Beckoned by Ronald Scala

The ones beckoned by a demon become tainted with bloodlust, destined to kill friends, lovers, children, and strangers, satisfying the demon’s taste for blood until the Beckoned One is discovered and killed.

So it has been since the beginning.

Nick Konasik is a self-proclaimed drunk who failed graduate school and his marriage. He returns to Clarion, the home of his alma mater, where he met his ex-wife, Margot. While there, he has dark visions that leave him with a sense of dread.

Margot also has visions, leading to the distance in their relationship and ultimately their divorce. Margot is obsessed with a barn near Clarion containing ritualistic animal sacrifices.

Margot, an anthropologist, learns of the Native American demon, the Ouintan-Mantua, that beckons tribe members to turn against their families and ultimately against society. She feels that both she and Nick encountered the demon in the barn, and have been called to Clarion to do its business, to kill or be killed.

When Margot asks Nick to attend Clarion’s Autumn Leaf Festival, Nick feels he’s been beckoned to discover something horrible, something evil.


Once you get past Scala’s overkill explanations of anthropology and historical significance, the story of love destroyed by evil is poignant and all too real to anyone who wonders “what might’ve been.” Nick is flawed, but he is human. His love for his ex-wife and his daughter is tangible throughout, despite the evil threatening to consume his family. Scala did his homework and developed a believable tale of evil and redemption. I give this novel 4 horrified hearts.

Reviewed by Erin Miller
working with Book Reviews By Crystal