Reviews

Only the Devil is Here by Stephen Michell

nerdalicious9's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

aaronlindsey's review

2.0

I know I'm in the minority here, but I didn't really like this one. There was a lot of action and a couple of really scary scenes, but the writing (to me) seemed, I don't know...juvenile?
In all fairness, my previous read was The Exorcist, which is one of the best books I've read this year. Maybe that moved my reading bar up too far.

amy_da1sy's review

4.0

This was a very good book I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was

ar3mis's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

aparker89's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Get ready for a hook that will drag your heart through the mud, stomp on it and then break your heart! This one has some great twists, an excellent plot driver and a very empathetic primary character. You just can't help for Evan and want to cheer him on. This subtle horror story has some beautifully orchestrated religious fantasy, monsters of both a human and supernatural variety and a lot of heart! Will definitely look out for more of this author's work!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Confinement, Excrement, and Abandonment

Minor: Pedophilia, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Torture, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship

mdpenguin's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was one of the better stories that I've ever read based on the Xian mythology. The mystery, suspense, and action were all well balanced and the final explanation of what was going on was genuinely interesting and definitely worth the journey. 

smorancie's review

3.0

A quick, easy read. If I could give half stars, it would be a higher rating.

evewithanapple's review

4.0

sometimes a family is an ageless revenant, a middle-aged Fortean author, and baby Satan.

the_original_shelf_monkey's review

4.0

A strong debut novel. In a chase story worthy of filmic adaptation, Michell subtly upends expectations with a genuinely insightful examination of good versus evil. It’s a suspenseful horror-action hybrid with memorably warped characters and terrific B-movie cinematic flair, which is exactly what I need sometimes.

Read more at the Redeblog.