4.5 Stars ~ ‘Devil Take Me’ is the latest anthology from a group of authors who know their way around the paranormal and urban fantasy genres. It includes everything from intriguing, dark, nitty gritty, freaky, and just plain out there. I had a blast reading it!
Infernal Affairs by Jordan L. Hawk
Trust Ms. Hawk to start it all off with a bang and me laughing like a loon. What else could I possibly do when Ralgath, on his first night as a crossroads demon, gets taken in by a gorgeous nonbinary mortal, Chess, who screws Ralgath (literally) into giving them a contract for superhero powers so they can go out into the world and fight for good. What? Yes, see why I was laughing? Of course, Ralgath got kicked out of the Infernal Affairs department and has spent the past three years in intake (shudder) wondering what he’d do if he ever ran across Chess again.
Keeping me on my toes and loving every second, the author told of how Ralgath is given the opportunity to make amends if he goes topside to see if he can locate two crossroads demons who disappeared. Ralgath agrees but he also figures it wouldn’t hurt to get Chess to help him in exchange for returning Chess’s soul to them. Unfortunately, Ralgath doesn’t expect the feelings he has that Chess brings out in him, nor to hear how Chess hasn’t forgotten about their one encounter.
An incredibly amazing beginning to a batch of tales that kept me riveted. Thank you, Jordan, for the laughs, the adventure, and the serious feels.
Collared by TA Moore
“Sometimes, when you couldn’t change what was going on and you didn’t want to understand it, all you could do was shove it under the bed and make sure your toes didn’t stick out from the covers.”
This author has a way of sending chills ratcheting up my spine and she did so, unashamedly and in endless waves, as I read ‘Collared’. It’s the story of Jack, a soulless and damned ex-priest, who is tied to the demon he called forth years ago and forced to do its bidding. Now he has a chance of getting his soul back and maybe, just maybe, Jack can beat Math at his own game but there’s a little girl’s life on the line and Jack is going to have to use all of his resources to save her.
Jack sets out on a merry chase to track down a man’s kidnapped family to try to find what was stolen from Math, retrieve it, and return it to the demon. His journey has him dealing with the worst of the worst but nothing (and no one) he hasn’t dealt with before. What I found completely fascinating and had me glued to the pages is the worldbuilding, the sheer grittiness in the descriptions of the town and its people, not to mention the harshness that overrode everything right down to the characters.
Oh the fabulousness of the horror in this story! TA Moore has written a gem filled with a world that kept me shuddering in fear as I couldn’t stop reading. The very best part though, is that maybe, hopefully, the author will write more in this world and bring Jack along for another tingling adventure.
Counterfeit Viscount by Ginn Hale
Archimedes (Archie) sold his soul to Nimble many years ago in exchange for a way to destroy his uncle who sold him and his half-brother, Archibald, into slavery with the war machine when they were both children. When Archibald was killed during the war, Archie swore he’d get his revenge on his uncle and the only way to succeed was to sell his soul to Nimble. One day, every three months, Archie descends from the city down to Hells Below, a ghetto beneath the city where the Prodigals live. The Prodigals are devils descended from the originals who ascended from Hell hundreds of years ago to accept salvation and conversion at the hands of the church, but they aren’t as powerful as their ancestors. There in Hells Below Archie “pays” Nimble his dues although it’s certainly no hardship anymore.
Archie doesn’t know how to feel when Nimble strikes a new bargain with him asking Archie for his help in gaining entrance to an exclusive members-only nobleman’s club in the city in order to discover why so many Prodigals have mysteriously disappeared from there, and in exchange Nimble will give Archie back his soul, thus concluding their “relationship”. The irony of the whole situation is that Nimble cares just as much for Archie but he refuses to allow them to have any relationship when their social disparity is such that they aren’t seen as equals by society.
What a fantastic mystery this story turned out to be and I greatly enjoyed it. All the characters were more than I had imagined in the beginning and the suspense of all the secrets lent a thrilling aspect to Archie and Nimble’s tale. The ending was absolutely perfect!
11:59 by C.S. Poe
“He is all that stands between the innocent and the flesh-eating monsters who were once human. Because Asuka no longer dreams, he cannot be chased into consciousness by one of the nightmares.”
