Devoured: A Horror Novel

by Bryan W. Alaspa

Despite his city being torn apart by riots and unrest, the St. Louis mayor has decreed that the beloved Fourth of July festival WILL go on as planned. This leaves public safety manager Logan Field at his wits’ end. How can he protect the city’s residents and his own job, especially in the light of a deadly attack in Chicago, a vanished local boy, and a series of disturbing occurrences that are drawing closer and closer together? City-wide panic brews – something is horribly wrong.

Desperate for help, Logan turns to a struggling hunter and they link up with a professor who believes he just might know the cause of the an ancient evil, dormant for centuries, now awakened. There is no time to waste as the trio races to find to confirm their fear and discover how to face it down – because an entire city and its millions of lives hangs in the balance.

Genres: Horror

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 18, 2023

About the author

I was born in the fine year of 1971 in Park Ridge, IL. I am a life long Chicago resident and I love the city. I spent a few years in St. Louis, as well. I knew I wanted to write from the time I sat down at my mom's electric typewriter in the 3rd grade. Now I do write. I write freelance and articles for online news sources. I write horror, thrillers and detective novels. I also write non-fiction in true crime and history genres. I publish my fiction myself as an indie publisher and write and have found an audience for my work among ebook fans. I publish for Kindle, Nook and other tablets and devices at Smashwords.com. My non-fiction is usually published in print, but that may soon change as ebooks become more and more of the norm.

Reviews

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one had a really strong opening scene and I generally enjoyed it but it was also quite bloated in some regards and could have used some trimming.

More of a 3.25 than a real 3.

[Lexxi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up

This was a fun and creative book. A landslide awakens a cryptid who starts terrorizing St Louis and surrounding area. I appreciated that the monster wasn't a dragon - from the cover and the initial description, I was expecting a dragon. However, it's actually a Native American Piasa bird (not a spoiler). I appreciated how the author did research into Native American mythology and went with a less common cryptid compared to a dragon. I learned a bit from the book.

We have a few main characters who are the only ones who believe that the bird is real. There's substantial denial from everyone else, no matter what evidence is provided. I want to say that's a bit unbelievable but, unfortunately, it's actually quite believable. The author gets a bit political in the book - though I agree with them, it was a little heavy handed.

Some of the parts dragged, especially in the middle. But the beginning and end were well done and interesting. It was a bit gorey (not horrible) but readers should be aware if they're anti-gore.

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m really not sure what to say here. This story left me speechless and not in a good way.
I don’t mind a YA novel, but this story is marketed for adults and feels plodding and written for children. It was actually painful to keep reading.

Not a fan of this creature feature unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Wicked House Publishing for a copy.

[Billie's Not So Secret Diary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devoured
by Bryan Alaspa
Fantasy Horror
NetGalley ARC
16+

Logan Field is the public safety manager for St. Louis, and even though there's unrest because of an incident involving a kid and the police, the mayor demands that the city's Fourth of July celebration will happen.

Then there is a weird murder in Chicago, followed by a half of a horse dropping from the sky, landing in the middle of a St. Louis protest, a young couple is found murdered at a park a few days later. But worse, a young boy seems to disappear right off his bicycle as he was riding home.

But after there's speculation that those murdered were killed by being bitten in half and a professor from California shows up in Logan's office with a far-fetched idea, Logan decides, even though it's all outrageous, to call up his friend who currently stars on a cryptid reality show.


This book reminded me of a combination of 'Reign of Fire', Jaws, and other 'B' type monster movies, and I liked it. I could see this one made into a B movie for that cable channel. Though the Jaws mirror of the mayor demanding the party goes on was a little too copied, the rest of the story kept my attention, and there were times I had a hard time pulling myself away from this book.

There are some gruesome deaths, and a couple of disturbing ones, so readers take warning that you could have some stomach-dropping feelings, I know I did.

Overall, this book is for when you need a far-fetched, easy-read monster story, but would still like some blood and guts in the mix.

A little longer, and more character development and overall descriptions could have earned this book one more star.

3 Stars

[Milt Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded to 4. If there is something like creature horror fantasy, this is it. In hindsight, however, it may rather be some kind of science fiction horror, since some of the explanations dropped are of the scientific kind, or try to be. What are the explanations about? Well, judging by the intriguing cover, you'd guess dragons, right? Wrong! The book draws on Native American legends about huge birds, strange flying beasts, and ancient winged monsters. We're thrown right into the story, thankfully without any flashbacks. There's a lot of action, until we reach the point at which we can form some kind of idea about the creature (after a couple of awesome attacks on Chicago and St. Louis). Some interesting characters are introduced, with very adult problems and attitudes, who are tasked to deal with this mysterious situation. The attacks are described in detail, the descriptions are quite graphic, if not gorey, people's reactions are very believable, and the whole treatment of the issue, both politically and in terms of city management, utterly convincing. What threw me a little bit is how the situation is resolved: it felt rushed, too character-driven, and somehow it didn't really fit the large-scale level of the story: a city-destroying beast dealt with by three people hunting it to its lair? I'd say that's 20th century Hollywood, not 21st century horror. But others may appreciate this more than I do. In any case, if you love a good monster story, this is the book for you!

[Ian Lima · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received early access to this novel via netgalley.

Light spoilage ahead!

This novel is the equivalent of a Saturday afternoon, cable tv action movie.

Is the writing the best? No.
Is the premise the most solid? No.
Is it fun? Yes.
Is the action and bloodshed going to keep me glued to my seat? 100%

I have 2 main issues with this book.

1. The dialogue and characters are robotic at best and clichéd to hell at worst. I mean every trope you could think of for male characters make an appearance at some point and the dialogue between them is B-movie level at best. The action sequences make up for this A LOT but I can’t overlook what I think are the 2 most important parts of any story.

2. There are some plot holes/liberties taken by the author than I just can rationalize, even though I know this to be a work of fiction. Just to quickly get them off my chest; nobody gets through airport security with a bag of guns, one of these guys has never heard of the Loch Ness monster (really?), nobody says “zip-a-dee-do-dah” anymore, and NOBODY would hand anyone who’s never handled a handgun before a DESERT EAGLE. Especially when there’s a more realistically sized weapon available to them in their bag.

Where this story does shine though is the action sequences. Those are done remarkably well and I LOVED the creature that this story revolves around. Truly a beast worth writing about.

Even with my issues this one is a solid 3/5.

[Jesse Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Series please! I love cryptozoology and can list off Josh Gates's entire tv history and books. The Piasa Bird is an underused cryptid in fiction, and Devoured combined everything I want to read about into a thrilling book that gave us crazy action set pieces, gore, solid characters, and mystery. The ending made me howl because it showed me a glimpse of something I want to read more about and I was so happy. I really liked how the author let us into the mind of the great beast and doesn't shy away from the destruction such a creature would bring to the human world. I like Matt and Logan, and Aaron, but aside from those three humans, I was team monster. A perfect summer blockbuster style read that I would love more of.

[Diane Knecht · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for a chance to read and review Devoured by Bryan Alaspa. All opinions are my own.

This story centers around Logan Field and him navigating his way in the public safety arena of St. Louis. What starts as problems with protesters and rioting, due to a police shooting, quickly turns into so much more. While dealing with those problems, other more sinister issues begin to happen. With no one in the government really trying to help, Logan starts calling and old friend and a professor to deal with the problem.

Unfortunately, this book didn't hit for me. I found myself not wanting to pick it up to see what would happen next. There was a lot written about what to do, how to do it, etc. in a large section of the book that seemed to drag for me. I didn't really connect with any of the characters to see what might happen to them. This does not mean that there aren't readers that would really love this book. It just needs to be placed in the right hands and unfortunately, I don't think that is me. If you are a reader that enjoys creature feature type books, this book could easily be treated as a first installment of a series. Devoured came out on August 18, 2023. Check it out and see if it is a good fit for you.

[Savannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devoured is a gloriously thrilling mashup or horror and fantasy. An ancient beast is awakened, only for it to begin terrorizing areas around St. Louis. Devoured has the perfect pacing. The story itself clocks in a little under 200 pages, and is split into chapters and subsections. This allows for the story to be told from multiple points of view. While it is predominantly told through the perspectives of Logan, Aaron, Mike, and the beast itself, various side characters are added in. This allows the reader to feel fully immersed in this fictional version of our world. Alaspa has done a mesmerizing job of creating simmering tension until the very last sentence. I was hooked from the beginning and finished this in one sitting! I look forward to reading more from him, as well as hopefully a sequel to Devoured.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for this ARC. This review was left voluntarily and all views expressed are my own.

[Johnathan Breeland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really well thought out horror Thriller with dragons It's been a while since I read a book that was modern day that had dragons in it,and this book did not fill to deliver it did start out a little slow but the Mayhem started not too far in I would kind of call this post-apocalyptic or kind of into the world stuff with dragons I didn't like the main character all that much but the Dragon material kept me reading I would definitely recommend it but it's far from a five-star read it definitely has its problems pacing is one I still finished it though cuz I love everything that has dragons in it could have been better still a solid horror Thriller
Thank you to Wicked House publishing and Netgalley for the ARC

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Bryan Alaspa and Wicked House Publishing for sending me this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, although I wouldn't say it is truly a horror book but more of an urban fantasy. It is a fast paced book with short and attention grabbing chapters. You get to follow multiple POVs that encounter the horror of the unknown monster that plagues St. Louis.

This book is definetly worth your time!!

[Catriona Lovett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unwelcome and Hungry, This Tourist Has Big, Sharp Teeth

Devoured is a shocking white-knuckle thriller inspired by Native American legends. It's easy to visualize the terrifying chaos and destruction that takes place when this ancient monster shows up for dinner.

I've always loved creature-features in books even more than in movies. No matter how sophisticated a film's special effects are, nothing can compare to the mind and its unlimited appetite for terror. Author Bryan Alaspa has boosted the impact by creating vivid victims, even if they didn't last very long.

Logan Field, St. Louis's Director of Public Safety, like Chief Martin Brody in Jaws, has his hands tied by the mayor when the creature first appears. Field can't shut the city down even though he's certain there's danger. Of course, the mayor's foolishness allows bloody and terrifying mayhem to ensue.

Field's enlistment of his old college friend, Mike Quinton, a sasquatch hunter and cryptid documentarian, and Aaron Baker, a Professor of Native American History Studies, adds some semblance of experience to a hastily assembled team. It's debatable whether they're really hunting the creature or if they're merely a food delivery service, but they succeed in delivering exciting action and suspense to the reader.

The structure of the book may be familiar, but it's effective. If you like stories that cause you to burn through the pages with your heart in your throat, look no further. The novel stands alone without any cliffhanger, but it's sure to become an exciting new series.

Thank you to author Bryan Alaspa, Wicked House Publishing, and Netgalley for my opportunity to read Devoured as a free advance reader's copy. Their generosity doesn't compel a positive review, but I'm delighted to give one anyway. I devoured Devoured.

[Sabrina Bright · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent, could’ve been so much better!

Dragons! What more do I need to say? This book has so much potential. It was wasted in the overlong descriptions of things that didn’t matter. Every little minute detail of some peoples lives was told to us and we just don’t need that kind of Information. This book would’ve moved along, so much better if he had cut out about a third of it!

[Jeremy Eads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember watching old Godzilla movies with my dad as a child. Those are some of my best memories of him. Bryan Alaspa's Devoured had me feeling like I was a kid on the couch with my father again. With solid action and a great monster, this one is good Saturday afternoon fun. Mr. Alaspa left me looking forward to his next effort!

[Emily Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gigantic bird that should not exist has been spotted in Saint Louis. People are dying violently. What is the flying creature.that is killing them. It pays bullets no mind. Can they stop it? New twist on a old legend,

[Jeff Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, old fashioned creature feature

Adapting Native American folklore to bring Thunderbirds to the Midwest? Yes please. A fun monster romp with a couple of main characters worth investing in.

[Jess (BooksFromBed) · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5 Stars (DNF @ 5%)

Big thanks to Wicked House Publishing and NetGalley for providing the ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review!