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Black Road #2
Devil's Highway
In the haunted desolation of post-nuclear Britain, the Catchman walks. Spawned from the nightmare of Project Tindalos, it doesn’t tire, stop, or die. It exists for one purpose only: to find and kill Helen Damnation, leader of the growing revolt against the tyrannical Reapers and their Commander, Tereus Winterborn.
Meanwhile, Helen is threatened from both without and within. Her nightmares of the Black Road have returned, and the ghosts of her murdered family demand vengeance, in the form of either Winterborn’s death or her own. And close behind the Catchman, a massive Reaper assault, led by Helen’s nemesis, Colonel Jarrett, is nearing the rebels’ base.
Killing Helen has become Jarrett’s obsession: only one of them can emerge from this conflict alive.
- GenresHorror
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 2016
27 people want to read
About the author
Simon Bestwick
91 books84 followersSimon Bestwick was born in Wolverhampton in 1974. He has worked in various jobs, from fast food operative through drama teacher to training administrator. His short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Nasty Piece of Work, All Hallows, Darkness Rising, Extremes 5, and Beneath the Ground. He lives in Swinton, Lancashire, and when not writing can be found indulging his interests: walking, films, literature, rock, folk, and jazz music, good food, and the occasional pint.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 7, 2018
Amazing
Well written,great characters and it never stops! Second book in the Black Road series - the first one, Hell's Ditch is good. Devil's Highway is even better!
Well written,great characters and it never stops! Second book in the Black Road series - the first one, Hell's Ditch is good. Devil's Highway is even better!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2017
It has been a very busy and productive year for Simon Bestwick with the release of numerous short stories, novellas and novels. Where this may have led some authors to sacrifice quality for quantity, fans of this author know that they have no need to worry about such things. Indeed, with Devil’s Highway, the follow-up to Hell’s Ditch and second book in the ‘The Black Road’ series, Bestwick has delivered an excellent cross-genre blend which shall appeal to horror, military and action fans alike.
Although it is the second book in a series, Bestwick has managed to make it accessible to both fans of the first book and newcomers alike, which is no small feat. For the initiated there are mentions of Project Tindalos and the origin of Gevaudan. But for those new to The Black Road, these are small insights that will only broaden their understanding and heighten their enjoyment of the story of the conflict between the Reapers and the rebels. Part post-apocalyptic horror, part military action, Bestwick has crafted a thrilling tour-de-force novel full of military grade action sequences and complex characters. But also moments of intense emotion and the lightest touches of romance which combine to deliver a compelling story that pulls you in and refuses to let go.
To read the full review, head over to This Is Horror
Although it is the second book in a series, Bestwick has managed to make it accessible to both fans of the first book and newcomers alike, which is no small feat. For the initiated there are mentions of Project Tindalos and the origin of Gevaudan. But for those new to The Black Road, these are small insights that will only broaden their understanding and heighten their enjoyment of the story of the conflict between the Reapers and the rebels. Part post-apocalyptic horror, part military action, Bestwick has crafted a thrilling tour-de-force novel full of military grade action sequences and complex characters. But also moments of intense emotion and the lightest touches of romance which combine to deliver a compelling story that pulls you in and refuses to let go.
To read the full review, head over to This Is Horror
February 3, 2017
Sequels are a tricky thing. No less so when you’re writing the second book in an intended trilogy. You’ve got to maintain the momentum gathered by the first book whilst simultaneously weaving in new plot threads and new characters. A good thing then that Simon Bestwick is eminently up to the task.
‘Devil’s Highway’ ups the already considerable stakes of its precursor, ‘Hell’s Ditch’ with what proves to be an absolutely relentless assault on both the rebels and Helen Damnation’s resolve. In many ways ‘Devil’s Highway’ is a high-octane action movie of a book: the ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ of genre novels, only with more dialogue. And this is not a bad thing. It’s not entirely blazing guns, blood and glory. Bestwick intersperses these frantic action scenes – reminiscent of war films in their impact – with quieter, more introspective moments. We feel the fear and the hopelessness of the cornered rebels, the vitriol of returning character Jarret, whose role is greatly expanded from ‘Hell’s Ditch’ and to great effect. War, in ‘Devil’s Highway’, is not a glamourous thing.
