Contractor: The Contractors

The Earth is under siege - and no one knows about it because the invaders erase those whom they consume. A handful of men and women stand on the border between the mundane and the magical. They have a special spark of soul - not quite enough to be naturally gifted in spellcraft but greater than the average person, a tiny flame that can ignite incredible potential. They possess the ability to fight back against the Vorid: the ability to become a Contractor.Daniel Fitzgerald is one of those people, but when duty comes calling he promptly slams the door in its face. He has no illusions of grandeur. He is not someone special. He wants to go to school and study law. And frankly, he doesn't really like people, and he doesn't want anything to do with magic. He just wants to be left alone. But when the entire planet is a battlefield, there is no place to run.If you loved Brandon Sanderson's 'The Reckoner's', then Andrew Ball's The Contractors is about as close as you can find to something similar in tone and story. It's wildly entertaining from start to finish and I have to admit the book held me from start to finish.It's the story of an alien invasion of earth from creatures from another dimension and about a college student who makes a pact with an entity set on stopping the alien invasion by becoming a vampiric monster himself.The characters are surprisingly deep, there's a college/school setting, a coming of age, a girl to impress, rival magicians who want to send your soul to hell, and of course, the entire world to save.Sounds like fun? It is! One of the best indie fantasy books I've read. I just hope the author finishes book 2 soon.Highly recommended and a must-read for those who like The Reckoners or Peter Cline's Ex-Heroes, or just a pretty kick ass coming of age story about a kid who gets to be a hero.