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Devils Den
A teenage boy vanishes inside an enchanted cave—Devils' Den—that has long been rumored to be haunted. The local sheriff is baffled on how to continue the search and rescue when the only clues end at a mysterious wall inside the cave. Then an unexpected man shows up with an age-worn book that has disturbing revelations about identical phenomena that have occurred every twenty years for the past one hundred forty years. And according to the predictions set inside the book, they have little time to find the boy before he becomes the next victim.
"Leonard D. Hilley II writes with a dark veracity, giving real life to a world slightly askew. There's always a sense that something is lurking in the shadows, just beyond the 'normal' world."--Paul Counelis, writer for Rue Morgue
"Leonard D. Hilley II writes with a dark veracity, giving real life to a world slightly askew. There's always a sense that something is lurking in the shadows, just beyond the 'normal' world."--Paul Counelis, writer for Rue Morgue
314 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Leonard D. Hilley II
37 books81 followersBooks by Leonard D. Hilley II:
Predators of Darkness Series (Sci-fi Suspense):
Predators of Darkness: Aftermath
Beyond the Darkness
The Game of Pawns
Death's Valley
The Deimos Virus: Target Earth
Nocturnal Trinity Series (UF/PR):
Succubus: Shadows of the Beast
Raven
Forrest Wollinsky Vampire Hunter Series:
Forrest Wollinsky: Vampire Hunter 1
Forrest Wollinsky: Blood Mists of London 2
Forrest Wollinsky: Predestined Crossroads 3
Epic Fantasy:
Shawndirea: Book One of The Chronicles of Aetheaon
Lady Squire: Dawn's Ascension [Book Two of The Chronicles of Aetheaon]
Predators of Darkness Series (Sci-fi Suspense):
Predators of Darkness: Aftermath
Beyond the Darkness
The Game of Pawns
Death's Valley
The Deimos Virus: Target Earth
Nocturnal Trinity Series (UF/PR):
Succubus: Shadows of the Beast
Raven
Forrest Wollinsky Vampire Hunter Series:
Forrest Wollinsky: Vampire Hunter 1
Forrest Wollinsky: Blood Mists of London 2
Forrest Wollinsky: Predestined Crossroads 3
Epic Fantasy:
Shawndirea: Book One of The Chronicles of Aetheaon
Lady Squire: Dawn's Ascension [Book Two of The Chronicles of Aetheaon]
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
unfinished
February 25, 2012I really tried to finish this book - wasted a full 24 hours on it - but I just can't. I really can't make myself care for the characters, who all have fairly similar personalities, if they do have them at all. I don't really care what happens to Elias, although I hope his cat turns out OK - and BTW, why it is only evil people have cats in these books, while "good" people have dogs? It's anti-cat discrimination, I tells ya ... I made it 65% of the way through and just gave up - I can't finish this. Sorry!
January 23, 2016
Synopsis
Evil has resurrected in the quaint, rural community of Cider Knoll, Kentucky. The day after a country pastor is ritualistically murdered, a teenage boy vanishes inside an enchanted cave—Devil’s Den—that has long been rumored to be haunted. The local sheriff is baffled on how to continue the search and rescue when the only clues end at a mysterious wall inside the cave. Then an unexpected man shows up with an age-worn book that has disturbing revelations about identical phenomena that have occurred every twenty years for the past one hundred forty years. And according to the predictions set inside the book, they have little time to find the boy before he becomes the next victim.
My Thoughts
Authors have to walk a fine line when they switch from writing stories themed for adult readers to stories that are geared towards a young adult audience. The level of detail has to appeal to a wider range audience than the target age group while at the same time it cannot be too involved or it will end up discouraging younger readers. In "Devil's Den" we have a bit of horror, mystery suspense and dark paranormal elements that all tie together nicely and lead the reader through the adventures and mishaps experienced by young Justin McKnight at a steady pace that builds anticipation of what comes next without either overwhelming them or causing confusion on what has already happened as in some cases when there are multiple plot lines. Without giving much away I will tell you that if you like zombies, dark magic/voodoo practicioners, alternate realities and necromancers and you are willing to suspend disbelief while reading than this will be a very enjoyable experience that will keep you on the edge of your seat while you try and find out what happens to Justin!
Having read and enjoyed the previous adult series written by the author it was a pleasure for me to have a chance to see what he had in store for a different audience and it was no surprise to find that it carried over to adult reading as well even though targeting younger readers.
For those of you who have not heard of or read anything by Leonard Hilley you are in for a good page turning time!
I must disclose that this was an e-copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. My opinion and thoughts on the book were in no way influenced by this.
For a complete list of authors work Clink link to Leonard D Hilley II Goodreads author page
March 12, 2015
My Thoughts:
Devils' Den is an odd mish mash of horror, dark fantasy and high fantasy. The parts didn't mesh well overall, veering rapidly from one genre to the next, though the horror and dark fantasy elements worked better together than the high fantasy elements. To be honest, I liked the high fantasy elements the best. That realm, the Underwood, has potential, but I'd like it best separated from the dark fantasy and horror elements.
Despite being set in Kentucky, it never had a local feel to it. It could have been any rural small town in the US. The author lives in Kentucky so that was particularly disappointing to me. Though there was one expression used repeatedly that may be a local one - "mashing the gas pedal".
Hopkins mashed the accelerator.
John mashed the gas
Every time a character's driving was described, there was mashing. It was odd and kind of funny, I had images of mashed potatoes under the gas pedal.
Anyway, the story as a whole was disappointing. The characterization was superficial, the pacing was slow, the genres an odd mash-up, and the copy editing lacking. While I enjoyed reading about the Underworld and it's people, especially the butterfly faeries, I didn't enjoy it enough to read more in this series. If the story had been straight horror and better edited, both for content and mechanics, I might have liked it, but as it is, it didn't work for me.
I own this ebook.
Devils' Den is an odd mish mash of horror, dark fantasy and high fantasy. The parts didn't mesh well overall, veering rapidly from one genre to the next, though the horror and dark fantasy elements worked better together than the high fantasy elements. To be honest, I liked the high fantasy elements the best. That realm, the Underwood, has potential, but I'd like it best separated from the dark fantasy and horror elements.
Despite being set in Kentucky, it never had a local feel to it. It could have been any rural small town in the US. The author lives in Kentucky so that was particularly disappointing to me. Though there was one expression used repeatedly that may be a local one - "mashing the gas pedal".
Hopkins mashed the accelerator.
John mashed the gas
Every time a character's driving was described, there was mashing. It was odd and kind of funny, I had images of mashed potatoes under the gas pedal.
Anyway, the story as a whole was disappointing. The characterization was superficial, the pacing was slow, the genres an odd mash-up, and the copy editing lacking. While I enjoyed reading about the Underworld and it's people, especially the butterfly faeries, I didn't enjoy it enough to read more in this series. If the story had been straight horror and better edited, both for content and mechanics, I might have liked it, but as it is, it didn't work for me.
I own this ebook.
September 25, 2015
[[ASIN:1466423226 Devils' Den: Justin McKnight Adventures]]
Evil has resurrected in the quaint, rural community of Cider Knoll, Kentucky. The day after a country pastor is ritualistically murdered, a teenage boy vanishes inside an enchanted cave—Devil’s Den—that has long been rumored to be haunted. The local sheriff is baffled on how to continue the search and rescue when the only clues end at a mysterious wall inside the cave. Then an unexpected man shows up with an age-worn book that has disturbing revelations about identical phenomena that have occurred every twenty years for the past one hundred forty years. And according to the predictions set inside the book, they have little time to find the boy before he becomes the next victim.
Having read and enjoyed Mr. Hilley's previous works, [[ASIN:1463631774 Predators of Darkness: Aftermath: Book One of the Darkness Series]][[ASIN:B0052MGLH2 Beyond the Darkness: Book Two (2)]][[ASIN:1463637853 The Game of Pawns: The Darkness Series (Volume 3)]], which were geared towards an adult audience, I decided to read this book. It was well written. Just the right amount of mystery, fantasy/paranormal and even a good scare. This story is as good a read for adults as for the young adults it was written for. I will be watching for the second book in this series, Black Chasm.
