As a life long gamer, many spent playing in the settings created by Lovecraft and Call of Cthulhu, the first thing that caught my eye was the cover of The Old Man’s Request. The cover art captured the feel and spirit of those worlds instantly and I knew I was going to be in for a treat with this story.

The characters are well thought out and guided by Joab’s deft hand with physical descriptions, speech nuances, and behavioral quirks they were brought to life quickly in my mind. Joab’s attention to detail was not limited to the core characters, but their world as well. It is very easy to see that Joab researched the era and worked in little things here and there to give the reader a sample of life in that time.

The pace and plot of the story lends itself to a quick read, but not an unfulfilling one and definitely leaves you wanting more once the last page arrives. To keep this review spoiler free, I will just say that playing the “I know what will happen next” game may give you the right answer on what the climax of the first book is, but I missed on my guess and was happy that I did.

I am very pleased with this book and look forward to the next part in the trilogy.