Reviews

Devil Aspect by Craig Russell

trin's review against another edition

3.0

Well this was a wild ride! A horror/thriller that takes place in 1930s Czechoslovakia, this novel follows a young psychiatrist, Viktor, who has just gotten a new job at the Hrad Orlu Asylum for the Criminally Insane – an institution in a remote village outside of Prague, built into a legendary old castle, and housing six of the country’s worst serial killers, known as the Devil’s Six. As Viktor pursues his pet theory of criminal insanity, which he calls “the Devil Aspect,” a new series of brutal murders, with shades of Jack the Ripper, are occurring in Prague. A detective named Lukas Smolak is on the trail of the killer, known only as Leather Apron.

This is a cheesy, pulpy, tropetastic thriller, but goodness if it isn’t a lot of fun. The opening is slow and exposition heavy, but once Viktor arrives at the asylum and starts working with his patients, and Smolak’s investigation really kicks off, the book becomes a pacey, addictive page-turner. Despite its length, I happily devoured it in two days. The writing is, at its best, cinematic, and there are a number of genuine scares (oh god the Glass Collector) and a general atmosphere of sinister paranoia.

The historical detail is not always perfect – I caught a number of anachronisms – but what Russell does really well is capture the mounting political tensions of the 1930s. Some of Viktor’s fellow doctors have joined the Czech branch of the Nazi party; there’s growing anti-Semitism and anti-gypsy sentiment in Prague; and Viktor’s love interest, who’s Jewish, is having prophetic nightmares about the Holocaust. I also found Russell’s interweaving of Slavic mythology – Chernabog, Koschei the Deathless, and various other unsettling forest spirits – to be incredibly effective. There are many scenes and images that will haunt me for a while.

The biggest problem with the book, for me, is the “twist” ending – I saw it coming from about page 10 and spent the rest of the book bracing myself for its inevitable arrival, and hoping against hope that Russell would surprise me with a different conclusion. Alas, he didn’t:

Spoiler

Viktor has a split personality, his own Devil Aspect, and was the killer all along! I’m fairly tired of books that fall back on the old Fight Club shocker, as it has long ceased to shock me. Other readers seem less annoyed and even surprised by this twist, but to me it was a major disappointment.

Yet in spite of this particular eyeroll, I have to say, I still enjoyed the journey of the book a great deal. This is some blackened, evil-smelling, but yummy, yummy cheese.

dew16's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

defaultnamespace's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

rayvn1004's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

attsmanola's review against another edition

3.0

This took me awhile to get through. I just don’t think I’ve been in the mood for serial killers

carolyn0613's review

2.0

I didn't finish this book. I read about a fifth of it but I really don't like books about pure evil and that was the main theme of the book. I just didn't want to get into the story. It was well written and very evocative of eastern Europe at the turn of the 20th century.

breeperscreepers's review against another edition

I should've loved this, it's got all of the right ingredients for a dark tale involving a serial killer inspired by Jack the Ripper, an asylum for heinous criminals housed within a medieval castle, and POV's from a detective and psychiatrist. However the writing was not at all to my taste - everything was so surface level, lots of meaningless mumbo-jumbo from the psychiatrist and the detective focused mostly on his inner ruminations, not enough on the crime scenes or police procedures. Every woman is either ugly or nondescript, or flawlessly dark and beautiful, and both men are instantly besotted with the first female they encounter within the story. The plot and dialogue do not feel realistic and everything happens too coincidentally. And lastly, the Devil's Six - the crimes they committed are simply not worthy of being considered the worst criminals in Europe, getting an entire maximum security asylum dedicated to these six individuals is laughable. 

tigger25k's review against another edition

5.0

Very well written.

doughnutsrgud4's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's slow to start but the ending is worth it

ohwhatagloomyshow's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0