The Devil and The Deep

Reminiscent of horror stories from the 70s and 80s, The Devil and the Deep has all the ingredients for a creepy good time. There are demons, undead, possessions, cults, plus plenty of mystery, and I will take all of that, please and thank you.

The story starts with a prologue. It's 1975 in the small coastal town of Port Gaynor and Father Michael is attempting to perform what should be a run-of-the-mill exorcism. Except it's not, because of course it isn't. This exorcism off the walls bonkers and it's probably the most awesome opening to any book I've read in recent memory. The story continues 17 years later, the exorcism long forgotten by all except for one person, when an ancient evil reawakens and every citizen of Port Gaynor unwittingly becomes a part of a grand plan beyond their wildest imagination.

I found the characters very easy to connect with and I even found myself sympathizing and connecting with someone I absolutely didn't expect and that was really fun. I love when a book surprises me and this one was full of surprises. Sometimes when I'm reading a book I have to stop and wonder how the hell the author came up with the thing I just read. I did this multiple times while reading The Devil and the Deep and it was extremely satisfying. Something else I found satisfying was that every time I had a question, I had some time to develop my own theory, but then it was answered. Sometimes I like when books leave a lot to the imagination but this wasn't one I wanted that from and I'm glad that it delivered what I wanted.

The Devil and the Deep takes up about 75% of the book and then there are a few extra short stories. The Thing in the Bay is a heartbreaking story that follows one woman as humanity is driven to madness by an unknown force. The Ghosts of Powick Bridge is a moving and poetic tale of the ghost of a man who died in a war and is haunted by a song. E and the Night Before Christmas is the story of a cloaked figure with a scythe who brings chaos and horrifying creatures to a small town on Christmas Eve. This one was my favorite, it had a really great twist. The last is Eleven Twisted Christmas Songs: horror parodies of familiar songs you'll easily recognize and want to sing along to in your head. These short stories weren't really necessary but they did add to the overall theme of madness and they were fun bonus reads. 

The book opens with a stylistic warning: Christian Francis believes in the use of creative voice in fiction. There are ‘rules' that are often forced opon writers and Francis doesn't subscribe to them. He does things his own way. He uses commas to signify a breath within sentences, for example. This warning basically says that if you're bothered by his lack of rule-following, this book isn't for you. I knew I wouldn't have a problem so I read on! I did notice that Francis didn't follow the typical ‘rules,' but there wasn't anything that stood out too much and it wasn't out of control or distracting, so even if you're a person who cares about that stuff, I honestly don't think you'd be put off. 

I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.