The Devil's Touch

The Devil #3

by William W. Johnstone

The town of Logandale is showing signs of the foul presence of the Prince of Darkness. Hollow-eyed, hungry corpses rise from unearthly tombs to gorge themselves on living flesh, spawning a new generation of restless Undead. Only Sam and Nydia Balon have faced the master before and know what must be done.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Occult, Ebooks, Contemporary, Modern, Paranormal

350 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

William W. Johnstone is the #1 bestselling Western writer in America and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of hundreds of books, with over 50 million copies sold. Born in southern Missouri, he was raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and tutored by his schoolteacher mother. He left school at fifteen to work in a carnival and then as a deputy sheriff before serving in the army. He went on to become known as "the Greatest Western writer of the 21st Century." Visit him online at WilliamJohnstone.net.

Reviews

[Bill Riggs]

Old school horror that finds the inhabitants of a small New York town caught in the middle of a biblical battle of good and evil. Sam and Nydia, the protagonists from volume two, return to do battle with another evil coven. Once again Johnstone portrays true evil without and sugarcoating. No sparkly vampires here, this is foul, filthy evil with no redeeming qualities.

[Dee]

It was hard to think that things like this could happen,but after reading this novel and what the world is like today it is not that far off!

[Jim Glover]

I love the gore and stuff but the problem with it is that it was almost exactly like the other ones. He even describes some of the killings the same over and over again

[Cheri Schaefer]

Well, this one kept me up all night!

Really a scary book! Could happen, the way the
world is headed today. I enjoyed the book, but was
grossed out at times with the descriptions of some
of the scenes. If it were a movie I wouldn't be able
to watch it. Too gorey !!!!!! Anyway, I will be reading
the rest of the series. The Devil's Cat is next.

[Jim Glover]

The first time I tried to read this book I think that it seemed a lot like the book before I decide to give it another chance. On the second time around this book was a lot better. I love The core but I think you could've went a little less on the depravity. I agree that this is probably what would happen if I was to completely take over not to spoil anything but wow he really went into detail. A lot of it was kind of like the previous book. Some of the details were extremely graphic so if you decide to read this book all in all though it was fantastic whore book and I wish you still Road things like this.

[Tam French]

Another awesome book in this series!!

And the story of Sam, Nydia and little Sam continues...I am a huge fan of this series and Mr. Johnstone. Excellent writing and the attention to detail is superb! Not a huge fan of religion, but the mix of religion and horror is terrific! Mind you, these aren't your typical Christian types, but the very faithful who are human to a fault and know they are only doing/being the best that they can.

[Tome Reader]

Third book in the Devil series, and this book was my least favorite so far. A lot of rehashing of book one and book two. Just like how book two was there’s nothing new happening. It’s SSDD. That being said, it’s still a good book that has just enough action, comedy and horror to keep you wanting more. 3.5 stars but I’ll round down to 3. Everybody says it just goes downhill after this and I hope I don’t end up agreeing with them. Onward to book four!

[Tom Smith]

Top notch trash

The Devil is still after Sam Balon and his family ... Another small town will be the battleground. There will be murder, rape, incest, and Satan worship ... And that's just the beginning! Great trash horror continues in this the third book in the Devils series. Somewhere between a Christian Apocalyptic novel and naughty porn paperback.

[Sharon]

Wow

The devil and his followers are lose in a small town. This book is full of graphic sex and violence.

It is about the battle of good against evil. Sadly the battle is never ending.

[DJMikeG]

Bobby Brown's classic jam, "Humpin Around" came out in 1992, I wonder if Bobby was reading this 1984 book by William W Johnstone during the writing of the song, because that is mostly what this book is about.
Johnstone continues his "Devil's" series here, the third installment. This book had way better pacing than the first and second novels in the series. That said, it is basically the same horror novel that Johnstone endlessly rewrote in the 80s and 90s, with a few curveballs thrown in, mainly the protagonists doing what Bobby Brown sang about. But, it is okay if you cheat on your spouse if you were possessed by the Devil (who is a character in these books) at the time. And if you come back to God (who is a character in these books), the fact that you humped around only makes your marriage stronger, for reasons.
I was entertained, for the most part, throughout this book, but like the first two books in this series, this is sleazy, depraved schlock. Your mileage will vary.
It speaks to some sort of psychological disorder, I think, to basically create Christian fiction that is incredibly sleazy and gory. And it speaks to a larger psychological disorder to read this crap and actually be entertained by it.

[henry smith]

Plenty of action violence fornication hard killing of the most vile nature. Not quite as good as the first two but still very good. Graphic violence sex and human cruelty. But faith and love prevailed in the end. The power of good over evil God over satan. Just glad this is fictional

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Egghead]

wild theology
grotesque sex and violence-
it's a johnstone book!

[Leftenant]

At 50%, I am debating whether to continue on (I think #4 the plot changes a bit, looking forward to that...equally, with all the great stuff to read - why am I treading water here?)...perhaps a bit of vent will help propel me to the finish line.
C'mon! It's nearly the same story as Book#1 The Devil's Kiss & Book#2 The Devil's Heart. Once again, a small town where the residents become disciples of the Devil & other folk who are bewildered and perpetually unbelieving that evil is afoot.
The Beasts just seem to appear out of holes like Cicadas...emerging when necessary to "Feast & Snarl." Town folk are always leering out of windows, with yellow teeth. I get "the game" is tied to Sam Balon - but it really seems convenient.
Amusingly, Johnstone sure loves to have his characters put a pot of coffee on and discuss the compiling events. These convos were epic in Book#1 - page after page of everyone proclaiming disbelief that their neighbors are now servants of Satan. Tedious. Book #2 was a bit better I thought, but it was still the same plot in the end.
This, of course, is all mixed up with loads of graphic sex that gets old real fast. There are moments when it's interesting...mostly when Sam and Nydia are on the page.
All the dozens of ancillary characters are just unimportant...I find my self "speed reading" when the primary protags aren't moving the plot towards the inevitable...another showdown in town. Okay, done with rant...now to chew down the last 50% and hope that book#4 will improve.

Ended up skimming to the final battle. Overall, pointless story that fails to advance Sam’s story. Way too many characters…Sam & Nydia’s stupid infidelities were annoying in that they would both realize they were under the influence of evil and make up. Teenage me would have loved this much more. I’ll skim book 4 I guess, but will be hovering over the eject button.

[Sarah]

I'm reading this series for a work book club. This is the 3rd book of the series. I didn't like this book as much as the first two. This book seems to be a repeat of the 2nd book, with the only exception being the protagonist gets to blow up an entire town in this novel.

[Camilla Lloyd]

Devil's Series by William W. Johnstone loved the series but someone needs to put on all on eBook! so people can read them on there tablets and so on. Thanks :-) :-) :-) (would read them all over and over if on eBook) would love to find more eBooks like this but for free.:-) :-) :-)

[Valerie]

Great third book. My favorite besides the original. These just get better and better