2019 Top Shelf Book Awards Suspense First Place Winner and Horror FinalistAncient, insidious evils have overrun the small town of Oneka Falls, NY, and they’re hungry.Only three children have encountered the worst the town has to offer and lived, and each of them paid a terrible price. Psyches fractured, each child survived to adulthood as best they could—wrapped in fantasy, the comfort of … adulthood as best they could—wrapped in fantasy, the comfort of amnesia, or the silence of isolation. When the town’s evil intrudes on their lives a second time, it draws them home, setting in motion a chain of events that can only end in destruction.
Who will be destroyed, the survivors or the monsters that plague the town?
Please note: this is a horror collection of the novels: Nightmare and Blackened, books 1 and 2 of The Bloodletter Saga
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A great read for late night hours.
Demon King is another book I’ve had on my TBR for a while, but at 650 pages, was a bit longer than I’ve had time for. I finally opened this novel up to read, and WOW! This is the story of a small town in western New York, where children go missing and demons are always welcome.
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The author, in his closing Author’s Notes, states that Stephen King fans may find a few Easter eggs. I had found several references to Sai King’s works, such as Niebolt Street, a Plymouth Fury, an antagonist named Owen Gray (Mr Gray- Dreamcatcher), and a kidnapped person named Walter Flag (Walter O’Dim + Randall Flagg). The greatest homage tio SK is actually in the writing of the story itself. The storyline jumps back and forth between 1979, when three children survived the horrors of The King of the Forest, and 2007, when the three children, now adults, return to the town to face the Demon King.
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Vick has written a wonderful story, that I enjoyed immensely, even trying to avoid the comparisons to IT. The characters, both children and adult, were finely developed and the psychological trauma these characters dealt with comes through quite eloquently on the page. The storyline itself is just different enough from King’s magnum opus to be fresh, and the pacing of the tale had me glued to the book, thus allowing me to finish it in only 7 hours. This may not be a new classic, but it definitely deserves to be on my re-read list, and that is a short list indeed.
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My Rating: 4.75/5 stars
I really liked the book. It is a scary book but is unique in the storyline. I love Stephen King and he could have written it. Very good book.
Incredible
I could not put this book down. I am looking forward to checking out his other books.
Since I basically love everything Erik Henry Vick has written so far I didn’t expect this one to be any different. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was even better than some of my past favorites. As a fan of “IT”, both the movie, mini series and novel, I was especially intrigued with the back and forth of this book – as you skip from past to now, you slowly realize how this book is sucking you in and before you know it, you have to be at work in an hour and have not had any sleep……lol This one is a keeper!!
Excellent read, I hope to see more from this author in the future!
I literally could not put this book down until I was done reading. This is a must read! You will not be disappointed. Do it, do it, do it!!
Wow! This book is great! I hate comparing authors, but if you are a Stephen King fan you will love this book. Look for the easter eggs while reading – you can’t miss them! I highly recommend this read!!
I received an advanced copy of this book to review. First let me say that I not only enjoyed the book but the author is a really nice person too.
I loved the storyline of this book and I’m definitely planning on reading other books by this author, especially because I’m excited to watch him get even better at his craft. I didn’t always enjoy the way the conversations flowed in the book but it didn’t turn me off from the actual story either.
I see others comparing this author to Stephen King but I disagree. They are obviously in the same genre but Vick has a voice that’s all his own. I was reminded of It as far as basic storyline goes but that’s where it ends. Comparing this book to It only works as far as you could compare King’s The Stand to McCammon’s Swan Song. They obviously have similar base plots but the stories are vastly different and that’s a major plus in my book. Vick has his own universe entirely and I hope that continues in future novels.
I definitely recommend giving this author a try, I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Review of Demon King, Erik Henry Vick
Wow! This book sucked me in from the first pages and didn’t let me go until the very last page. Give me more!
“Demon King” reminded me of Stephen King’s “It” in the back-and-forth, then-and-now story structure. Children are assailed by unknowable evil; then as adults, they must face it again, but without the benefit of the memory of their earlier experiences. Encounters with these vile creatures does some serious damage. Will they be able to pull the necessary courage and grit to survive and triumph?
This is a fast-moving, vivid tale, told with bright imagination and fresh ideas. I first discovered Erik Henry Vick via his novella “The Devil”, then “Devils”, the short story anthology “The Devil” was rolled into. I had wanted to find a new favorite author, and I certainly did! This guy has some serious story chops.
Be sure not to miss “Errant Gods — Blood of the Isir” (Book 1), too. Just make sure you don’t have any other plans!