's stunning debut is a complex adult fantasy epic set mainly in an alternative medieval London that reeks shadowy imagery and environments reminiscent of I received a review copy of The Shadow Crucible in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank T.M. Lakomy and Select Books Inc.
For this opportunity.This novel was influenced by the scriptures found within the Nag Hammadi scrolls which were written sometime between the 2nd and 3rd-century A.D. And resurfaced about 70-years-ago.
Lakomy's stunning debut is a complex adult fantasy epic set mainly in an alternative medieval London that reeks shadowy imagery and environments reminiscent of Penny Dreadful. For the majority, this narrative follows two key players who are pawns in a greater game of which they do not yet comprehend. Firstly, the orphan protecting, demon tormented seer, Estella; who has been blessed with the gift of sight, and can often unwillingly see into Heaven itself. Secondly, Count Mikhael, a mind-reading Templar who enforces religious viewpoints and actions even though he also sees the spirits and grotesque beings that frequent beneath the radars of most individuals existence.This story is unlike anything I have ever read before but unintentionally mixes a large amount of my favourite book-reading elements.
My most accurate analysis would be as follows: Stunning complex historical fantasy, with the imagery and mythology of the world's greatest Epics, the gritty violence and tortuous nature of the most brutal grimdark, and the picturesque language and poetic prose that I envisage Oscar Wilde would have been proud of.It commences at a steady pace for the first few chapters heightening an intense, dark, claustrophobic atmosphere. During these scenes, a despondent demon-littered London is presented, as is the initial meeting between Estella and Mikhael. Following the introductions, the world-building is then heightened, projecting the larger environment including the details of the monarchy and the often corrupt politics. There is a lot of corruption here and at the same time, Paradise Lost-esque angels and demons are all around.
I loved the slow-burning to intense nature of the build up. By page 80 I was bewitched and under Lakomy's hypnotic spell.Many religious and mythological heavyweights play an important part in this narrative. Including, but not restricted to Lucifer, Christ, Samuel, Merlin, just to name a few. I analysed that some traditional fantasy readers may not enjoy reading about entities they are familiar with as perhaps they like to lose themselves in a new or alien world. This wasn't an issue for me as most fantasy book Gods and religions are closely based on the stories from our world anyway just with alternate or obscure names.In addition to the two unfortunate aforementioned pawns in the chess match of the Gods, the side characters are just as deep and complex.
Some I wished we could have seen more of but perhaps limited 'screen-time' made them so intriguing. My favourites to read about were fallen angel Antariel who is actually based on a real-life personal demon as well as the horrid, grotesque, sadistic Cardinal Pious who instructs torturers to cut out innocent individual's eyes, and even the ambivalent Lucifer.This tale is not as full-throttle action based as some modern fantasy, however; when these scenes are unleashed it truly is edge-of-the-seat-I-think-my-hat-might-fall-off-action. These scenes might actually leave casual readers confused and dizzy but they are extreme emotion heightening segments. Floating between Earth and Heaven and Hell is a veil known as the Twilit world where the Elder God's live, who no longer wish to battle against petty Gods and Lords.
The world here is dream-like, not fully created reflecting the fact God rested on the 7th-day. The poetry, characters, and tone here are unique compared to what is used to describe the war between humans and the religious entities. The language and writing are exquisite and beautiful which led me to the Epic's comparisons. It's intriguing and it's never obvious what the next chapter will present. Politics?To certain people, this debut could appear as gnostic heresy.
If you are highly sensitive or super religious then do not read this. Throughout, the characters are stunning, deep, and complex. To the extent where out of Jesus, Lucifer, and The Blind God- it is arguable who is the most righteous and who is ultimately utter evil.
Undertones and subtext relate to blind faith, salvation, religious propaganda and how the winners write the histories that follow.The world building is brilliant especially in London and in Twilit. Often the set-pieces are utterly unique and stunning. The final sequence is reminiscent of the horrors presented within Dante's Inferno.
The dream-like sequences. Also the above-mentioned scenes of torture and sexual debauchery from the cardinal. The latter reminded me of Glotka from The First Law but without any of the awkward charm.
The finale is stunning and unique as well as pretty upsetting. It is ultimately complete and highly poetic. This is the first book in a proposed trilogy and the culmination is perfect for what may happen next. I imagine the sequel will be 25 years later. The sides will be set. Angels have turned their backs on God, religious people have seen more than they should, the pieces on the chessboard are aligned and it may equal a world destroying confrontation. The story seems brilliantly well researched.
I would have liked to have seen more of Estella's magical potential as her capabilities seem terrifying which leads to her being sought by almost all (angels, demons, Templars. All but Jesus hmmm).
Estella is the strongest female protagonist I've read about in a long time which is heightened in this setting where to the religious, women were often seen as less than dirt. Brilliant book. Dark and beautiful. Some readers who wish to utterly lose themselves in a unique, different fantasy world may not like it though as a lot of what happens here is perhaps scarily believable and familiar. To anyone who follows my reviews, you know I've read almost all the top debuts this year. Well, for me, this is tied first place with McDonald's - Blackwing which speaks volumes. James Tivendale.
'Mortals are weak and prone to mistakes; do not measure us by our worst, but rather by our virtue. In a world where we have many reasons to be evil, some choose goodness.' Shadow Crucible is such a strong debut novel!
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I'm not even sure what I could compare this to. It's almost like a historical fiction with fantastical and paranormal elements thrown in.There still tends to be the stigma surrounding independently published books. This book blows that stigma out of the water.
I tend to keep my 'Mortals are weak and prone to mistakes; do not measure us by our worst, but rather by our virtue. In a world where we have many reasons to be evil, some choose goodness.'
Shadow Crucible is such a strong debut novel! I'm not even sure what I could compare this to.
It's almost like a historical fiction with fantastical and paranormal elements thrown in.There still tends to be the stigma surrounding independently published books. This book blows that stigma out of the water. I tend to keep my reviews spoiler free, so I'll try and keep this as vague as possible. We follow a few characters in the book, 2 more so than the others, and it's set in the medieval gothic era of London.
The 2 main characters of the book are Count Mikhail, a Knights Templar, and Estella, a seer. As you can probably tell, these 2 characters couldn't be much different. While I really enjoyed them, I think I might have enjoyed some of the side characters more.
Mainly Antariel, but stating the reasons would be major spoilers. We also get a really great cast of angels and demons, which is what grabbed my attention with this book in the first place. And Lakomy sure gave us some major players! We've got Lucifer, Samael, I think Jesus makes an appearance, and some of the Archangels. My favorite scenes were, by far, when any of these angels or demons made an appearance.
You just knew something was going to go down!Luckily, there wasn't much need for world-building. Some like it, but I'm picky on my world-building, so it's nice when it's pretty much already done for us. But what I did love was her ability to set scenes up.
She's able to make our surroundings vivid without giving us 2 pages of extensive and useless descriptions. Which seems to be something that some authors, understandably, find kind of tough. This definitely has a dark feel to it too, which I absolutely loved!
This is pretty much what I pictured throughout the book:I did have a few problems with the book, though. It obviously wasn't anything that ruined the novel for me, or my enjoyment, but I do feel that they're things worth addressing. Some of the action scenes tended to happen really quickly without much of a segue from it being a calm setting into the action. It wasn't something that happened often, but I did have to go back and reread a few scenes. The other thing was actually part of what I liked.
At the time I got access to these tutorials I knew absolutely nothing about tweaking UE3 cfgs and after following what’s written in them I managed to get decent results on my first try.Finished Configs:How to use it:1.Open file explorer and go here: C:UsersYourUserNameDocumentsMy GamesUnrealEngine3ShooterGameConfig2. Dirty bomb config.
I didn't really connect as well with the main characters as much as I did with the side characters. So I look at that one as a strength and a weakness. But I also tend to gravitate more towards side characters in every story I read, so take that for what it's worth.All in all, I was extremely happy that I picked this book up! It had so many elements that I really enjoyed. If her debut novel is this strong then I can't wait to see her future works as she grows as a writer!
Definitely recommend for anyone who loves a real life setting with some paranormal and fantasy twists to it.
When you start the game you become trapped in the nightmare world of the Hat Man. To escape you must find all the clues with instructions on how to stay alive, while not letting him catch you. This single player survival horror game has a creepy environment, chilling sound, an unnerving storyline, and an unrelenting monster that all add up to a hair-raising experience.
The game was designed for those who enjoy genuine terror. With a combination of exploration and vulnerability, the game is a symphony celebrating the masochistic joy of fear.The Hat Man is a tall, dark character that is part of a group called the shadow people. These shadow people have been seen all over the world. It is believed by some that the Hat Man comes to visit you to collect your soul.With a creative base of familiar mechanics, The Hat Man: Shadow Ward adds a dynamic level generator for endless sets of rooms and the layout is different every time you play it.
In fact, once you go far enough and try to backtrack, the floor plan will have changed. This is just another part of the surreal, unnatural experience.To get the full effect, play The Hat Man: Shadow Ward with the lights out and the headphones on. And maybe one of those heart restarter boxes nearby just in case.