The Cambion Journals is a series of six novellas that ends with Rise of the Despoiler; it was just released March 15, 2023 (Raven Tale Publishing). Last August we highlighted the release of Book Three: The Siren Song and overviewed Andrew Paul Weston’s history with Black Gate.  Prior to that, veteran author and Black Gate contributor Joe Bonadonna reviewed Book One: A Hybrid’s Tale review and Book Two: Call of the Cambion.  Learn more about The Cambion Journals by reading the below novella summaries and visiting the author’s website and the series’ website.

“The world-building is sublime. Andrew Weston is a mastermind when it comes to world-building. He intricately lays the foundation in each book like a craftsman. It may be all in the author’s imagination, but on paper, it’s sheer brilliance. I got sucked into the world he created, and I loved every moment.” – N. N. Light – Amazon Vine Voice

The Cambion Journals Series overview:

Cursed to live his life as a Cambion – a demon-human hybrid – Augustus Thorne has spent centuries hunting and exterminating any Incubi and Succubae of the Demondim he can find. Yet, no matter how many he destroys, it will never be enough. Not until he tracks down the scum responsible for attacking his mother: his own spawn-father, Fanon.

Guided by his mother’s diaries, Augustus travels the world in the endless pursuit of revenge. But the more he learns about his heritage, the more he begins to appreciate that personal vendettas may have to be put aside in order to serve the greater good.

What that involves exactly, will be revealed as time passes in. . .

The Cambion Journals by Andrew Paul Weston

#1 A Hybrid’s Tale

Born a Cambion – a half-demon, half-human hybrid – and cursed by a terrible hunger he can barely control, Augustus Thorne spends his long and lonely life hunting and exterminating any Incubi and Succubae he can find. But no matter how many he destroys, he can always make room for one more. Especially if it’s the foul scum who raped his mother; Augustus’ own spawn-father, Fanon.

Guided by his mother’s diaries, Augustus pursues Fanon down through the centuries and around the world, until fate seems to point him toward his heart’s desire. Yet, things are not as they appear, and the revelations Augustus uncovers are mind boggling. For if he wishes to face his father, he must first learn more about his own unique heritage, and the awful circumstances that led to his creation.

The trouble is, doing so might just cost him his humanity.

#2 Call of the Cambion

Cursed to live his life as a Cambion – a half-demon, half-human hybrid – Augustus Thorne has spent centuries hunting the creature responsible for his existence. His own spawn-father, Fanon. Along the way, Augustus has built something of a reputation as a demon slayer. However, his reputation proves to be a two-edged sword, for while it keeps him safe, it prevents Augustus from forming a relationship. Something he yearns for with all his heart. Neither does it protect him from the wrath of the demondim, who view his activities as a threat.

In an effort to overcome these obstacles, Augustus finds it necessary to confront the darker aspects of his Cambion nature. Something, it seems, he must embrace fully. Only then will he be free to make his own choices, and in a position to end his father once and for all.

Alas, such a path results in dire consequences.

#3 The Siren’s Song

Having survived the double-cross planned by Asmodai, the demon king, and Fanon, his own spawn-father, Augustus Thorne is trying to come to terms with his lot in life. Both Fanon and Agamemnon, the king’s assassin, are dead. As are the embers of a burgeoning relationship. The only woman Augustus has ever dared to love has fled, driven from his side in fear of the danger being with him brings.

Unfortunately, he can’t dwell of what might have been. An insidious new threat has emerged, one that exposes humanity to unimaginable peril. Yet fate seems to lend a helping hand when Augustus stumbles upon a mysterious woman, someone who appears to be the only other Cambion he’s ever met. It’s only after they team up to fight the rising tide of terror together that things get complicated.

#4 Web of the Succubus

Augustus Thorne has his work cut out, trying to juggle his recuperating capabilities with a turbulent personal and professional life. On the plus side, things have improved dramatically with Colleen Wolf. But, as he endeavors to cement his relationship with her, events conspire against him.

It transpires there are elements within some of the most powerful human governments who are secretly collaborating with the demon court. Their goal being to turn the majority of mankind into chattel. Brood livestock, whose only purpose is to serve the demondim’s ghastly appetites. Augustus simply can’t allow that to happen. He sets out to frustrate Asmodai’s machinations, unaware that a spider is waiting in the dark.

And it’s ready to pounce.

#5 A Crown In Peril

Devastated by the loss of Colleen and enraged by the treacherous cunning of the demon king, Augustus Thorn decides that he’s suffered enough. Embracing the full might of his Cambion Nature, he takes the fight deep into the heart of demondim territory, wreaking terrible destruction on all who cross his path. Gaining access to forbidden archives, he uncovers ancient texts, hinting at the mantle he must assume to bring the reign of the demon king to an end.

However, Asmodai hasn’t been idle. Learning from his mistakes, he also seeks hidden knowledge, and goes all out to consolidate his position. And the knowledge he uncovers just might contain the vital clue he needs to end the Cambion threat once and for all.

It’s a race against time . . . and there can only be one winner.

#6 Rise of the Despoiler

Augustus Thorne is evolving. Into what, he doesn’t quite understand. Yet! All he does know is that his destiny is somehow linked to that of the Despoiler. A champion that prophesy claims will bring the demon king to his knees, undoing all the harm inflicted upon the three realms since the Fallen came to Earth.

But to ensure such a destiny, Augustus must walk into uncharted territory. Wield stygian forces, the likes of which have never been witnessed before. Court death, as if was his intimate lover. Most disconcerting of all, he must put his personal vendetta aside, and submit to the greater good.

Only then will he become the foretold hero, ending tyranny’s reign forever.

 

Andrew Paul Weston

Andrew Weston is a bestselling author from the UK who now lives on the beautiful Greek island of Kos with a growing family of rescue animals. As the creator of the critically acclaimed IXSeries, the Cambion Journals, and Hell Bound, Hell Hounds, and Hell Gate (novels forming part of the Heroes in Hell universe), Andrew has the privilege of being a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, the British Science Fiction Association, and the British Fantasy Society. He also enjoys writing review articles for Amazing Stories and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

 

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S.E. Lindberg is a Managing Editor at Black Gate, regularly reviewing books and interviewing authors on the topic of “Beauty & Art in Weird-Fantasy Fiction.” He is also the lead moderator of the Goodreads Sword & Sorcery Group and an intern for Tales from the Magician’s Skull magazine. As for crafting stories, he has contributed six entries acrossPerseid Press’s Heroes in Hell and Heroika series, has an entry in Weirdbook Annual #3: Zombies  He independently publishes novels under the banner Dyscrasia Fiction; short stories of Dyscrasia Fiction have appeared in Whetstone, Swords & Sorcery online magazine, Rogue In the House Podcast’s A Book of Blades, DMR’s Terra Incognita, and the 9th issue of Tales From the Magician’s Skull.