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The Lebo Coven
by Stephen Mark Rainey
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Five Star (2004-07-09)
ISBN: 1594142270
EAN: 9781594142277
Dewy Decimal #: 813.6
Hardcover: 275 pages
Edition: 1st
SKU: 051708027
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: ...ex library book in fair or better good condition. usual library markings.....No Underlining or Highlighting...
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Barry Riggs returns to his hometown in search of his brother, Matt, who has mysteriously disappeared. His house has been ransacked - and branded by the strange word "LEBO," painted in blood on the bedroom wall. Despite having mixed feelings about his brother, Barry decides to do some detective work of his own. Along the way, Barry meets a young woman named Jennifer Brand, whom he had once treated with contempt because she suffered from a repulsive, crippling affliction. After some awkward moments, the two become friends, and together they begin to unravel the mystery. Stephen Mark Rainey is well known as editor of the acclaimed Deathrealm magazine, which ran from 1987 to 1997 and won numerous best magazine awards. Currently a resident of Greensboro, North Carolina, Mark lived in Chicago for several years during the 1980s and still considers the Windy City his second home. (20021201)
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Customer Reviews
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Dark Occult Fiction
Rating  (4)
Date: 2006-10-13
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This Stephen Mark Rainey novel is certainly not lacking in atmosphere. Rainey expertly creates a sort of claustrophobic, helpless feel in this here tale of a man who is revisiting his hometown only to find his brother's house ransacked and unoccupied. Strange messages, written in blood appear on the walls, certain people in the town seem a bit...weird. That is about all you should know before going into this.
The only thing that I found a bit annoying was the dialougue from one of the characters who, to me, overexplained things and sounded a bit too much like an encyclopedia. That minor distraction did not ruin the read, but kept it from being in the realm of excellence, instead making it mearly a "very good" read.
I reccomend this book to anyone who is into dark, occult horror fiction. The writing is smooth for the most part and the main characters come off as believeable. The atmosphere and suspense will not let you down, either.
Just my 2 cents...
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The LEBO Coven
Rating (4)
Date: 2006-09-12
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Stephen Mark Rainey is the real deal. The darkness in his work is rivaled only by its heart and soul, which makes the Lovecraftian vibes all the more interesting and refreshing. Rainey has a voice all his own and it pulls you in. It takes hold. It speaks to the spirit. It has power. The characters live, breathe, feel. His soul has a voice in his fiction, which is unmistakable and agreeable. The narrative angles are human and often tragic--as horror of the best vintage is.
Though The LEBO Coven is not without its conventions, the writing tackles them from a fresh angle and does it with admirable energy. The occult mechanics of the story engine are heavy at times, but do not bog down the momentum. The action is well-done, and the twists and jarring surprises will keep you turning the pages to the end.
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Tense, Occult action
Rating  (5)
Date: 2005-12-20
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Barry Riggs has been away from Aiken Mill Virginia for a very long time. He and his brother have never gotten along, and with the deaths of his parents, brother Matt inherited the family home, so until now there was nothing to draw Barry back.
Now Matt is missing, the home has been ransacked, and everyone from Matt's under-age girlfriend to the local Sheriff would like to know just what happened in that house, and why. It is to this scene that Barry returns, having lost a high-paying commercial artist's position when his company folded. Hearing of the events in Aiken Mill, he has taken the time to come home and try to locate his brother, or at least to find out what happened.
For Barry, Aiken Mill is filled with memories, and most of the good ones have moved away. He renews his acquaintance with a girl he made fun of for a childhood disease, who has grown up to be quite attractive, and who remembers him very well, the local bully, and an old friend who has become consumed with his own demon of alcohol, and maybe something more.
In the bedroom of the family house - Matt's house - the word LEBO has been written on the wall in what turns out to be cow's blood. This is the only real clue to Barry's brother's disappearance - this and a mysterious young man named Ren, who Barry learns had been renting a room from Matthew before the disappearance, and who was rumored to have been into "Satanism."
No one in Aiken Mill is who, or what they seem. The Sheriff is not as stupid as he lets on, Barry's drunken friend has a lot more secrets than he's letting on, the mysterious Ren takes on sinister overtones, and even Jennifer, the girl he finds he is falling in love with, turns out to be into Magick and spiritualism in ways that make him Barry nervous.
The home he grew up in becomes a psychic battleground, and is linked to an ancient cemetery. Things Barry never would have believed in become commonplace as people he never would have believed in, or trusted, become his greatest allies.
Something awful is about to happen in Aiken Mill, and it's up to Barry, Jennifer, and whatever allies and forces they can draw together to put a stop to it.
This is a very traditional horror novel. The writing is smooth, the characters are believable, and the action is swift and lethal. Stephen Mark Rainey takes the time to develop and explain some occult background, but this does not detract from the quick pace and straightforward style of the novel. The Lebo Coven is a strong, very entertaining work. Highly recommended.
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a thrilling horror story full of the paranormal
Rating (4)
Date: 2004-10-22
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques
If readers are looking for a chilling horror thriller, with strong paranormal elements, then The Lebo Coven by Stephen Mark Rainey will satisfy.
Barry Riggs has returned home after ten years when he finds out his brother, his only living relative, has vanished. He and Matt, his brother, have many years of animosity and bad blood between them, but Barry vows to put that aside while he tries to figure out what happened. Shortly after getting home, Barry bumps into an old acquaintance, Jennifer Brand, who as a child had suffered from spina bifida, and to whom Barry had been horribly cruel. She is now apparently cured and a stunningly attractive young woman, and feelings grow between them.
Barry and Jennifer's investigating, their biggest clue being "Lebo" written in blood on the wall, turns up frightening ties between Matt and a black magick coven leader, Ren, who wants an ancient evil power for himself. Jennifer is a student of magick as well, though not black magick, and must use her powers to stop Ren and his coven before they can succeed in their plans. What they find is that Matt, and now Jennifer and Barry, may play an unwilling part, a part in which someone will probably die. Which side will win the ultimate battle? And will the sacrifices made be enough to stop this evil from ever taking form again?
This story is a chilling thriller, bound to keep readers on the edges of their seats, gasping in shock many times over. The descriptions of the destruction to Matt's house and of the rituals Ren uses are vivid, making readers shiver in revulsion and disgust at the defilement. Jennifer's magick is also well detailed, making the reader see what she is doing and creating to protect them. The final climactic battle scene is brilliantly done, putting one right in the center of the action, feeling the brutalities performed on Ren's victims.
The relationships between the characters are well developed as well. One can feel and even understand why the relationship between Barry and Matt has always been so tense. They have grown much since then however, and it can be felt how much they've changed and how that will affect their new growing relationship. Jennifer is depicted as a complex young woman, who has her faults and flaws, but also has her strengths. The relationship that develops between she and Barry is beautiful and strong, built on what would not have been thought to be common ground when they were younger.
If readers are looking for a compelling read, that will entice them in, making them eager to see how the story will end, then read this one. It's well written, with a strong plot and stronger characters. It is sure to tempt even the most particular of horror aficionados. The Lebo Coven is well worth the time to read it.
© Kelley A. Hartsell, September 2004. All rights reserved.
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Formulaic but entertaining
Rating (4)
Date: 2004-08-23
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
The Lebo Coven has many of the stereotypical horror elements... spooky events in a small town, sympathetic protagonists, and a purely evil villain...but Rainey's writing is fun to read and often compelling. I identified with the skepticism of Barry, the main character, as events slowly unfold, finally convincing him of the realtity of supernatural forces. The question of what has happened to Matt, his brother, leads to some unexpected and satisfying twists. The Lebo Coven has the quality of a decent horror movie...long on suspense but not on gore. In fact, this book has alot more suspense and mystery than gross-out horror, which is good if you're looking for enjoyable characters in a creepy setting without alot of blood and guts (except for one very disgusting murder scene).
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