Evil has resurrected in the quaint, rural community of Cider Knoll, Kentucky. The day after a country pastor is ritualistically murdered, a teenage boy vanishes inside an enchanted cave—Devil’s Den—that has long been rumored to be haunted. The local sheriff is baffled on how to continue the search and rescue when the only clues end at a mysterious wall inside the cave. Then an unexpected man shows up with an age-worn book that has disturbing revelations about identical phenomena that have occurred every twenty years for the past one hundred forty years. And according to the predictions set inside the book, they have little time to find the boy before he becomes the next victim.
Having read and enjoyed Mr. Hilley's previous works, [[ASIN:1463631774 Predators of Darkness: Aftermath: Book One of the Darkness Series]][[ASIN:B0052MGLH2 Beyond the Darkness: Book Two (2)]][[ASIN:1463637853 The Game of Pawns: The Darkness Series (Volume 3)]], which were geared towards an adult audience, I decided to read this book. It was well written. Just the right amount of mystery, fantasy/paranormal and even a good scare. This story is as good a read for adults as for the young adults it was written for. I will be watching for the second book in this series, Black Chasm.
April 18, 2016
The Devils Den by Leonard D Hilley II is the first book I have read by this talented author and it won't be the last.
The story starts with a young boy, Justin McKnight, about to spend his summer vacation at his grandparents. Bored on the long journey there he begins to draw, but this isn't like his ordinary work. This single picture provides a window, a glimpse into a horror that now awakens. But this window wasn't one way, he saw it, and it saw him. It's hungry and this boy is exactly what he needs. He was always told to stay away from Devils Den, but a burning desire to please his grandfather drives him to enter the forbidden domain, and there, the real terror waits.
The author's style would equally appeal to both young and older readers. It possesses a combination of different genres such as horror, mystery, paranormal, and a touch of fantasy, all woven together to create a tense tale guaranteed to send a shiver through the reader's spine.
The story starts with a young boy, Justin McKnight, about to spend his summer vacation at his grandparents. Bored on the long journey there he begins to draw, but this isn't like his ordinary work. This single picture provides a window, a glimpse into a horror that now awakens. But this window wasn't one way, he saw it, and it saw him. It's hungry and this boy is exactly what he needs. He was always told to stay away from Devils Den, but a burning desire to please his grandfather drives him to enter the forbidden domain, and there, the real terror waits.
The author's style would equally appeal to both young and older readers. It possesses a combination of different genres such as horror, mystery, paranormal, and a touch of fantasy, all woven together to create a tense tale guaranteed to send a shiver through the reader's spine.
July 2, 2020
This story had an interesting plot of a mystery cave that leads to another realm. Yet I found few flaws.
1. Elias was not the character I could connect with at all. His actions did not do any justice with his character portrayed by the author. I must say he was a lame villain.
2. The character of Justine did not show any potential. It was pretty weak.
3. Too much going on in the novel. Magic, zombies, war, faeries, murder, strange pets, etc etc.
I would prefer if the author made it a bit simple and not complicate the story too much. The character of Ben and his side of story was quite interesting. This book had a lot of potential.
3 stars because I couldn't quit reading even when I wanted.
1. Elias was not the character I could connect with at all. His actions did not do any justice with his character portrayed by the author. I must say he was a lame villain.
2. The character of Justine did not show any potential. It was pretty weak.
3. Too much going on in the novel. Magic, zombies, war, faeries, murder, strange pets, etc etc.
I would prefer if the author made it a bit simple and not complicate the story too much. The character of Ben and his side of story was quite interesting. This book had a lot of potential.
3 stars because I couldn't quit reading even when I wanted.
August 9, 2012
Loved it! Love the fast paced adventure, love the good and the bad magic, love the family stories!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews