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The Devil's Mark #1
The Devil Made Me Do It
An Hilarious and Twisted Faustian Tale It's the age-old story-sort of.
Maxwell Niemand, now known world wide as super-star Maximilian Faust, semi-wittingly made a deal with the devil to be a rock star. It was a heady ride full of great music, humongous parties, and piles of money, but when he discovered he wasn't the only one paying a price for his fun, fame, and glory he walked away in shame and remorse.
Hiding from his still loving fans, Max moves to a rickety antebellum mansion in a small town in Mississippi. The place is a decrepit, battered old mansion. A once magnificent southern belle, she's now more of a southern bag lady, dressed in faded glory and hiding lice. Max finds an odd feeling of kinship with the old lady and instead of burning her to the ground, he vows to restore her to her former glory.
Unfortunately, this bag lady carries a lot of baggage. Between the ghosts, the unquiet bodies, the bizarre visitors, and the "special" nature of the town, Maximilian is going to be pushed to the... er... max.
Maxwell Niemand, now known world wide as super-star Maximilian Faust, semi-wittingly made a deal with the devil to be a rock star. It was a heady ride full of great music, humongous parties, and piles of money, but when he discovered he wasn't the only one paying a price for his fun, fame, and glory he walked away in shame and remorse.
Hiding from his still loving fans, Max moves to a rickety antebellum mansion in a small town in Mississippi. The place is a decrepit, battered old mansion. A once magnificent southern belle, she's now more of a southern bag lady, dressed in faded glory and hiding lice. Max finds an odd feeling of kinship with the old lady and instead of burning her to the ground, he vows to restore her to her former glory.
Unfortunately, this bag lady carries a lot of baggage. Between the ghosts, the unquiet bodies, the bizarre visitors, and the "special" nature of the town, Maximilian is going to be pushed to the... er... max.
260 pages, ebook
First published June 5, 2013
2 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
R. Scott VanKirk
9 books11 followersR. Scott VanKirk has been devouring SF and Fantasy all his life. He has always been interested in writing but he has many interests which seemed like they might pay better and has indulged many of them over last few decades.
He spent twenty years as a programming consultant. Most of that time was spent in Denver Colorado, but he spent a year in Curacao writing software for online Casinos and Sports-books. When the US decided that the only type of gambling they wanted to see was Lotto, Scott returned to the states and continued as a programmer for hire working on the bleeding edge of computer technology.
It turns out that twenty years on the bleeding edge of technology was enough masochism for one life and Scott switched careers. Figuring that 'It's good to be the boss' was an excellent motto, Scott began starting companies. Being a cutting edge guy, Scott founded several companies around the cutting edge inventions of three mad scientists. He found out the hard way that mad scientists tend to believe more in themselves than physics.
Around that time he also started a real estate investment company. 30 years of increasing property values made this seem like a good bet. He teamed up with a long time friend and gaming buddy to renovate broken down houses. It worked well for the first four houses so they bought 5 more. At that point the housing market crashed and Scott learned first hand the wonders of being a landlord of properties that were experiencing what is called in the biz, 'Negative Cash Flow.'
While his other companies were languishing, Scott discovered the wonders of being a PV installer. The local utility company was paying big rebates and the Federal government instituted a 30% tax credit. PV took off in Denver like a chariot drawn by 50 horses. Soon, Scott discovered several things. First, basing your business off of a rebate from a company that viewed you as a leach to be destroyed is not the best business model. Second, doing construction really, really, really sucks. Third he found 'It's good to be the Boss' became increasingly inaccurate. The recession deeply wounded the company since it is hard to sell anything if no one has any money but the company soldiered on. Scott's solar career came to an abrupt end when the local utility company decided to stop offering rebates without warning. His company went from being a 5 million dollar company to zip practically overnight.
Scott was crushed between the solar and the real estate crash and learned the joys of bankruptcy. Thus motivated to try something different, Scott is brushing off the large collection of story ideas that have occured to him over the years and is now in the process of writing them down.
Scott now lives with his amazing and beautiful wife who provides more love and support than any three people. He also lives with his amazing and talented daughter and his equally amazing Mother. (Everyone who meets them agrees!)
Author: This proves that God has a sense of humor. These are three of the most wonderful, kind, caring people on the planet and they got me.
He spent twenty years as a programming consultant. Most of that time was spent in Denver Colorado, but he spent a year in Curacao writing software for online Casinos and Sports-books. When the US decided that the only type of gambling they wanted to see was Lotto, Scott returned to the states and continued as a programmer for hire working on the bleeding edge of computer technology.
It turns out that twenty years on the bleeding edge of technology was enough masochism for one life and Scott switched careers. Figuring that 'It's good to be the boss' was an excellent motto, Scott began starting companies. Being a cutting edge guy, Scott founded several companies around the cutting edge inventions of three mad scientists. He found out the hard way that mad scientists tend to believe more in themselves than physics.
Around that time he also started a real estate investment company. 30 years of increasing property values made this seem like a good bet. He teamed up with a long time friend and gaming buddy to renovate broken down houses. It worked well for the first four houses so they bought 5 more. At that point the housing market crashed and Scott learned first hand the wonders of being a landlord of properties that were experiencing what is called in the biz, 'Negative Cash Flow.'
While his other companies were languishing, Scott discovered the wonders of being a PV installer. The local utility company was paying big rebates and the Federal government instituted a 30% tax credit. PV took off in Denver like a chariot drawn by 50 horses. Soon, Scott discovered several things. First, basing your business off of a rebate from a company that viewed you as a leach to be destroyed is not the best business model. Second, doing construction really, really, really sucks. Third he found 'It's good to be the Boss' became increasingly inaccurate. The recession deeply wounded the company since it is hard to sell anything if no one has any money but the company soldiered on. Scott's solar career came to an abrupt end when the local utility company decided to stop offering rebates without warning. His company went from being a 5 million dollar company to zip practically overnight.
Scott was crushed between the solar and the real estate crash and learned the joys of bankruptcy. Thus motivated to try something different, Scott is brushing off the large collection of story ideas that have occured to him over the years and is now in the process of writing them down.
Scott now lives with his amazing and beautiful wife who provides more love and support than any three people. He also lives with his amazing and talented daughter and his equally amazing Mother. (Everyone who meets them agrees!)
Author: This proves that God has a sense of humor. These are three of the most wonderful, kind, caring people on the planet and they got me.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 1, 2013
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book what I would call the perfect go-to book when you want a light read with a little comedy to spice things. This book neither begins with sparks and fireworks, nor ends with a loud bang. It's just one of those rare books that makes you laugh without making you want to rip your hair out and it this regard alone, I find it hard not to like this book. In one book, you get to meet a house with a mind of her own, ghosts, an undead corpse, a vampire, a werewolf, an immortal man and four extremely creepy body guards.
What did I like about it? The characters. The characters and their actions are absolutely believable and real. I like Max a lot. He's not your average idiot who signs a contract without reading it first. No, that would be too unbelievable and cliché now, won't it? I won't go into details on how he got entangled into the contract with the devil because that will be too spoilery but suffice to say, I thought that it was exactly how a normal, level-headed person can end up getting cheated. Or at least, if I was in his shoes, that's exactly how I will get trapped.
In a way, I really enjoyed Lucifer's character a lot too. I'm not sure about other readers, but I felt that the string of premises he used to defend himself against Max's outburst at the start of the story rang with a certain truth and each one of them struck me right to the core of my heart. It's like, he has this uncanny ability to dig out all the bad and ugly part of your soul that you try so desperately to hide from the face of the world and place them directly in the light. If he was a human, we would call him unscrupulous, but not evil.
My problem with it? Uhh... Maybe a little more proof-reading? There were quite a few instances when the characters were mixed up, but since I could understand the story overall, all is well and forgiven. I felt like the whole "deal with the devil" thing was rather vague and so far it seems as if Max's dealings with Lucifer brought more good than bad, but we'll have to see the future books to know for sure.
Will I recommend it? Yes, definitely. To everyone. Children above 12. There's a little swearing going on inside but I love how Max stopped swearing in Jesus's name after what Lucifer said about Jesus sacrificing himself for men and yet men threw his name out as if it was thrash.
Will I read the sequel? Hmm... I will have to think about this one. Most of the things were resolved by the end of this book. I felt like the author meant this to be a book that can be a standalone if you want it to, which is always a good thing in a new author, because it does not bind you to a potentially lousy series. So yeah, while the drive for me to read the sequel isn't great, it adds an additional reason to why you should give this book a try - hey, if you like it, good; if you don't, it's a one-off deal anyway, so not much harm done.
This review also appears on Amazon.
This book what I would call the perfect go-to book when you want a light read with a little comedy to spice things. This book neither begins with sparks and fireworks, nor ends with a loud bang. It's just one of those rare books that makes you laugh without making you want to rip your hair out and it this regard alone, I find it hard not to like this book. In one book, you get to meet a house with a mind of her own, ghosts, an undead corpse, a vampire, a werewolf, an immortal man and four extremely creepy body guards.
What did I like about it? The characters. The characters and their actions are absolutely believable and real. I like Max a lot. He's not your average idiot who signs a contract without reading it first. No, that would be too unbelievable and cliché now, won't it? I won't go into details on how he got entangled into the contract with the devil because that will be too spoilery but suffice to say, I thought that it was exactly how a normal, level-headed person can end up getting cheated. Or at least, if I was in his shoes, that's exactly how I will get trapped.
In a way, I really enjoyed Lucifer's character a lot too. I'm not sure about other readers, but I felt that the string of premises he used to defend himself against Max's outburst at the start of the story rang with a certain truth and each one of them struck me right to the core of my heart. It's like, he has this uncanny ability to dig out all the bad and ugly part of your soul that you try so desperately to hide from the face of the world and place them directly in the light. If he was a human, we would call him unscrupulous, but not evil.
My problem with it? Uhh... Maybe a little more proof-reading? There were quite a few instances when the characters were mixed up, but since I could understand the story overall, all is well and forgiven. I felt like the whole "deal with the devil" thing was rather vague and so far it seems as if Max's dealings with Lucifer brought more good than bad, but we'll have to see the future books to know for sure.
Will I recommend it? Yes, definitely. To everyone. Children above 12. There's a little swearing going on inside but I love how Max stopped swearing in Jesus's name after what Lucifer said about Jesus sacrificing himself for men and yet men threw his name out as if it was thrash.
Will I read the sequel? Hmm... I will have to think about this one. Most of the things were resolved by the end of this book. I felt like the author meant this to be a book that can be a standalone if you want it to, which is always a good thing in a new author, because it does not bind you to a potentially lousy series. So yeah, while the drive for me to read the sequel isn't great, it adds an additional reason to why you should give this book a try - hey, if you like it, good; if you don't, it's a one-off deal anyway, so not much harm done.
This review also appears on Amazon.
August 28, 2013
To read the accompanying interview to this review please visit: http://magnoliablossomreview.blogspot...
1. Book Title 10 of 10
The original title of this book was ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’ which was rather generic but as it turns out, VanKirk had a wordy change of heart and decided to go with ‘The Devil’s Beat’ and it’s a good thing, too! The original title was bland and a bit cliché. However, this new title to me shouts out 2 different things:
A. It’s got something to do with music (it doesn’t hurt that there are music notes on the cover); and,
B. More deeply it tells the reader that this book has something to do with the way the Devil ‘beats’ down those foolish enough to deal with disgraced, fallen angel.
Yes, the change in the name was a smart idea!
2. Book Cover 9 of 10
Again, this is an aspect of the book that VanKirk chose to change so that it looked a bit snazzier and had more of an edge. The original cover had the same little devilish emoticon but lacked the flames and music notes. So, the addition of those elements added a good deal to the cover which is a plus. However, the one thing that the eBook cover is lacking (as compared to the original) are the creepy red eyes. I have to say – I think if those were added to this new cover it would be a total 10. But, that’s just my opinion. (If you'll look at the very bottom of this post you'll see the expanded cover that is used for the paperback version!)
3. The First 500…10 of 10
VanKirk sets the stage perfectly with the opening of his story perfectly. The reader is immediately thrown into the upheaval of Max Faust’s life after dealing with a painful fall from mega-star grace and gets its first glimpse of the smarmy, snaky, Lucien Black who is all too willing to let Max try to ‘go it on his own’. Why? Because Lucien knows Max is screwed 20-ways to Sunday and no matter what the fool does he’s never going to really escape his devilish grip. Essentially, you know that Lucien is going to do everything in his vast power to make Max’s life a living Hell – but that could all change if Max would just agree to get back in line and hold up his end of the contract he signed. Yes, perfect!
4. Age Recommendation/Genre Classification 8 of 10
If you’ve read my previous reviews, you’ll note that this is the first time I’ve used the phrase ‘Genre Classification’ but it’s something that I felt needed to be added to address this category fully.
VanKirk has listed this book as ‘humor/contemporary fantasy’. But this is not a ‘humor’ book per se. As I, and I believe most other readers would agree, feel that when a book is listed as a humor book – there’s a lightness and uplifting aspect to it. However, The Devil’s Beat is definitely more dark and heavy than light and airy. Yes, there are some parts that are laugh out loud hilarious but one needs to realize that the laughs are generated from a warped sense of the macabre which is why I feel like this particular title ought to be more aptly classified as ‘Dark Humor’. Further, it’s not so much a contemporary fantasy as it is a twisted tale with supernatural elements. And that’s why I feel like the proper genre classification for this book should be listed as ‘Supernatural Dark Humor’ … and I think if VanKirk shifts his promotion of the book to focus towards that sort of arena – this book could really take off.
5. Presentation and Format 10 of 10
This book is a breeze to read. It has a great flow to it and there’s nothing about the format that causes hiccups to the reader. It deserves a solid 10.
6. Theme and Originality 9 of 10
While there are more ‘original’ things in this story than ‘unoriginal’ – the point of the matter is that VanKirk ‘borrows’ a lot from the classic German tale of Faust who sells his soul to the Devil in return for access to all the knowledge in the world. Van Kirk even goes as far as to name the main character Max Faust. Yes, it’s picky and perhaps other readers would never catch on to it; however, as soon as I opened the book and read the first couple of sentences I knew – downright knew what the story was going to be (for the most part). Granted there were a few curve balls thrown in but when a reader knows the plot before getting past the first paragraph – it's not always a good thing.
7. Description and Enhancement 9 of 10
Alright, I will admit that VanKirk does a terrific … amazing, in fact … job of using description and enhancement in the book. He even goes the extra step to make sure that the doesn’t inadvertently violate any copyright issues by skillfully reworking the names of the soap operas that Old Bone likes to watch. But there is one huge … and I mean HUGE MASSIVE error that is made in the book.
One that any God-fearing Southern woman MUST address.
He makes a reference to Gone with the Wind and the house ‘Tara’ and then … well, you read it and you’ll see what I mean …
Alice laughed. She said, “What were you expecting, Tara?”
Max turned to look at Alice's merry face. He was momentarily distracted by her cute single dimple, but he forced himself back to the question. “What's Tara?”
Alice's brows went up. “What's Tara? Are you serious?” Max's confusion showed plainly. “You know, Gone with the Wind?” Now Max's confusion was tinged with embarrassment because she was so plainly flabbergasted, but all he could do was shake his head again. “The Tara Mansion? The mansion where Annette O'Hara lived.”
Annette O'Hara? Pardon my French but who in the hell is Annette O’Hara? Her name is Scarlett, more precisely – Katie Scarlett (nee O’Hara) Hamilton Kennedy Butler. Major boo-boo! And for that I had to take away a point!
8. Intrigue 10 of 10
Yes, I knew what was going to happen but VanKirk did a great job of making it just so totally ‘out there’ that I couldn’t stop reading. And I’ll admit, I winced more than a few times when Belle (the mansion with an attitude) put the hurt on poor Mike!
9. Mechanics 10 of 10
There were a few issues every now and again but nothing so mechanically and grammatically incorrect that a point needed to be deducted! (Lucky for VanKirk, I only charged once for the Scarlett O’Hara issue!)
10. Overall Impression 10 of 10
If you love reading totally wigged out, darkly hilarious, sometimes painfully funny stories – Scott VanKirk’s The Devil’s Beat is a book you simply must purchase because you will laugh!
*** When I go back and look at all the totals I believe Mr. R. Scott VanKirk has received a total of 95 points out of 100 with his book The Devil's Beat. And that means this devilishly good book gets 5 beautiful blossoms!***
$.99 via Kindle or $10.93 paperback (give or take a few pennies) at Amazon.com
1. Book Title 10 of 10
The original title of this book was ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’ which was rather generic but as it turns out, VanKirk had a wordy change of heart and decided to go with ‘The Devil’s Beat’ and it’s a good thing, too! The original title was bland and a bit cliché. However, this new title to me shouts out 2 different things:
A. It’s got something to do with music (it doesn’t hurt that there are music notes on the cover); and,
B. More deeply it tells the reader that this book has something to do with the way the Devil ‘beats’ down those foolish enough to deal with disgraced, fallen angel.
Yes, the change in the name was a smart idea!
2. Book Cover 9 of 10
Again, this is an aspect of the book that VanKirk chose to change so that it looked a bit snazzier and had more of an edge. The original cover had the same little devilish emoticon but lacked the flames and music notes. So, the addition of those elements added a good deal to the cover which is a plus. However, the one thing that the eBook cover is lacking (as compared to the original) are the creepy red eyes. I have to say – I think if those were added to this new cover it would be a total 10. But, that’s just my opinion. (If you'll look at the very bottom of this post you'll see the expanded cover that is used for the paperback version!)
3. The First 500…10 of 10
VanKirk sets the stage perfectly with the opening of his story perfectly. The reader is immediately thrown into the upheaval of Max Faust’s life after dealing with a painful fall from mega-star grace and gets its first glimpse of the smarmy, snaky, Lucien Black who is all too willing to let Max try to ‘go it on his own’. Why? Because Lucien knows Max is screwed 20-ways to Sunday and no matter what the fool does he’s never going to really escape his devilish grip. Essentially, you know that Lucien is going to do everything in his vast power to make Max’s life a living Hell – but that could all change if Max would just agree to get back in line and hold up his end of the contract he signed. Yes, perfect!
4. Age Recommendation/Genre Classification 8 of 10
If you’ve read my previous reviews, you’ll note that this is the first time I’ve used the phrase ‘Genre Classification’ but it’s something that I felt needed to be added to address this category fully.
VanKirk has listed this book as ‘humor/contemporary fantasy’. But this is not a ‘humor’ book per se. As I, and I believe most other readers would agree, feel that when a book is listed as a humor book – there’s a lightness and uplifting aspect to it. However, The Devil’s Beat is definitely more dark and heavy than light and airy. Yes, there are some parts that are laugh out loud hilarious but one needs to realize that the laughs are generated from a warped sense of the macabre which is why I feel like this particular title ought to be more aptly classified as ‘Dark Humor’. Further, it’s not so much a contemporary fantasy as it is a twisted tale with supernatural elements. And that’s why I feel like the proper genre classification for this book should be listed as ‘Supernatural Dark Humor’ … and I think if VanKirk shifts his promotion of the book to focus towards that sort of arena – this book could really take off.
5. Presentation and Format 10 of 10
This book is a breeze to read. It has a great flow to it and there’s nothing about the format that causes hiccups to the reader. It deserves a solid 10.
6. Theme and Originality 9 of 10
While there are more ‘original’ things in this story than ‘unoriginal’ – the point of the matter is that VanKirk ‘borrows’ a lot from the classic German tale of Faust who sells his soul to the Devil in return for access to all the knowledge in the world. Van Kirk even goes as far as to name the main character Max Faust. Yes, it’s picky and perhaps other readers would never catch on to it; however, as soon as I opened the book and read the first couple of sentences I knew – downright knew what the story was going to be (for the most part). Granted there were a few curve balls thrown in but when a reader knows the plot before getting past the first paragraph – it's not always a good thing.
7. Description and Enhancement 9 of 10
Alright, I will admit that VanKirk does a terrific … amazing, in fact … job of using description and enhancement in the book. He even goes the extra step to make sure that the doesn’t inadvertently violate any copyright issues by skillfully reworking the names of the soap operas that Old Bone likes to watch. But there is one huge … and I mean HUGE MASSIVE error that is made in the book.
One that any God-fearing Southern woman MUST address.
He makes a reference to Gone with the Wind and the house ‘Tara’ and then … well, you read it and you’ll see what I mean …
Alice laughed. She said, “What were you expecting, Tara?”
Max turned to look at Alice's merry face. He was momentarily distracted by her cute single dimple, but he forced himself back to the question. “What's Tara?”
Alice's brows went up. “What's Tara? Are you serious?” Max's confusion showed plainly. “You know, Gone with the Wind?” Now Max's confusion was tinged with embarrassment because she was so plainly flabbergasted, but all he could do was shake his head again. “The Tara Mansion? The mansion where Annette O'Hara lived.”
Annette O'Hara? Pardon my French but who in the hell is Annette O’Hara? Her name is Scarlett, more precisely – Katie Scarlett (nee O’Hara) Hamilton Kennedy Butler. Major boo-boo! And for that I had to take away a point!
8. Intrigue 10 of 10
Yes, I knew what was going to happen but VanKirk did a great job of making it just so totally ‘out there’ that I couldn’t stop reading. And I’ll admit, I winced more than a few times when Belle (the mansion with an attitude) put the hurt on poor Mike!
9. Mechanics 10 of 10
There were a few issues every now and again but nothing so mechanically and grammatically incorrect that a point needed to be deducted! (Lucky for VanKirk, I only charged once for the Scarlett O’Hara issue!)
10. Overall Impression 10 of 10
If you love reading totally wigged out, darkly hilarious, sometimes painfully funny stories – Scott VanKirk’s The Devil’s Beat is a book you simply must purchase because you will laugh!
*** When I go back and look at all the totals I believe Mr. R. Scott VanKirk has received a total of 95 points out of 100 with his book The Devil's Beat. And that means this devilishly good book gets 5 beautiful blossoms!***
$.99 via Kindle or $10.93 paperback (give or take a few pennies) at Amazon.com
November 23, 2013
This book is hilarious! A great read!
June 1, 2014
Hilarious! This was a quick and easy read!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews