The Devouring by Simon Holt
Dec. 23rd, 2008 07:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
When dark creeps in and eats the light
Bury your fears on Sorry Night.
For in the winter's blackest hours
Comes the feasting of the Vours.
No one can see it, the life they stole,
Your body's here
But not your soul ...
Reggie Halloway didn't believe in the Vours. She thought they were make-believe. It didn't occur to her that if she summons the demons in a midnight ritual, they would come. But they did. And now a petrifying race to rescue her brother Henry has begun.
Because Henry is possessed - and Reggie is trapped in her worst nightmare. If she can't save him ... they'll both be sorry.
The Devouring is a YA horror that’s taps into the market currently dominated by Darran Shan.
The Vours (rhymes with ‘our’ rather than ‘your’ – although it would be nice if this could be made clearer in the text) are a type of demon that feed on people’s fear, using it to trap the person’s soul into a hell of their own making while they make use of the body as if it were their own. When horror geek Reggie discovers a journal retelling an encounter with the Vours, she decides to summon them herself as a joke but the joke is on her as the Vours take over her younger brother, Henry. Reggie must team up with her best friend and fellow horror geek Aaron to find a way to reclaim Henry’s soul – a task that will see them forced to face their own fears.
Although this is a short book, Holt clearly knows his horror heritage and there are nice references to Poe and King, coupled with homages within the text (think people buried alive in cellars and murderous clowns). Characterisation is brusque but does the job. Reggie is a determined and resourceful heroine determined to save her brother while having to cope with managing the family home and her father after her mother abandoned them. Aaron is a little too forced to be truly individual (the schtick with his hats is a little annoying), but he has some nice lines and develops over the story. As is usual with these books, there’s also a mentor character – Eben Bloch who runs the local horror book store – but he’s not on the page long enough to make a significant impact and it’s disappointing that just when he begins to get interesting the novel stops.
Where Holt has done well is in portraying the possession of Henry by the Vour – sly, creepy and manipulative, his taunting of Reggie makes the reader will her on and there are some chilling scenes involving the discovery of the Vour’s weakness that made me shudder. Be warned that there are a lot of gruesome scenes in the novel (hinted at by the garish cover), so it parents may want to check it before giving it as a present.
There is an emotional heart to the story involving a family’s attempt to cope with the desertion by the mother (presumably something that will be picked up in later books in this series) and the feelings of rejection and hurt that this causes in the children and father. I thought that the reactions displayed were believable, particularly Reggie who resents the role foisted on her while accepting that there’s no one else who can do it. I’d have liked more interaction between her and her father, but again, this is presumably something for the later books.
Biggest gripe was the ending, which is far too abrupt and ends on something of a cliffhanger in order to get people interested in reading book 2. It’s a shame that the author/publisher felt the need to do this because the story telling was strong enough on its own for me to want to read more about this world and the forthcoming battles that Reggie and co will have with the Vours. I’d have also liked to have seen a couple of scenes involving Aaron that occur off-page and are told to the reader later – mainly because this would have helped to flesh out some of the development that happens to his character.
Other than this, I thought it was a fun, fast-paced and gory read that kept me entertained and will surely do the same for budding horror fans in their teen years.
The Verdict:
Although possibly too gory for younger teens and in spite of an ending that was far too abrupt, this was a fun read that knows its horror heritage. It’s definitely something likely to appeal to male teens and I look forward to reading more in the series.
Bury your fears on Sorry Night.
For in the winter's blackest hours
Comes the feasting of the Vours.
No one can see it, the life they stole,
Your body's here
But not your soul ...
Reggie Halloway didn't believe in the Vours. She thought they were make-believe. It didn't occur to her that if she summons the demons in a midnight ritual, they would come. But they did. And now a petrifying race to rescue her brother Henry has begun.
Because Henry is possessed - and Reggie is trapped in her worst nightmare. If she can't save him ... they'll both be sorry.
The Devouring is a YA horror that’s taps into the market currently dominated by Darran Shan.
The Vours (rhymes with ‘our’ rather than ‘your’ – although it would be nice if this could be made clearer in the text) are a type of demon that feed on people’s fear, using it to trap the person’s soul into a hell of their own making while they make use of the body as if it were their own. When horror geek Reggie discovers a journal retelling an encounter with the Vours, she decides to summon them herself as a joke but the joke is on her as the Vours take over her younger brother, Henry. Reggie must team up with her best friend and fellow horror geek Aaron to find a way to reclaim Henry’s soul – a task that will see them forced to face their own fears.
Although this is a short book, Holt clearly knows his horror heritage and there are nice references to Poe and King, coupled with homages within the text (think people buried alive in cellars and murderous clowns). Characterisation is brusque but does the job. Reggie is a determined and resourceful heroine determined to save her brother while having to cope with managing the family home and her father after her mother abandoned them. Aaron is a little too forced to be truly individual (the schtick with his hats is a little annoying), but he has some nice lines and develops over the story. As is usual with these books, there’s also a mentor character – Eben Bloch who runs the local horror book store – but he’s not on the page long enough to make a significant impact and it’s disappointing that just when he begins to get interesting the novel stops.
Where Holt has done well is in portraying the possession of Henry by the Vour – sly, creepy and manipulative, his taunting of Reggie makes the reader will her on and there are some chilling scenes involving the discovery of the Vour’s weakness that made me shudder. Be warned that there are a lot of gruesome scenes in the novel (hinted at by the garish cover), so it parents may want to check it before giving it as a present.
There is an emotional heart to the story involving a family’s attempt to cope with the desertion by the mother (presumably something that will be picked up in later books in this series) and the feelings of rejection and hurt that this causes in the children and father. I thought that the reactions displayed were believable, particularly Reggie who resents the role foisted on her while accepting that there’s no one else who can do it. I’d have liked more interaction between her and her father, but again, this is presumably something for the later books.
Biggest gripe was the ending, which is far too abrupt and ends on something of a cliffhanger in order to get people interested in reading book 2. It’s a shame that the author/publisher felt the need to do this because the story telling was strong enough on its own for me to want to read more about this world and the forthcoming battles that Reggie and co will have with the Vours. I’d have also liked to have seen a couple of scenes involving Aaron that occur off-page and are told to the reader later – mainly because this would have helped to flesh out some of the development that happens to his character.
Other than this, I thought it was a fun, fast-paced and gory read that kept me entertained and will surely do the same for budding horror fans in their teen years.
The Verdict:
Although possibly too gory for younger teens and in spite of an ending that was far too abrupt, this was a fun read that knows its horror heritage. It’s definitely something likely to appeal to male teens and I look forward to reading more in the series.
