The Elder Gods have come to the Old West. The old man had lost nearly everything – his family, his home, his war. Now, after years of bloody conflict, he must confront a malevolent cosmic entity to save his only son. Armed with little more than steel and hatred, the old man embarks on a hopeless war against the devouring gods from beyond the stars in a trail of bullets and bodies from Oakland to … from Oakland to Omaha, as he battling witches, evangelical cannibals, Native shamans, and possessed lawmen.
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Fantastically dark all around…
The Devoured by Curtis M. Lawson and narrated by Jason Sprenger is a unique dark fantasy that kept my interest and left me wanting more. I highly recommend if dark fantasy is your thing.
What’s it about? The summary tells it well and if that peaks your interest, you should def be listening. Emmett’s mother is sick and he searches for a cure which leads him to his shaman grandfather in the Paiute tribe. Emmett’s world changes forever after this meeting. Meanwhile the old man (Emmett’s father) is searching for his son to rescue him from the Gods of Utgard. The old man gets a tag along named Hank. You get trolls, magic, witches, the undead, cannibals, and other creatures. The story alternates between Emmett and his father (the old man) and occasionally Hank. The story flowed nicely and the narration is smooth.
The narrator, Jason Sprenger, was a perfect fit for this book. He brought a real feel to the Old West world. Voice is smooth and easy-to-listen to.
Overall I highly recommend for dark fantasy aficionados. I’d love to see this turned into a movie (provided it’s done right).
“Across the tracks from where they stood the church’s giant wooden cross loomed like a symbol of Roman terror, rather than an icon of human hope.”
“Naked, hurt, and dehydrated, he reached up above the door and grabbed the effigy of Christ off the wall. He looked at it with anger, wondering how many other myths and ideologies the Devourers hid behind. Then, almost as an afterthought, he tossed the crucifix into the fire, letting the idol burn along with its servant.”
“Hank let another slug fly, and spilled the blood of a third witch, like a splash of whiskey for a dead friend.”
Parental guidance/trigger warnings: This is a dark fantasy, it’s not sunshine and rainbows or puppies and kittens. Some of the elements are: sex (not long or in much detail), death, weapons (guns, knives). Language used: r**skin x3, savage x1, f x4, s x17, n x3.
*I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you for allowing me to listen and review the book!
THE DEVOURED is an insane read. Insane, I say!
A man leaves his wife and child to fight in the civil war. His wife, (and therefore his son, Emmett), are of native American heritage and while the man is gone, his wife becomes ill. Emmett, big for his age of 16, decides to seek out his mother’s father, a Shaman, (from whom she’s been estranged), to request a cure for her illness. Can she be cured? And if so, will she be cured? Lastly, what is the price for that cure? You’ll have to read this to find out!
This book seems to have elements of everything. By that, I mean it has a western feel to it, along with some Norse mythology, (Thurs, giants, Utgard, at one point there was a large tree- Yggdrasil?), witches, cannibals, and I don’t even know what else. You might think that there is just too much going on, but somehow Curtis Lawson pulls it all together within the framework of a man trying to save his family.
I especially liked the characters of the old man, (I’m not sure if he was ever named?), and his companion, a young black boy named Hank. At first, I liked Emmett, but his turn down a dark road changed that by the time it was all over.
It took a while for everything to gel for me, because there was a lot going on, but when it did, I was impressed by the skills on display. Lawson’s knowledge of history and mythology is impressive. I was feeling slightly off balance due to all the different aspects of the tale, but I finally stopped worrying that I was missing something and just let the story sweep me along. And that it did, right up to the brick wall that is the denouement. It was just the type of ending that I love!
I listened to this book on audio, which was narrated by Jason Sprenger. I’ve never listened to his narrations before, but I thought he was excellent. His voicing of the different characters was very good, but his main voice was the BEST, reminding me of Sam Elliott at times.
Overall, this book was just plain FUN! A mixed up combination of genres, mythology, American history and more, I can’t think of another book or author, (well, maybe Tim Curran?), that can blend such things successfully. Curtis Lawson did so, and did it in spades.
Highly recommended!
*I received a digital copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*