What do you think?
Rate this book
Never Hide from the Devil
The government wants them dead.
Fourteen-year-old Suren Simonian lives a familiar boyhood in the Armenian city of Van in eastern Anatolia— attending school, watching fistfights, and trying to stay out of the way of Turkish gendarmes. His closest companion is Hamza, his Turkish best friend, and most days feel ordinary enough.
But in the spring of 1915, rumors of massacres sweep through the region. Soon, Turkish troops surround Van with a single the extermination of its Armenian population. As violence closes in, Suren is forced to confront the meaning of loyalty, courage, and manhood in a world that has turned deadly overnight.
Based on a true story of resistance during the Armenian Genocide, Never Hide from the Devil is a powerful coming-of-age novel about friendship, survival, and impossible moral choices in the face of unimaginable horror.
Fourteen-year-old Suren Simonian lives a familiar boyhood in the Armenian city of Van in eastern Anatolia— attending school, watching fistfights, and trying to stay out of the way of Turkish gendarmes. His closest companion is Hamza, his Turkish best friend, and most days feel ordinary enough.
But in the spring of 1915, rumors of massacres sweep through the region. Soon, Turkish troops surround Van with a single the extermination of its Armenian population. As violence closes in, Suren is forced to confront the meaning of loyalty, courage, and manhood in a world that has turned deadly overnight.
Based on a true story of resistance during the Armenian Genocide, Never Hide from the Devil is a powerful coming-of-age novel about friendship, survival, and impossible moral choices in the face of unimaginable horror.
- GenresHistoricalHistory
351 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 5, 2026
About the author
N.T. McQueen
6 books64 followersN.T. McQueen is the author of the novels The Cry of Dry Bones and Between Lions and Lambs, historical novel Never Hide from the Devil (Cynren Press, 2026 and a forthcoming story collection from Silent Clamor Press. He earned his MA in Fiction from CSU-Sacramento under the direction of Doug Rice and his writing has been featured in issues of the North American Review, Stonecoast Review, Fiction Southeast, Entropy, The Grief Diaries, Gold Man Review, Camas: Nature of the West, Grief Digest Magazine, Stereo Stories, and others.
His passion for other cultures and countries has prompted him to do humanitarian work through non-profits in Cambodia, Mexico and Haiti and continues to seek opportunities to make a difference wherever they may arise. He currently lives in California with his wife and three daughters and his pastimes include fishing, watching basketball and spending time with his family.
To stay up to date on news, events and other writings, you can visit his website at www.ntmcqueen.com or follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
His passion for other cultures and countries has prompted him to do humanitarian work through non-profits in Cambodia, Mexico and Haiti and continues to seek opportunities to make a difference wherever they may arise. He currently lives in California with his wife and three daughters and his pastimes include fishing, watching basketball and spending time with his family.
To stay up to date on news, events and other writings, you can visit his website at www.ntmcqueen.com or follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
“Never Hide from the Devil” transports us to Van in 1915 during the Armenian Genocide. Upon the Turks’ attacks, fourteen-year-old Suren Simonian and his family are faced with a difficult decision: to either flee their homeland or to stay and defend their hogh at all costs. Neither of these options guarantees their survival but they ultimately decide to stay, and young Suren joins the fedayis’ resistance under the leadership of Aram Manoukian (the future founder of the First Republic of Armenia) after the murder of Ishkhan, a local fedayi from Van.
Drawing on the themes of courage, loyalty and maintaining friendships and family values while living in uncertainty, this book tells the coming of age story of a young boy who is forced to grow up in the centre of chaos, but is determined to do what is right to try to save his homeland and race from total destruction.
“Never Hide from the Devil” reminds us that evil doesn’t shrink when we look away, and it grows when good people stay silent. McQueen’s dedication of the book, “To all Armenians Past, Present and Future” strongly connects Suren’s bravery to the fight we Armenians still face to this very day. We shouldn’t hide from what threatens us; we should face it, speak up and act, even when inaction feels easier.
As the great-granddaughter of a fedayi myself, I resonated so strongly with this book and look forward to re-reading it when it’s out in May. It includes great thought-provoking discussion questions in the end, making it perfect for book clubs and schools for Armenians and non-Armenians.
A heartfelt thank you to N.T. McQueen for so accurately and delicately telling our story.
Drawing on the themes of courage, loyalty and maintaining friendships and family values while living in uncertainty, this book tells the coming of age story of a young boy who is forced to grow up in the centre of chaos, but is determined to do what is right to try to save his homeland and race from total destruction.
“Never Hide from the Devil” reminds us that evil doesn’t shrink when we look away, and it grows when good people stay silent. McQueen’s dedication of the book, “To all Armenians Past, Present and Future” strongly connects Suren’s bravery to the fight we Armenians still face to this very day. We shouldn’t hide from what threatens us; we should face it, speak up and act, even when inaction feels easier.
As the great-granddaughter of a fedayi myself, I resonated so strongly with this book and look forward to re-reading it when it’s out in May. It includes great thought-provoking discussion questions in the end, making it perfect for book clubs and schools for Armenians and non-Armenians.
A heartfelt thank you to N.T. McQueen for so accurately and delicately telling our story.
May 12, 2026
Having once lived in the Anatolia region of Turkey myself (where the book is set), I found this glimpse into a sad time in Turkish history to be both insightful and emotionally stirring. The book follows the young Suren as he navigates the increasingly violent world around him during the Armenian genocide. He soon faces complex choices about himself, relationships, the world and the sort of person he wants to be. Overall, an excellent and riveting read.
Review of advance copy
This is a compelling page turner about a historical event many people tend to overlook. I never knew much about the Armenian genocide of the early 1900s, but this book paints a brutal picture of what happened so many decades ago.
Told from the perspective of a young boy, this story is accessible yet heartbreaking, and sadly, this part of history will never be behind us. Though the author wrote the book more than 100 years after these horrors occurred, genocide remains a major global problem today. This book is timely, urgent, and important as we consider the never-ending conflicts in the Middle East. This novel also puts children at the forefront: these innocents are the ones who suffer most in war. When reading NEVER HIDE FROM THE DEVIL, I often asked myself what it means to be a parent bringing my own sons into an imperfect world. How will it shape them? Will they be urged to turn to violence as the characters in this book ponder doing, or will they choose kindness and humanity? The children in NEVER HIDE FROM THE DEVIL are never given a choice. I find it commendable of author N.T. McQueen for giving children a voice in this story, because they're the ones who suffer the most for our own flawed choices. This is also a wonderful story about family, the love we have for each other, and even what it means to be young and mischievous. The boys are able to remain playful and at times impish in spite of everything happening around them (sneaking around to get more information and just being young and clueless as they should be), and I see that as the real miracle here. Thank you, N.T. McQueen, for giving us Suren. The little boys in his position so many years ago deserved better than they got.
Told from the perspective of a young boy, this story is accessible yet heartbreaking, and sadly, this part of history will never be behind us. Though the author wrote the book more than 100 years after these horrors occurred, genocide remains a major global problem today. This book is timely, urgent, and important as we consider the never-ending conflicts in the Middle East. This novel also puts children at the forefront: these innocents are the ones who suffer most in war. When reading NEVER HIDE FROM THE DEVIL, I often asked myself what it means to be a parent bringing my own sons into an imperfect world. How will it shape them? Will they be urged to turn to violence as the characters in this book ponder doing, or will they choose kindness and humanity? The children in NEVER HIDE FROM THE DEVIL are never given a choice. I find it commendable of author N.T. McQueen for giving children a voice in this story, because they're the ones who suffer the most for our own flawed choices. This is also a wonderful story about family, the love we have for each other, and even what it means to be young and mischievous. The boys are able to remain playful and at times impish in spite of everything happening around them (sneaking around to get more information and just being young and clueless as they should be), and I see that as the real miracle here. Thank you, N.T. McQueen, for giving us Suren. The little boys in his position so many years ago deserved better than they got.
Review of advance copy received from Author
“My Baba always says, ‘Dogs that fight each other will join against the wolf.’” “What does that mean?” “I don’t know. It just seemed like the right thing to say.”
Historical fiction of the Armenian genocide as narrated by a young teen, whose universe previously had been defined by Lake Van to the west and Mount Ararat to the east. Fictional Suren Simonian and his family face uncertainty and horror of the historic Ottoman Turk siege of his home city of Van in eastern Turkey. Remnants of the people who have inhabited that region for three millennia are the focus of a secret but official policy of extermination.
“Don’t let what our people think stop you from being who you are. Not all tears are weak.”
After a glimpse of Suren’s normal life, including his friendship with a Turkish youth, first the rumors then the reality of a Turkish military siege forces maturity on him almost overnight. His hopes, fears, and confusion realistically reflect a fourteen-year-old’s reaction to invasion of a war which had seemed to be a continent away. With his older brothers conscripted into the Turkish army years before, Suren is unprepared for his nation to declare that his people, one of its own ancient ethnic minorities, are in rebellion. He refuses to hide at home, but he is also not ready for the action demanded of him in defense of his family and neighbors. Suren tends to overthink everything, then freeze at the moment of decision.
“Fear makes us do and say things we wouldn’t normally do.” “She must be scared all the time.”
McQueen advances his story as experienced by a youth, whose unreliability as a narrator is offset by his intense and varying emotions. Suren’s position on the fringe of the Armenian resistance keeps the focus tight on the teens around him as they seek to help despite the danger and uncertainty. Heartbreak happens. McQueen concludes his work realistically considering the misery to come.
“Never forget who you are,” he says, holding up one finger. “And never, never, hide from the devil.”
(This review also appears in the May 2026 Historical Novel Review.
Historical fiction of the Armenian genocide as narrated by a young teen, whose universe previously had been defined by Lake Van to the west and Mount Ararat to the east. Fictional Suren Simonian and his family face uncertainty and horror of the historic Ottoman Turk siege of his home city of Van in eastern Turkey. Remnants of the people who have inhabited that region for three millennia are the focus of a secret but official policy of extermination.
“Don’t let what our people think stop you from being who you are. Not all tears are weak.”
After a glimpse of Suren’s normal life, including his friendship with a Turkish youth, first the rumors then the reality of a Turkish military siege forces maturity on him almost overnight. His hopes, fears, and confusion realistically reflect a fourteen-year-old’s reaction to invasion of a war which had seemed to be a continent away. With his older brothers conscripted into the Turkish army years before, Suren is unprepared for his nation to declare that his people, one of its own ancient ethnic minorities, are in rebellion. He refuses to hide at home, but he is also not ready for the action demanded of him in defense of his family and neighbors. Suren tends to overthink everything, then freeze at the moment of decision.
“Fear makes us do and say things we wouldn’t normally do.” “She must be scared all the time.”
McQueen advances his story as experienced by a youth, whose unreliability as a narrator is offset by his intense and varying emotions. Suren’s position on the fringe of the Armenian resistance keeps the focus tight on the teens around him as they seek to help despite the danger and uncertainty. Heartbreak happens. McQueen concludes his work realistically considering the misery to come.
“Never forget who you are,” he says, holding up one finger. “And never, never, hide from the devil.”
(This review also appears in the May 2026 Historical Novel Review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews