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landisnotseen's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
jivvygee's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Read this in one sitting - loved the podcast style.
whiskydj's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
4.75
bookish_rex's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
5.0
sam_capstick4's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hadesson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
danidamico's review
dark
sad
tense
4.0
Demon parece ser el libro final de la saga de Six Stories, creada por el inglés Matt Wesolowski. Pienso que como posible cierre funciona muy bien porque contiene las características principales de esta colección: mezcla de elementos sobrenaturales con elementos realistas criminales, temáticas sociales complejas como la violencia doméstica, el maltrato infantil y la salud mental (entre otras), un abordaje sensible pero no menos interesante de dichas temáticas, un escenario evocativo y memorable (el espacio perturbador del páramo en Ussalthwaite). El uso de la oralidad en el formato de entrevistas y transcripción de podcast. La construcción de una historia fascinante que mantiene al lector cautivado hasta la última página.
No soy una persona que acostumbre a leer series o sagas, pero en este caso me convertí en una fan total. Wesolowski tiene una capacidad increíble para asustarte, conmoverte y hacerte reflexionar, todo al mismo tiempo. Y en esta ocasión quiero poner un énfasis especial en la parte de asustar, porque hay escenas de Demon que realmente me generaron miedo, al punto que me costó irme a dormir por un par de noches. Sin embargo, a su vez, el autor logra concluir el relato con un tono emotivo, demostrando que el género del terror no tiene por qué ser superficial o vacío, sino que puede servir para abordar temas profundos que hasta el día de hoy nos incomodan tremendamente como sociedad. En reiteradas oportunidades, las novelas de Matt Wesolowski nos llevan a enfrentarnos a cosas que sería mucho más fácil ignorar, que representan los verdaderos terrores de la humanidad, y eso siempre me parecerá una trabajo digno de admiración.
No soy una persona que acostumbre a leer series o sagas, pero en este caso me convertí en una fan total. Wesolowski tiene una capacidad increíble para asustarte, conmoverte y hacerte reflexionar, todo al mismo tiempo. Y en esta ocasión quiero poner un énfasis especial en la parte de asustar, porque hay escenas de Demon que realmente me generaron miedo, al punto que me costó irme a dormir por un par de noches. Sin embargo, a su vez, el autor logra concluir el relato con un tono emotivo, demostrando que el género del terror no tiene por qué ser superficial o vacío, sino que puede servir para abordar temas profundos que hasta el día de hoy nos incomodan tremendamente como sociedad. En reiteradas oportunidades, las novelas de Matt Wesolowski nos llevan a enfrentarnos a cosas que sería mucho más fácil ignorar, que representan los verdaderos terrores de la humanidad, y eso siempre me parecerá una trabajo digno de admiración.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Car accident and Alcoholism
kellyvandamme's review against another edition
5.0
Scott King is back for the sixth time, the sixth Six Stories podcast, of course composed of six stories, by six people, with Scott King as the interviewer, the ringmaster, the barrister if you will, but not the judge, because as usual, the judgement is ours, the listeners’, the readers’.
Scott King rakes up another old grave, dusts off another cold case, kicking up some dust and treading on some toes in the process. This time he takes us to North Yorkshire, where a heinous crime was committed in 1995: two twelve-year-old boys killed one of their peers in a rather brutal fashion.
The killers, Danny and Robbie, had been wreaking havoc in the small rural town of Ussalthwaite for a few months prior to the murder that landed them in a secure unit and rumour had it that one of them, if not both of them, was possessed by a demonic entity, goading them into doing atrocious things, earning them the nickname of “Demonic Duo”.
This wouldn’t be a Six Stories instalment if everything was as clear cut and straightforward as it first appears. Long-time Ussalthwaite resident Danny recently lost his mother to suicide and Robbie came to live in the town after a terrible accident robbed him of his parents. I couldn’t help but wonder: were the boys really under some sort of supernatural influence or were they just two kids acting out because they couldn’t process their grief, and might the murder have been nothing but a horrible accident? Some letters written by Danny to his deceased mum are included at the end of each chapter and they certainly seem to point that way, in those letters he comes across as a hurting lost and lonely little boy, not some demon spawn.
The next question is where Danny and Robbie are now. Released after an eight-year stint in a secure unit, they were reintroduced into society anonymously. Here too, a few massively important questions are raised: should child killers, even if they were children themselves at the time of the murder, be allowed to fly under the radar upon release into society? Should they even be released? Should they be punished or should all efforts go towards rehabilitation?
Like its predecessors, Demon is steeped in eeriness, making it really REALLY hard for the rational part of me to stick to its guns. Old witch tales and superstition, talk of demon possession as a result of a visit to Ussalthwaite in the ‘70s, fly infestations, the kilns and a recent mysterious suicide on the site of the 1995 murder, it all royally creeped me out.
I’ve seen praise for the Six Stories series from every sort of reader. Thriller fans, readers of contemporary fiction and die-hard horror aficionados alike, we all seem to be enjoying these tales Matt Wesolowski spins. It might be the unique format that does it, the podcast thing with its six interviewees, each shining a different light on the same case. It might be the excellent writing, vivid and colourful, yet bleak. Or the fact that it’s so very thought-provoking, nudging us to think about it long after we put it down. Of course the genre-bending aspect of it doesn’t hurt, the drama and the thrills and the chills all for the price of one.
Whatever it is, Matt Wesolowski has never let me down, not with any of the Six Stories, and not with Demon. This series goes from strength to strength, from high to high, and I heartily recommend each and every one of the instalments. Read it!
Scott King rakes up another old grave, dusts off another cold case, kicking up some dust and treading on some toes in the process. This time he takes us to North Yorkshire, where a heinous crime was committed in 1995: two twelve-year-old boys killed one of their peers in a rather brutal fashion.
The killers, Danny and Robbie, had been wreaking havoc in the small rural town of Ussalthwaite for a few months prior to the murder that landed them in a secure unit and rumour had it that one of them, if not both of them, was possessed by a demonic entity, goading them into doing atrocious things, earning them the nickname of “Demonic Duo”.
This wouldn’t be a Six Stories instalment if everything was as clear cut and straightforward as it first appears. Long-time Ussalthwaite resident Danny recently lost his mother to suicide and Robbie came to live in the town after a terrible accident robbed him of his parents. I couldn’t help but wonder: were the boys really under some sort of supernatural influence or were they just two kids acting out because they couldn’t process their grief, and might the murder have been nothing but a horrible accident? Some letters written by Danny to his deceased mum are included at the end of each chapter and they certainly seem to point that way, in those letters he comes across as a hurting lost and lonely little boy, not some demon spawn.
The next question is where Danny and Robbie are now. Released after an eight-year stint in a secure unit, they were reintroduced into society anonymously. Here too, a few massively important questions are raised: should child killers, even if they were children themselves at the time of the murder, be allowed to fly under the radar upon release into society? Should they even be released? Should they be punished or should all efforts go towards rehabilitation?
Like its predecessors, Demon is steeped in eeriness, making it really REALLY hard for the rational part of me to stick to its guns. Old witch tales and superstition, talk of demon possession as a result of a visit to Ussalthwaite in the ‘70s, fly infestations, the kilns and a recent mysterious suicide on the site of the 1995 murder, it all royally creeped me out.
I’ve seen praise for the Six Stories series from every sort of reader. Thriller fans, readers of contemporary fiction and die-hard horror aficionados alike, we all seem to be enjoying these tales Matt Wesolowski spins. It might be the unique format that does it, the podcast thing with its six interviewees, each shining a different light on the same case. It might be the excellent writing, vivid and colourful, yet bleak. Or the fact that it’s so very thought-provoking, nudging us to think about it long after we put it down. Of course the genre-bending aspect of it doesn’t hurt, the drama and the thrills and the chills all for the price of one.
Whatever it is, Matt Wesolowski has never let me down, not with any of the Six Stories, and not with Demon. This series goes from strength to strength, from high to high, and I heartily recommend each and every one of the instalments. Read it!