This story is fascinating and the worldbuild kept me jumping from moment to moment. Asuka sold his soul to the devil five years before in order to never dream again, thus preventing the nightmares from taking over and turning him into a monster. Now he spends his nights as a vigilante hunting down monsters and doing what he can to protect his city. At the time he made his deal with the devil Asuka was in free fall off a building so it’s understandable he didn’t ask to read the contract, but he didn’t realize that no longer dreaming at night meant he’d lose his hopes, his wishes, and his ability to truly feel.
Merrick is a young man who has spent the last few years studying mythology convinced the nightmares are the result of an Oneiroi, one of the Dream brothers, although he can’t get anyone to listen to him. Merrick suspects that Phobetor has done something to his brothers, Morpheus and Phantasos, which has allowed him to infect the world with his nightmares. When the devil asks Asuka for a favor in exchange for his soul, he and Merrick plan a way for Asuka to get to the Underworld to confront the very source of the nightmares and destroy it once and for all.
Such an exciting story that reminded me several times of a few things Stephen King has written, especially in the description of the Underworld. I can honestly admit that I’ll probably think twice before closing my eyes tonight but the thrill of this story is most definitely worth a little trepidation.
Wonderland City by Rhys Ford
“Back before I met the Devil and bled my soul out into his hands, I’d have thought chasing a cigar-munching white bunny with pink eyes was something I’d only run into after I chewed on a few peyote buttons.
Now it was a typical Tuesday.”
Only Rhys Ford can take a classic like Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and script a novella that is so different from the original and yet so very much the same that I was practically speechless reading it. In this world, Wonderland City grew out of the end of the Queen of Hearts’s kingdom when she was executed and the other queens divided up what was left. Here when you come through the looking glass it’s because the devil has your soul. Xander Spade has been here a long time but aging happens at a glacial pace here, so he basically still looks like the dumb kid who was stupid enough to make the deal that changed his very existence.
When Az comes to Xander for a favor in return for his soul and his ability to leave and go home, well… once Xander hears what has come through the mirror and been allowed loose in this reality, he knows he’s got to get this thing back to its own time and place or Wonderland City will shatter and implode. This thing doesn’t work well within the confines of this reality’s “rules”. Of course, Xander doesn’t want Jean Michel’s help but the damn man won’t stop trying to protect him even though everyone knows exactly what kind of weapon Xander is. The push and pull between these two men is just saturated with sexual tension.
I’ve said about all I can say about this story without revealing spoilers and I really don’t want to ruin it for anyone. Trust me when I say that Xander is more than I could have imagined and the ending blew me away, in more ways than one. The author’s interpretation of some beloved favorites like the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar, and the Ace of Spades is truly brilliant and shouldn’t be missed. The grittiness and the sheer darkness of this story is utterly magnificent.
Dark Favors by Jordan Castillo Price
“The driver looked me up and down and said, “You strike me as a perceptive young man.” That really should’ve been my first clue that I was dealing with the Prince of Lies.”
It’s been many years since Johnny sold his soul and he’s learned more than he ever wanted to. He now knows what it means to be Chosen, what it means to trade favors for power so your soul blackens, and he definitely knows what it means to stop trading with other Chosen but still feel the constant pull and pain within. When the devil returns and offers him the best deal imaginable for a “favor” Johnny says no… until the devil decides to offer the deal to Johnny’s sweet, young bartender. Johnny never imagined the favor would be to kill someone and with a caveat no less “But whatever you do, no harm comes to Helen’s bodyguard or the deal is off… and I keep your pathetic soul.”
Johnny is surprised to discover that both Helen and Adam are Chosen, and he’s a little disappointed, too. Why would the devil want to destroy one of his own? No matter, Johnny is intent on doing the favor but he hesitates and Adam takes control. Now Adam isn’t a nice guy although he’s not evil per se, but he’s asked so many favors that there’s barely a hint of dark in his eyes any longer. Unlike Johnny, Adam enjoys being Chosen and likes the things he can get with dark favors. Johnny, with his untapped and all-consuming darkness from never engaging in favors, is like a neon light for Adam. Granted, their sex is pretty damn hot and it was interesting watching them verbally spar.
An outstanding finale story to this anthology, ‘Dark Favors’ is definitely what I’ve come to expect from this author. The ending came out of nowhere and was stunningly perfect!
NOTE: This book was provided by DSP Publications for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews
