Devils Kill Devils

"Sarita has been watched over by a guardian angel, whom she calls Angelo, her entire life. She keeps his presence a secret from everyone except her brother David and her best friend Tori. But when Angelo murders someone she loves, Sarita begins to see what's really been stalking her from the shadows. She will have to confront and ultimately embrace an ancient evil if she hopes to make it out alive."

Compton's demonic, untraditional, thirst-crazed vampires defy the laws of nature and with enough strength to tear humans, or "breathers," apart with ease. To be hypnotized by one leads to permanent insanity or instant death once the task is complete. These are the primeval, devils that are waiting beneath the surface, ready to answer the show more clarion call to overtake humanity. The one to deliver that call is Cela, a devil beyond devils, who has spent eons carefully crafting a mass following, a religion, to deliver them a new messiah. That messiah was to be Sarita's child, until it all went horribly awry.

The world-building is so dense that it becomes a noticeable detriment to the pacing. Devils Kill Devils DESERVES to be a trilogy. One dedicated to Sarita, David, their family and Angelo; another to the emergence of Cela, her thrall and their gods, and finally the two sides coming together. There is a surplus of plot-driving survivors, high-ranking devils and allies that, disappointingly, only appear as needed. Character development, especially Angelo's and Tori's, is sacrificed to vampiric backstory, but at the same time the lore feels rushed. Don't get me wrong though, I can see why Compton is so popular. Have you ever thought to yourself, "ugh this character! No one actually talks or thinks like that." Well Compton is a breath of fresh air in that regard. Dialogue and inner monologues feel flawed and genuine and reactions are realistic. I saw other reviews that accused it of being "confusing," and that is quite unfair. At no point was I ever lost, just unfulfilled. I'm still looking forward to "The Spite House" and I'm glad to have finally read a Compton novel! show less

I fell in love with Compton's writing via his last book, The Spite House, and although this is an incredibly different book, it's still pretty fantastic. Compton's talent for bringing otherworldly characters and events to life is on full display here, as is his skill for creating characters who feel as real as anyone you know, and just as sympathetic.

I didn't love this book quite as much as The Spite House, but to be perfectly honest, that may just be a signal of how very much I absolutely adored the other book, vs a reflection on this one. I also have to admit that I was so fascinated by the surreal nature of the book's early events, I wanted more of that, and wasn't quite so engaged when the book moved into more big-action-scene show more territory and spent more time with other POVs beyond the one I'd already gotten so attached to.

Still, there's no question that I really enjoyed this book and will absolutely make a priority of reading anything else Johnny Compton puts out there.

I'd absolutely recommend this one, too. show less

Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton is to vampires what Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones is to werewolves. They both breathe fresh life into familiar tropes.

I loved Compton's blend of religion, myth, legend, and fiction. He definitely knows how to write characters the reader will connect with, care about, and root for.

Note: If you read the first chapter and expect every subsequent chapter to be as shocking or action-packed as the first, you'll probably be disappointed with the more character-driven and/or expository aspects of the story. To me, Devils Kill Devils reads like slow-burn horror with graphic violence, but it also read like it could've been a longer novel or even the first in a duology or series.

Take vampires and demons, some religious/cult inspired horrors, add in some Southern Gothic flavoring, and a healthy dash of gore and violence, and you have the makings for Johnny Compton's sophomore novel, Devils Kill Devils.

When Sarita's guardian angel, Angelo, unexpectedly kills someone close to her, she is thrown into a world she no longer understands or trusts. in her search for answers to Angelo's apparent betrayal, she discovers that she is part of a larger conspiracy, her destiny already decided by a religious cult of demons and vampires.

DKD is quite a departure from Compton's first novel, The Spite House, a more traditional haunted house story. DKD is a hero's journey of sorts, as Sarita begins to learn her part in the battle show more between the vampires and demons that inhabit this world, which are true terrors. How these creatures exist in this world, and the inspiration that Compton took from his research into this novel, are quite unique, and equally terrifying, Along with these terrifying creatures comes plenty of violence and gore; DVD is definitely not for the squeamish.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less

"She will kill you."

Sarita is freshly married and has finally landed with her new husband in their hotel for the night. It's a sweet night, as they revel in how happy they are, how much fun they had, how silly and tipsy they are. It isn't until Angelo appears that Sarita realizes she should have been more cautious, more worried. She should have been more honest about what Angelo had done in her life.

The start to this story was so well done. I was hooked - this story of Angelo, the pulse-pounding moments, the shocking first chapter and murder. But, quickly, the story slowed way down. It piled on POV, ones that were confusing and scope was huge and unexplained. The chapters became quiet storytelling instead of any dialogue or action. Huge show more info dumps replaced plot and I quickly became disengaged. Once I hit halfway, I was almost completely lost in the story, who was who, and why anyone was doing anything. The ending was a bit of a letdown after all the explaining and build up.

I even read this with a friend and we both struggled to try to understand some of the motivation and storyline. I really wanted to love this one more, but it was a miss for me.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. show less

A vampire book should not be painfully boring!! I'm getting so sick of good concepts with bad execution. Authors should be able to sell their ideas to good authors because this got so much better when I started pretending it was Alex Stern fanfic(Leigh if you're reading this I miss you)