Review: Devourer of Souls

Last October on this blog I reviewed fellow author Kevin Lucia's first short story collection Things Slip Through (from Crystal Lake Publishing). Now while horror isn't the genre I write in, I do very much enjoy reading it (Stephen King being my all time favorite author) and I find Kevin's stories to be some of the more effective, mainly because his goal isn't to just hit you with gore and gross you out. He gives you characters to care about and then sucker punches you when something terrible happens to them (and many terrible things happen in Devourer, but I'm getting ahead of myself). He lingers on suspense. He also takes pride in giving readers a haunted setting in his town of Clifton Heights, a place that's quickly becoming more and more its own main character with each published tale. And I'm very happy to report that Kevin's next big release - an e-book collection of two novellas called Devourer of Souls (out June 30 from Ragnarok Publications) - satisfies as a follow-up to Things and also stands very well on its own.

From the publisher:

Welcome to Clifton Heights, an average Adirondack town. It's nice enough, really. Except after dark. Or on cold winter days when you're all alone...

 

Sophan. 
An ancient game of chance and Fate. One boy's smoldering hate, another boy's need to make things right, and a father's ghosts of Vietnam past. These are the key players in this latest tale of revenge and reparation performed on the stage of the strange Adirondack town of Clifton Heights, NY.

The Man in Yellow.
Tahawus is a small, isolated Adirondack town just north of Clifton Heights. A quiet place filled with simple people of an ardent faith, nothing much ever happens there...until the man in yellow comes calling. He knows your worst nightmares, and he can offer your fondest wish. All you need is faith...and a mouth from which to scream.

Review:
Devourer's two novellas ("Sophan" and "The Man in Yellow") tell separate stories in different locations in and around Clifton Heights but share a few similarities. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that both stories are from the point of view of children (some older, some younger) and how they react to their parent/parents in the situations they find themselves in. Sometimes the parents are helpful with advice, and other times they are actually the ones endangering their child.

The stories have a "coming-of-age" flavor to them (more so in the way of "The Body" [or what you may know of as Stand By Me] rather than the more innocent bunch from The Sandlot, though there are no real comparisons to these stories outside a common theme). Macabre forces beyond their control accelerate the growth of these characters to deal with something far beyond their years, and this is where Lucia shines. Not in the darkness of his tales - we know he is quite capable of that from Things and other stories under his belt - but in how the progress of these characters comes across as not only necessary but believable.

Quite often, in horror especially, we find a character who acts in a bizarre way in order to meet the demands of the story. Here, these characters act how we expect them to. How we would. How anyone would. And that means feeling the consequences of choice.

One character makes a decision - an awful, regretful decision - near the end of Sophan, that while isn't heroic, nor provides us with a flashy ending, is the way it should be. And in Lucia's signature style, the beast is kept more to the peripheral, because it isn't the main focus here (though he does create quite the antagonist in "The Man in Yellow"). These aren't tales of heroes or anyone suddenly stepping up to tee-off against evil. These are tales of young people reacting, scared out of their minds, and the instinct of survival kicks in.

Sometimes survival isn't always being brave. And we learn that through Lucia's meek and rebellious, though well-meaning, characters.

The storytelling device used here is a continuation from Things, where Sheriff Chris is meeting with a friend (this time Father Ward) and discussing local stories found in a journal - the stories being "Sophan" and "The Man in Yellow." This doesn't mean you need to have read Things in order to enjoy Devourer. If you have, you'll get more out of these new tales as the whole of Clifton Heights and its surrounding area and citizens become a little bit more defined, though there's still plenty around the fringe that's left out of focus.

On the whole this collection is breezy, atmospheric, and right to the point. Perfect for summer reading.

Devourer of Souls will be available June 30.