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The Drowning God #2
The Devouring God: A Japanese Horror Thriller of Monster Hunters, Deadly Conspiracies, and a Traitor Within
From the author of THE DROWNING GOD, James Kendley, comes another chilling tale of horror set in Southern Japan. It’s been three years since security guard Tohru Takuda and his reluctant band of monster hunters defeated the Kappa of the Naga River. Now, a mysterious artifact is driving innocents in Southern Japan to flay their friends alive, and the grisly murders turn Takuda’s world upside down. Disheartened and impoverished, he struggles to lead his rag-tag team to find the artifact before it poisons the entire nation. Takuda is caught between the police, the bloodthirsty murderers, and forces conspiring to harness the artifact’s horrible powers. And all the while, he must watch his back, because the most dangerous killer may be lurking among his own men…
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 15, 2015
7 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
James Kendley
12 books27 followersJames Kendley has written and edited professionally for more than 40 years, first as a newspaper reporter and editor, then as a copy editor and translator in Japan (where he taught for eight years at private colleges and universities), and currently as an educational publishing content wrangler living in northern Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 17, 2016
The Devouring God is the second book in the Tohru Takuda series, but it’s not necessary to have read the first to enjoy it. There’s enough backstory to fill in the gaps – enough to interest me in reading the first book – and give context to the bigger picture that connects the series.
Takuda, Mori, and Suzuki are ghost hunters, recently renowned for saving a village from a murderous Kappa. As they investigate a teacher who made disturbing phone calls to the local mental health agency, they discover an artifact so murderously evil that it could not only kill everyone in Fukuoka but all of Japan. This hunt is different than their last brush with the supernatural. Clues come too easily. as if they’re being led toward the answer for the benefit of a third party. The hunters are changing, both physically and mentally, but is it for the better? Or is it part of a corrupt corporation’s business plan?
I enjoyed the vivid sense of place I got from the novel. The city becomes more than just a backdrop here, as the history of the place is important to the story. Snippets of history, culture and day-to-day life gave the story an extra push that immersed me into the lives of the characters. The author lived and worked in Japan, and his experience as an American living abroad there certainly informs his descriptions. It’s also refreshing to find an urban fantasy that doesn’t rely on a large organization bent on keeping the paranormal secret. If their straight jobs fall through, or they get fired, they’re on the street. There isn’t a secret quasi-governmental agency ready to swoop them off to safety. It raises the stakes, thus improving my enjoyment of the story.
Before you assume this book is all travelogue and mundanity, let me remind you that this is a horror story. There are whispers of cannibalism in the history of this city, and the object that Takuda, Suzuki, and Mori are after is very, very hungry. It drives ordinary people to ritualistic murders that are both beautiful and grotesque in their execution.
“All at once, they grinned. Their mouths popped open in painful-looking grimaces, baring their teeth in spastic smiles that stretched and contorted their lips. They grinned ad grinned in a humorless, skull-like rictus identical on every face.
He pushed with all his strength, trying to break through. The crowd absorbed his push, and he felt a shocking, burning pain that ran up his arm. He pulled back his hand and stared at it. It was dark brown—blood.”
If you’re a fan of urban fantasy, Japanese horror or a mix of the two, check out The Devouring God. It’s a bit slow to get started but stick with it as the pieces come together, and it will be hard to put down.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review, originally published at http://bookie-monster.com
Takuda, Mori, and Suzuki are ghost hunters, recently renowned for saving a village from a murderous Kappa. As they investigate a teacher who made disturbing phone calls to the local mental health agency, they discover an artifact so murderously evil that it could not only kill everyone in Fukuoka but all of Japan. This hunt is different than their last brush with the supernatural. Clues come too easily. as if they’re being led toward the answer for the benefit of a third party. The hunters are changing, both physically and mentally, but is it for the better? Or is it part of a corrupt corporation’s business plan?
I enjoyed the vivid sense of place I got from the novel. The city becomes more than just a backdrop here, as the history of the place is important to the story. Snippets of history, culture and day-to-day life gave the story an extra push that immersed me into the lives of the characters. The author lived and worked in Japan, and his experience as an American living abroad there certainly informs his descriptions. It’s also refreshing to find an urban fantasy that doesn’t rely on a large organization bent on keeping the paranormal secret. If their straight jobs fall through, or they get fired, they’re on the street. There isn’t a secret quasi-governmental agency ready to swoop them off to safety. It raises the stakes, thus improving my enjoyment of the story.
Before you assume this book is all travelogue and mundanity, let me remind you that this is a horror story. There are whispers of cannibalism in the history of this city, and the object that Takuda, Suzuki, and Mori are after is very, very hungry. It drives ordinary people to ritualistic murders that are both beautiful and grotesque in their execution.
“All at once, they grinned. Their mouths popped open in painful-looking grimaces, baring their teeth in spastic smiles that stretched and contorted their lips. They grinned ad grinned in a humorless, skull-like rictus identical on every face.
He pushed with all his strength, trying to break through. The crowd absorbed his push, and he felt a shocking, burning pain that ran up his arm. He pulled back his hand and stared at it. It was dark brown—blood.”
If you’re a fan of urban fantasy, Japanese horror or a mix of the two, check out The Devouring God. It’s a bit slow to get started but stick with it as the pieces come together, and it will be hard to put down.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review, originally published at http://bookie-monster.com
October 10, 2016
This is an enjoyable second chapter in the adventures of Takudo and his fellow monster hunters. Author Kendley does an excellent job of making this second hunt distinctive enough of a story to maintain one's interest. Its a quick, compelling read.
Kendley does expand his style from the first volume. A few early paragraphs brought to mind the line from the movie 'Marty:' "that Mickey Spillane, boy, he sure could write."
I look forward to the third adventure of horny Takudo and cohorts.
Kendley does expand his style from the first volume. A few early paragraphs brought to mind the line from the movie 'Marty:' "that Mickey Spillane, boy, he sure could write."
I look forward to the third adventure of horny Takudo and cohorts.
October 27, 2017
Highly recommended! See my review for The Devouring God.
December 5, 2016
More like 3.5 Another solidly written entry into what I would describe as the SF/horror world he created with the Drowning God. We pick up with our three reluctant monster hunters some time after the events of the previous book. We are given to understand that they have been roaming the islands putting down supernatural incidents living a vagabond lifestyle. Enter their latest case, a truly chilling series of murders, dubbed the Jellyfish murders (as all the victims have been stripped of their bones). The opening chapters were really gruesome and haunting.
While I still feel that I don't really know any of our main three characters well, or what drives them, I did like that Kendley continues to expand their understanding of their role. It seemed perhaps they were simply fated to fight monsters being in the right place, at the right time. Now it seems that they each might be more than simply human, and I enjoyed the way the author is developing those aspects. Counselor Endo of the sinister Zenkoku organization reappears and more on that theme is also developed.
I wasn't sure if it would be worth continuing the series, but I am drawn enough to the plots and mysteries, even if I have no great attachment to the characters. I look forward to reading the next book, focusing, I assume on Mori as the other two (Takuda and Suzuki) have each gotten their own book now.
While I still feel that I don't really know any of our main three characters well, or what drives them, I did like that Kendley continues to expand their understanding of their role. It seemed perhaps they were simply fated to fight monsters being in the right place, at the right time. Now it seems that they each might be more than simply human, and I enjoyed the way the author is developing those aspects. Counselor Endo of the sinister Zenkoku organization reappears and more on that theme is also developed.
I wasn't sure if it would be worth continuing the series, but I am drawn enough to the plots and mysteries, even if I have no great attachment to the characters. I look forward to reading the next book, focusing, I assume on Mori as the other two (Takuda and Suzuki) have each gotten their own book now.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews