Blue Devil Island

by Stephen Mark Rainey

With Drew McLachlan's group of air warriors the Japanese are facing serious casualties, as tension mounts on the island they are forced to fight on two fronts, against the enemy and an unknown predatory force.

Genres: Horror, Lovecraftian

302 pages, Hardcover

First published January 17, 2007

About the author

Stephen Mark Rainey is the author of numerous novels, including BALAK, THE LEBO COVEN, DARK SHADOWS: DREAMS OF THE DARK (with Elizabeth Massie), BLUE DEVIL ISLAND, THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND, and others, including several in Elizabeth Massie's Ameri-Scares Series for Young Readers. In addition, Mark's work includes six short story collections; over 200 published works of short fiction; and the scripts for several DARK SHADOWS audio productions, which feature members of the original ABC-TV series cast. For ten years, he edited the multi-award-winning DEATHREALM magazine and, most recently, the best-selling anthology, DEATHREALM: SPIRITS (Shortwave Publishing). He has also edited anthologies for Delirium Press, Chaosium, and Arkham House. Mark lives in Martinsville, VA, with his wife, Kimberly, and a passel of precocious house cats. He is a regular panelist on the weekly Lovecraft eZine Podcast and an active member of the Horror Writers Association.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this one on audio and enjoyed it.

WWII stories or war stories in general really aren’t my bag. I like them every once in a while, and this one looked like it had some elements more up my alley and seemed promising. It did not disappoint. The narration and the story moved briskly and kept me entertained throughout.

This is a solid 3 stars, but the audio elevated it to 3.5+. I wish I could give it the half star, but alas, GR won’t let me. Thanks a lot GR. I’m going to go 3 Stars with a stipulation that I may change my mind and round it up to 4, if and when the mood strikes me. I also reserve the right to leave it a 3 star forever.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

[Tony Calder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up reading Biggles (among other things), so any story that features aerial combat is off to a good start. When you toss in eldritch horror, it becomes a winner.

The story starts as a World War II adventure and for about the first third, that's all it is. After that point, the horror elements are gradually introduced and by the end it's a full-on conflict against a clearly Cthulhu-inspired elder god.

The story is well-written, with a good range of characters, and it moves along at a good clip. This could very easily be turned into a Call of Cthulhu adventure.

Overall, well worth reading.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

From FALKNER REVIEWS

Period pieces are often a crapshoot. Odds are that you're going to end up with an unauthentic-seeming story from an overenthusiastic writer, or an overly detailed era manual that lacks anything approaching an interesting story.

Then there are times when you get the best of both worlds.

"Blue Devil Island" by Stephen Mark Rainey takes place during World War II. The "Blue Devils," a Naval squadron of F65-3 Hellcat fighters, led by Lieutenant Commander Drew McLachlan, is sent to a small island in the South Pacific to run air patrols over naval missions in the area. They stage their attacks from a fairly impromptu marine base on what is known as Conquest Island. The story is told by McLachlan, who leads his courageous and talented pilots out on various missions to take on the enemy. However, between their missions, they come to realize that something far more sinister than any Japanese Zero may be inhabiting Conquest Island.

I'll tell you the truth: when I looked at the first page of this book and saw the roster for the Blue Devils, I was a little overwhelmed. The thought of having to keep track of the names of over two-dozen pilots had me more than a little wary right from the get-go.

But I pressed on.

When the pilots arrived on the island, and even more names were thrown out via the marines already stationed there, I was beginning to wonder if I'd need a note card with all the names on it to use as a bookmark. Soon, however, I realized that I had nothing to fear. As it turns out, there are about five or six "primary" Devils to keep track of, and only three or four marines... and Rainey makes it easy. His development of each of the men is nowhere near cookie cutter, and you soon come to know each of the main characters well enough to really care about what's happening to them. The lead, Drew McLachlan, is an everyman, and intensely likeable.

As to the dogfights, aircraft operations, and general military information: Rainey really, really knows what he's talking about... or, if he doesn't, then he sure fooled me. There was enough information to put me in the moment, but I wasn't overwhelmed by it. I never once doubted that the author knew exactly what he was writing about, and as such, I gave myself over to the story entirely.

The story itself is wonderful. I haven't had this much FUN reading a book in a long time. I was right there on the edge of my chair during the flight missions, ducking and juking along with the pilots, and I was biting my nails as the more sinister elements of the island itself came into play.

I'll say it again: "FUN!" This book was an intensely fun read that I can't recommend highly enough. Adventure. Great humor. Undercurrents of unsettling suspense and whallops of terror, this one had everything I wanted from it. And more.

Check this book out, and be sure to take a gander at Mark's official site HERE.

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here we are, 1943 in the midst of WWII in the Solomon Islands fighting the Japanese. Our protagonist, Lieutenant Commander Drew McLachlan is in charge of a squadron of F6F Hellcats. They have been assigned to a remote island, which they call Conquest, to perform raids on the Japanese and provide cover for U.S. ships. There’s also a platoon of marines on the island to provide servicing for the aircraft. Things are going well in the raiding department, but soon there is a feeling of unease as they no longer believe they are alone on the island and are being watched. Bad feelings deepen and strange occurrences begin to take place. What our boys discover on the island is far beyond the norm, and something they’ve never experienced before. The military actions are exciting and very well described IMO. The mysterious happenings are a bit underwhelming but the air action makes up for it. I enjoyed the story and recommend it. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of WW2 air combat. The planes, especially of the Pacific Theater, are a long time interest of mine. The island war is especially interesting, with each island becoming, in a sense, fortified castles, where the knights of the air lay siege against the opposing knights, as well as their castles, on a daily, and often nightly, basis. This alone is some compelling reading. Now, add some Lovecraftian monster action into the mix. Sublime! That is all that needs to be said here, other than read it. Now. Then maybe pull up some Baa Baa Black Sheep and Midway to relax in the satisfied glow.

[Proditor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this one was a keeper. It's a fairly traditional WW2 story for about the first 20% of the book. A unit of fighter pilots is moving to an airstrip where they'll do fighter pilot stuff.

Then the Cthulhu stuff starts.

You heard me right. Great pacing, and suspense, I actually jumped once or twice while reading the book. These days that's pretty rare so I'd give it high marks for that alone.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was not as fast-paced as some that I have been reading lately, but it was consistent and interesting and the plot was fun. I thought it would be a different novel, frankly, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that though starting out as a war novel it morphed into something else as well. The characters were well thought out and the plot moved along well. I enjoyed the ending of the novel and will look for more books by Stephen Mark Rainey in the future. The narration was also well done and helped to create the atmosphere for me.

This story was given to me for free at my request for my voluntary and unbiased review.

[Meg Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give it two stars, but if you're a serious fan of WWII and its airplanes, you'll rate it higher. Understandably. It contains a wealth of incredible detail about the war and about the planes and pilots, which I assume is correct (I didn't fact check)--it would be very hard to make this stuff up. By the third or fourth sortie, I was getting bored with the planes and dogfights...and there was one heck of a lot more sorties to go, most of which I skimmed/skipped. Characterization was weak, and the story itself wasn't robust enough to hold my attention, either.