The real highlight of this sequel, for me, was the glimpse into main protagonist Helen’s past. This serves as both a lens on the original crisis which plunged Britain into apocalyptic despair, and on Helen herself. In the hands of another writer, Helen might have become a dull caricature of a ‘strong female character’. Here, though, her flaws and failings are put under a narrative microscope and viewed alongside her strengths and triumphs: she is a brave warrior, a survivor, a leader of men. She is also weak and selfish and dangerously impulsive. She is imperfect, and all the more interesting a character for it. The glimpses into Helen’s past tie neatly into the present, revealing secrets which impact significantly on the way I viewed more than one established character. They are not pointless, indulgent flashbacks; they are deftly woven and prove to matter very much.
In among the hail of bullets and explosions are little moments of real emotion. For the most part, they come just when needed, when the relentless pace of the action has just started to become fatiguing. The burgeoning and difficult romance between two secondary characters, the primitive terror of the nightmarish Catchmen, the fear of loss and the helplessness of being trapped in an increasingly desperate situation; the shifting viewpoints allow for an almost panoramic view of events, from the most idealistic of good guys to the most vengeful of adversaries, and a whole cast of well-drawn characters in between. And while there is hardly a George R.R Martin style slaughtering of the main cast, there is a particular moment of loss which hit me especially hard, and I think it speaks of Bestwick’s skill as a writer that he is able to make me care so much about a relatively minor character.
A potent mix of grim, dystopian sci-fi and visceral horror, combined with a vibrant imagination, lift a standard ‘Good vs Evil’ narrative and have turned it into something quite special indeed.
‘Devil’s Highway’ ups the already considerable stakes of its precursor, ‘Hell’s Ditch’ with what proves to be an absolutely relentless assault on both the rebels and Helen Damnation’s resolve. In many ways ‘Devil’s Highway’ is a high-octane action movie of a book: the ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ of genre novels, only with more dialogue. And this is not a bad thing. It’s not entirely blazing guns, blood and glory. Bestwick intersperses these frantic action scenes – reminiscent of war films in their impact – with quieter, more introspective moments. We feel the fear and the hopelessness of the cornered rebels, the vitriol of returning character Jarret, whose role is greatly expanded from ‘Hell’s Ditch’ and to great effect. War, in ‘Devil’s Highway’, is not a glamourous thing.
The real highlight of this sequel, for me, was the glimpse into main protagonist Helen’s past. This serves as both a lens on the original crisis which plunged Britain into apocalyptic despair, and on Helen herself. In the hands of another writer, Helen might have become a dull caricature of a ‘strong female character’. Here, though, her flaws and failings are put under a narrative microscope and viewed alongside her strengths and triumphs: she is a brave warrior, a survivor, a leader of men. She is also weak and selfish and dangerously impulsive. She is imperfect, and all the more interesting a character for it. The glimpses into Helen’s past tie neatly into the present, revealing secrets which impact significantly on the way I viewed more than one established character. They are not pointless, indulgent flashbacks; they are deftly woven and prove to matter very much.
In among the hail of bullets and explosions are little moments of real emotion. For the most part, they come just when needed, when the relentless pace of the action has just started to become fatiguing. The burgeoning and difficult romance between two secondary characters, the primitive terror of the nightmarish Catchmen, the fear of loss and the helplessness of being trapped in an increasingly desperate situation; the shifting viewpoints allow for an almost panoramic view of events, from the most idealistic of good guys to the most vengeful of adversaries, and a whole cast of well-drawn characters in between. And while there is hardly a George R.R Martin style slaughtering of the main cast, there is a particular moment of loss which hit me especially hard, and I think it speaks of Bestwick’s skill as a writer that he is able to make me care so much about a relatively minor character.
A potent mix of grim, dystopian sci-fi and visceral horror, combined with a vibrant imagination, lift a standard ‘Good vs Evil’ narrative and have turned it into something quite special indeed.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews