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The Devouring
Lurking beneath the streets of rundown neighborhoods, evil, unseen forces prepare to attack the weak and defenseless with a raging fury that soon promises to victimize anything that lives and breathes. Original.
- GenresHorror
363 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 8, 2016
I blame the cover. When I saw this in a 50 cent bin at a used book store, it caught my eye--"What you can't see can kill you" over a door with a perfectly central hole in it and two yellow eyes, that look very similar to How to Train Your Dragon eyes--and are not spooky whatsoever, despite the intended menace. More cartoonish than anything. So I snorted to myself in anticipation of some silly standard horror and instead got...
A rape fueled idiocy starring a misogynistic blue collar tractor driver/romance novelist who has to fight not only the evil mass-murdering FBI and government forces but also ancient batlike creatures who live off human flesh and rape the women. Now, no book will ever be as bad as Sopath--that has set the table of depths that any book can sink to, and if not for that...I think this would be the worst book I've read all year.
It's so bad, that it fails on almost all levels. I caught myself gagging or muttering "ughs" to myself at just the dialogue as I grimly read on. For starters, the character/author has such a transparent dislike of the government and I'm guessing is some kind of sovereign citizen type in real life, that the "investigation" and "government response" is farcically bad. The folksy sheriff of course is the greatest authority and a wonderful man/anarchist and the county doctor has no trouble giving the inside scoop of the investigation into the grisly murders at a mountain research cabin. The male FBI agent is so mustache twiddling evil, killing practically everyone in his path and somehow framing Morgan for it at all at the same time (for reasons?) while in cahoots with White House, while the weak blushing female FBI agent veers between desperately trying to cling to authority or being completely hopeless. She's only there for one purpose really.
Well two, since every single woman in this book has her breast size included in the first description of her. Constantly that or legs mentioned and the more it happens the more it's noticeable. Because he must have ANSWERS, he barges into her hotel room by kicking in the door. Her first thought of course as he launches himself at her is "Rape!" and then when he tells her to hear him out, "Wasn't that the kind of thing a rapist or murder would say? Isn't that exactly what some pervert would tell their victim, just before they brutalized them?" Well she's the FBI agent, I'd hope she'd know. And of course she tells him the whole story of ripped out wombs and lost women to Aztec bat gods hiding in the snowy Rocky mountains and then has weepy sex with him.
The final showdown? Where he manages to stop the helicopter by throwing a rock? How nothing got wrapped up for Connie at all. The ridiculous cheesy end? Even the epilogue made my blood boil. I could go on for probably pages with horrible examples, and since this is a procedural/horror that fails on all basic levels too. Basically:
but not worth any more effort on this one.
I want my 50 cents back!
A rape fueled idiocy starring a misogynistic blue collar tractor driver/romance novelist who has to fight not only the evil mass-murdering FBI and government forces but also ancient batlike creatures who live off human flesh and rape the women. Now, no book will ever be as bad as Sopath--that has set the table of depths that any book can sink to, and if not for that...I think this would be the worst book I've read all year.
It's so bad, that it fails on almost all levels. I caught myself gagging or muttering "ughs" to myself at just the dialogue as I grimly read on. For starters, the character/author has such a transparent dislike of the government and I'm guessing is some kind of sovereign citizen type in real life, that the "investigation" and "government response" is farcically bad. The folksy sheriff of course is the greatest authority and a wonderful man/anarchist and the county doctor has no trouble giving the inside scoop of the investigation into the grisly murders at a mountain research cabin. The male FBI agent is so mustache twiddling evil, killing practically everyone in his path and somehow framing Morgan for it at all at the same time (for reasons?) while in cahoots with White House, while the weak blushing female FBI agent veers between desperately trying to cling to authority or being completely hopeless. She's only there for one purpose really.
Well two, since every single woman in this book has her breast size included in the first description of her. Constantly that or legs mentioned and the more it happens the more it's noticeable. Because he must have ANSWERS, he barges into her hotel room by kicking in the door. Her first thought of course as he launches himself at her is "Rape!" and then when he tells her to hear him out, "Wasn't that the kind of thing a rapist or murder would say? Isn't that exactly what some pervert would tell their victim, just before they brutalized them?" Well she's the FBI agent, I'd hope she'd know. And of course she tells him the whole story of ripped out wombs and lost women to Aztec bat gods hiding in the snowy Rocky mountains and then has weepy sex with him.
The final showdown? Where he manages to stop the helicopter by throwing a rock? How nothing got wrapped up for Connie at all. The ridiculous cheesy end? Even the epilogue made my blood boil. I could go on for probably pages with horrible examples, and since this is a procedural/horror that fails on all basic levels too. Basically:
but not worth any more effort on this one.
I want my 50 cents back!
November 27, 2023
It had such potential. The synopsis on the back had me thinking I was in for a tale of demons walking the earth. Ok. Bat human hybrids ain't such a bad monster to come up with. And, at least, the author found a plausible reason for them to be kidnapping & raping human women. At least.
Can we please haVE A THRILLER WHERE THE MALE & FEMALE ANTAGONISTS DON'T WIND UP IN BED TOGETHER AND FALLING IN LOVE?!?! Is that just too much to ask for? This is why I gave up on several other authors. It's cool now & again when it works organically in the story but not when it's forced.
And it's entirely believable that a woman with no real weapon & a man with a broken ankle defeated flying creatures with above human strength, speed, & agility. Yep. Totally believable. *weary eye roll*
It was decent enough to finish. Unlike some other readers, I actually liked Connie's open-ended epilogue.
I probably would've given it 4 stars if it didn't haVE SO MANY GRAMMATICAL ERRORS! Seriously. "Your" instead of "You're"?! I wish I'd counted. The errors were EVERYWHERE. I shoulda gone into the publishing business. Grammar is my soul mate & the Oxford comma is my mistress.
Can we please haVE A THRILLER WHERE THE MALE & FEMALE ANTAGONISTS DON'T WIND UP IN BED TOGETHER AND FALLING IN LOVE?!?! Is that just too much to ask for? This is why I gave up on several other authors. It's cool now & again when it works organically in the story but not when it's forced.
And it's entirely believable that a woman with no real weapon & a man with a broken ankle defeated flying creatures with above human strength, speed, & agility. Yep. Totally believable. *weary eye roll*
It was decent enough to finish. Unlike some other readers, I actually liked Connie's open-ended epilogue.
I probably would've given it 4 stars if it didn't haVE SO MANY GRAMMATICAL ERRORS! Seriously. "Your" instead of "You're"?! I wish I'd counted. The errors were EVERYWHERE. I shoulda gone into the publishing business. Grammar is my soul mate & the Oxford comma is my mistress.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2014
The story was amusing but that's about it- I'd give it 2.5 stars if I could. I found the main character unlikable and a lot of the dialogue was over the top. But if you're looking for an entertaining, action-focused, easy-to-read novel, I guess this one is alright.
September 9, 2013
Wasn't a bad read to a 15 year old.
July 2, 2023
A decent, if a little bloated creature feature from the tail end of the horror boom. The creatures are really nasty, and there is some good atmosphere and action. A good 80 pages or so could have been trimmed to make for a better read, but decently entertaining enough for horror fans. The writing is competent enough, if not dazzling.
December 21, 2025
reads like a 90s movie. very fun
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews