Review by Sara...
HELLRAISERS (The Devil's Engine)
by Alexander Gordon Smith
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Macmillan (December 1, 2015)
Language: English
Goodreads | Amazon
by Alexander Gordon Smith
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Macmillan (December 1, 2015)
Language: English
Goodreads | Amazon
The Devil’s Engine is a machine from the darkest parts of history. It can make any wish come true—as long as you are willing to put your life on the line. When a sixteen-year-old asthmatic kid named Marlow Green finds himself trapped in a surreal firefight against nightmarish creatures in the middle of his New York City neighborhood, he discovers a squad of secret soldiers dedicated to battling the legions of the Devil himself. Faced with monstrous apparitions, ancient weaponry, and his own hellishly tedious high school existence, Marlow submits to a demonic deal with the infernal device that enables him to join the battle—if it doesn’t kill him first.
Hellraisers is the first in a new
series by Alexander Gordon Smith. This author has a talent for throwing his
main characters into the thick of the story from the start. That is exactly
what he does with Marlow Green, the very dysfunctional protagonist teenager.
Smith quickly establishes the premise of the story within the first few pages
of the book.
Everything about this book screams
that will be a creepy, terrifying, and disturbing read. Unfortunately, that is
where this story fell short. There is a lot of action, adventure, and people
running all over the place, but it just did not feel all connected. It felt as
if it was all random, none of it making any sense. I felt confused the more the
story went on. I expected so much more from this story.
There were two themes throughout
this novel, the main one being “Be careful what you wish for”. I wish they had
been more played out instead of an afterthought. I wish I knew why the author
came up with these themes, presented them to the reader, yet failed to expand
or deliver.
Overall, this was a somewhat
enjoyable read but this first book in a new series failed to live up to my
expectations. This was a 2.5 star read for me.
@gingerlyreview
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