It Devours!
Ratings17
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings17
Average rating4.1
A new page-turning mystery about science, faith, love and belonging, set in a friendly desert community where ghosts, angels, aliens, and government conspiracies are commonplace parts of everyday life. Welcome to Night Vale… “Brilliant, hilarious, and wondrously strange. I’m packing up and moving to Night Vale! –Ransom Riggs, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. From the authors of the New York Times bestselling novel Welcome to Night Vale and the creators of the #1 international podcast of the same name, comes a mystery exploring the intersections of faith and science, the growing relationship between two young people who want desperately to trust each other, and the terrifying, toothy power of the Smiling God. Nilanjana Sikdar is an outsider to the town of Night Vale. Working for Carlos, the town’s top scientist, she relies on fact and logic as her guiding principles. But all of that is put into question when Carlos gives her a special assignment investigating a mysterious rumbling in the desert wasteland outside of town. This investigation leads her to the Joyous Congregation of the Smiling God, and to Darryl, one of its most committed members. Caught between her beliefs in the ultimate power of science and her growing attraction to Darryl, she begins to suspect the Congregation is planning a ritual that could threaten the lives of everyone in town. Nilanjana and Darryl must search for common ground between their very different world views as they are faced with the Congregation’s darkest and most terrible secret.
Reviews with the most likes.
I have been listening to the Night Vale podcast and was excited to see the existence of novels about the weirdest little town in the desert. Fink and Craynor are talented writers for both types of media. It Devours had wonderful storytelling and characterization. Not to mention humor. I love books that can combine humor with science fiction and fantasy but not have it take away from the impact of the story. This one works so well; the humor ranges from silly to smart to touching at any given moment.
You don't need to listen to the podcast to know what's going on. It might help a bit though, in order to buy into the idea of Night Vale and what it's like. It's a weird place. The usual rules of logic and even basic things like, say, laws of nature don't necessarily apply here. You have to approach the weirdness with an open mind to enjoy the book.
As advertised, it is indeed a book about the conflict between religious devotion and looking to science for all of life's answers. I think the deck is stacked a bit toward science in this conflict but that might be my own bias as I'm not surrounded by a lot of religious people. Also, this is a story of a scientist, Nilanjana, who investigates a church/cult known as “the joyous congregation.” Through her point of view, the congregation does seem insane.
But the characters who are believers in the “smiling god” are also well developed and good intentioned in their own way. They point out that there is value in not knowing everything and in the search for meaning rather than facts.
“Scientists act like they have it all figured out,” Jamillah was saying, red-faced, “but no matter how many facts you learn, nothing in your knowledge can tell you what it means. You know but you don't know why. Your knowledge is a hollow edifice.”
Ultimately it is science and religion together, or at least two character groups representing each side of the argument, who get together to solve the Monster problem that is the novel's central plot. This is probably the best and most fun scene of the book. There is a spirit of cooperation and working together. One of the important things that Darryl, Nilanjana's love interest who represents the devoted side of the conflict, gets out of his church is family, a purpose in life, and people who care about him and to care about.
“What use is the truth in a world where we die either way? Isn't it better to live happy until that last moment, believing the story you are living, shoulder to shoulder with others who believe and live that same story? Why flounder in the void when there is no need to do so? The story ends the same way, no matter how you chose to perceive it. Why not choose to perceive it as meaningful?”
It Devours is a novel that has everything, action, comedy, romance, weird monsters, and a lot of food for thought.
This audiobook is more of a niche category. It's the “second” book based off the podcast Welcome to Nightvale. I started listening to the podcast when I lived in Phoenix and it's funny, weird, and creepy at the same time haha. Cecil Baldwin narrates, the same performer of the podcast. I love his voice! I've been re-listening to the podcast before bed lately.
The books are stand alone, but it helps if you're familiar with the podcast. The books expand on characters or introduce new ones into the town of Nightvale. I enjoy the weirdness and humor.
I hope someone is curious enough to check out the podcast and the books haha!
Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor have done it AGAIN!!!! This sequel was Just as good as the first book!!!! (Tbh it only took me so long to finish it because I received a copy of Animal Crossing New Horizons for my birthday, and have spent most of my time playing that lmao) I truly LOVE the world of Night Vale, and DESPERATELY wish to live there!!!!!
Featured Series
3 primary booksWelcome to Night Vale is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2015 with contributions by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor.
