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The Devil’s Engine: Hellraisers

The Devil's Engine: Hellraisers Book Cover The Devil's Engine: Hellraisers
The Devil's Engine, Book 1
Alexander Gordon Smith
Macmillan Children's Publishing Group
December 1, 2015
Hardcover
352

When a sixteen-year-old troublemaker named Marlow Green is trapped in a surreal firefight against nightmarish creatures in the middle of his New York City neighborhood, he unwittingly finds himself amid a squad of secret soldiers dedicated to battling the legions of the devil himself. Powering this army of young misfits is an ancient machine from the darkest parts of history. Known as the devil's engine, it can make any wish come true-as long as you are willing to put your life on the line. Promised powers beyond belief, and facing monstrous apparitions straight out of the netherworld, Marlow must decide if he's going to submit to a demonic deal with the infernal machine that will enable him to join the crusade-if it doesn't kill him first.
From the author of the Escape from Furnace series, here is the opening salvo in an explosive new horror trilogy about an ordinary American kid caught up in an invisible war against the very worst enemy imaginable.

 

Review:

I really wanted to like “The Devil’s Engine: Hellraisers”.  The plot summary sounded promising.  It also sounded very unique.  Unfortunately, the promise of a good book fell flat.

That isn’t to say that parts of the book were not enjoyable.  The first quarter or so was non-stop action.  I wanted to know more about the characters.  Of course, this created an even worse disappointment when the rest of the book moved at a snail’s pace.  Seriously, it could have been trimmed seventy-five pages and nobody would have missed them.

There was a mystery as to what was driving the entire plot, and had the book dropped more clues it would have left me dying to keep turning the pages.  As it was, by the time I got near the end I didn’t care what was going on and as far as I was concerned almost all of the characters could be eaten by demons.  I wouldn’t have cared.  I wouldn’t have even sent virtual flowers to their funeral.

“The Devil’s Engine: Hellraisers” may be a good choice for those who don’t mind an original plot that drags out.  It wasn’t for me, though.  The audience is definitely more mature young adults, so please be careful if you are choosing a book for a gift.

This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

Content Warning:

Language, Underage Drinking, Violence, Gore, Terrifying Imagery