Red Devil: The Book of Satan

by David Saperstein

"In ""Red Devil,"" an exciting novel of international intrigue by David Saperstein - author of the best seller, ""Cocoon"" - Nickolai Valarian stalks the Kremlin halls where Vladimir Putin now resides. Valarian spins a fiendish Cold War web of deception and brutality to seize control of the entire Soviet Union and beyond, to world domination. Against that diabolical a threat, the Secret Services of the whole fragmented world must work together to try to stop him. ""Red Devil"" - newly updated and revised by the author - is the first book of David Saperstein's new The Evil on Earth."

Genres: Horror, Espionage, Thriller, Supernatural

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

David Saperstein is the author of Red Devil - The Book of Satan the first book in The Evil on Earth series, as well as the novel Cocoon, a New York Times Bestseller and Academy Award-winning film. In addition to The Evil on Earth series, his novels include Metamorphosis: The Cocoon Story Continues and Butterfly: Tomorrow’s Children – parts II and III of the Cocoon Trilogy; Fatal Reunion; and he co-authored A Christmas Visitor (for which he also wrote the Hallmark TV film); A Christmas Passage; and A Christmas Gift.

A pioneering proponent of ebooks, in 1998 his novel Dark Again was the first full novel available via the Internet.

Reviews

[Grady Hendrix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breathless, sub-Ludlum Cold War hoo-hah about nice KGB agents battling Satan using super-shofars that can blast his minions through walls. Not sure which was less realistic, the scenes of demon-blasting or the notion that the KGB and MOSSAD would team up.

[Paul Hasbrouck · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different type of Cold War thriller, with a Soviet general who a long past of evil doings and a plan to set off a nuclear war.
As the action, wonderful action, proceeds a mixed group of CIA, MOSSAD, KGE agents race against time to stop him.
Take some time off and return those thrilling days of yesterday!
0....did in mention it has demons!

[Micky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mossad, the CIA, the KGB and a group of Orthodox Jews working together to defeat Satan disguised as a high ranking Russian official. Wow! Mr. Saperstein spins an exciting, breathtaking tale. Can't wait to read the next book in the series.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last week marked the 30th anniversary of a crucial Cold War event-the Berlin Wall came crumbling down, and East and West were nearly one. To mark this pivotal moment, I thought it might be interesting to find a vintage read dealing with Soviet times. I was not disappointed.

A force of evil, with the power to wreak havoc on the world, is terrorizing the Jewish population in Russia. The grotesque occurrences are immediately vanquished, but after finding primordial and acrostic poetry in his friends apartment, KGB colonel Peter Somoroff suspects more than dormant hate crimes. I won’t summarize the antagonist (see synopsis), but it involves a Damien Thorn meets Exorcist plot, with a more strange and mystical emphasis. You won’t find initiation rituals involving rainbows, tongues, and candles mentioned in those references.

There’s also a sweeping story involving the CIA, DIA, KGB, and Mossad. The action and adventure was fast paced and sustainable, but the author chooses to silver line the relationship between the Israelis and Soviets. The harmonious progression of the story is serene and tranquil at times, but sometimes things become a little too religious for my taste. Still, it doesn’t merit a disapproval from me.

[Ken Saunders · Rating 2 out of 5]

As both an amateur Russian history buff as well as paperback horror enthusiast, I was excited to get my hands on this odd-ball occult thriller. None other than Satan(!) has joined the ranks of Soviet bureaucrats in an effort to restart the disastrous pogroms against the country's Jewish population, and it is up to KGB agent Peter Somoroff (and 4 dozen of his friends) to stop him. It turns out that Satan is not very good at running an evil empire. He keeps attempting to make calls and insisting on meetings that the more savvy comrades evade. So what is Satan to do but sex up a series of male and female disciples. It is entertaining to read about all the antics of Satan's two foot long rainbow tongue that deposits tenderly flaming kisses on, say, the writhing body of the seputagenarian General Secretary. But aside from that this book is BORING, padded front to back with excess characters you can't tell apart - 62 characters in these 312 pages! (Compare that to Middlemarch that has about 35 in 900 pages.) Still worse, the last half is mostly lame Ken Follett stuff, so boring it made my eyes glaze over:

"An Israeli tactical bomber, capable of landing on an aircraft carrier, would transport the people from Israel to the American Sixth Fleet flagship currently cruising in the Mediterranean off Cyprus. They would transfer to an American missile-launching jet helicopter, which would take them to a Soviet aircraft carrier now stationed off the Turkish coast. From there a Soviet scout plane would bring them to the base at Dubna. If all went well, the plane from Paris would arrive a half hour before the Israeli contingent."

[Ben Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another solid, well written, pager turner of an 80s Horror paperback. A lot of fascinating culture and history weaved in there as well.

[AH]

*I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. I will read and review the book when I receive it.*