Book Review - Devil's Day by Kyle M. Scott

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The blurb was enticing and the reviews sounded promising, but it didn't quite deliver on those expectations. The core story starts of interesting, it's a different take on the Faustian legend, with the new aspect being the scale of the bargain, or so it seemed. It loses that hook by the end, which was a shame as following that through might have redeemed it a bit.

My biggest issue with the book was the writing style, although paradoxically this is also its greatest strength. The author uses a very dense style of description and is overly fond of metaphor. It can be a powerful tool in telling a story, and indeed, the author uses it very effectively. On occasion there is some beautifully crafted wordplay, but the technique is used to often. On every other page something is like something else and that stands out and makes reading it laborious - just describe the thing!

In my opinion the book needed a tighter edit pass to let it flow more evenly. The Kindle edition also had some issue with apostrophes, none of them were displayed, which again didn't help with the reading flow.

On the plus side it is a well paced story and keeps going at a cracking speed. The horror is visceral, although almost entirely physical, which felt a bit of a wasted opportunity considering the subject matter. There's some inventive violence here, so much so that if you're squeamish then you'll find some of this upsetting.

Overall it has some decent horror moments, but it's not a smooth journey, but could have been an excellent read with some tighter development.

Welcome to Blackhaven, October 31st, 1984..

A small, sleepy town cut off from the hardships and the horrors of the modern world - Blackhaven has enjoyed a fruitful, peaceful history in it's 300 years.

That's all about to change...

Something is coming. Something unspeakable. Something evil.

300 years ago to the day, the founders of Blackhaven made a deal. A deal that now, centuries later, requires payment. A deal that will see the quiet streets run red, and the fires rise. The people of Blackhaven are about to learn the true cost of sacrifice, for Hell is coming to claim what's owed.

And the Devil will have his day....


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