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A review by roxanamalinachirila
Devil Take Me by Rhys Ford
5.0
They've sold their soul to the devil - but now the devil wants to sell it back, in exchange for a favor.
This anthology is quite solid. I'm not saying that it's perfect, but I've loved the sheer variation involved, especially considering that every single novella starts from the same premise, the one up above.
Jordan L. Hawk's "Infernal Affairs" is the fluffiest of the bunch. We have a devil working in Infernal Affairs, who manages to botch his very first deal with a human - luckily, there's a lot more going on and the devil gets to redeem himself, if he can enlist said human's help to kick ass. The story is cute, it takes place in the present day and it contains the doggiest infernal hound ever. Also, her hell is the least hellish of the whole. It's a nice romcom, which makes it somewhat at odds with the rest of the anthology (and I realized that even though I love Jordan L. Hawk's stories usually, this time I... thought this one was ok).
T.A. Moore's "Collared" is one hell of a different beast. It's a thriller/horror where hell rots its way through the world - the main character is a former priest who sold his soul, then tried to kill himself, only to be brought back undead. It's disturbing in the way the world festers and turns into a nightmare - and I loved it.
Ginn Hale's "Counterfeit Viscount" is an alternate history sort of story - all the demons in hell came up to earth to redeem themselves, and now their descendants live as subhuman citizens who occasionally dabbles in the dark arts. Archie is impersonating his dead friend and cousin with the help of such a devil, wanting nothing other than to bring down his uncle, the shit of a man who sent him and his dead cousin to fight in a war when they were children. It contains plotting, schemes and houses with trap doors.
C.S. Poe's "11:59" is a story which I forgot was part of this anthology because I forgot it contained a pairing. Not that it bothered me much, I didn't buy the book for the smut. Anyway, Asuka traded his soul and dreams to the devil a long time ago, and only realized too late that "dreams" included things such as hope. The world's run over by nightmares which become real, killing people both from the outside and the inside - and it's gotten so out of hand, that even the devil is worried. Luckily, Asuka can't fall prey to inner nightmares (no dreams, remember?) which makes him perfect to destroy the root of this madness.
Rhys Ford's "Wonderland City" takes place in Lewis Carroll's Wonderland, which is a pretty terrifying place, where queens are mad, white rabbits are killers and human children can wreak havoc just by existing. It's quite creative, even if a bit disturbing.
"Dark Favors" by Jodan Castillo Price has a world in which the devil chooses his own, and they trade in favors of all sorts. And now the devil wants one of his own to kill one of the Chosen. The world building's pretty good, but I'm not so sure about the action or the romance. Something seems off, but I'm a bit too tired to analyze what.
This anthology is quite solid. I'm not saying that it's perfect, but I've loved the sheer variation involved, especially considering that every single novella starts from the same premise, the one up above.
Jordan L. Hawk's "Infernal Affairs" is the fluffiest of the bunch. We have a devil working in Infernal Affairs, who manages to botch his very first deal with a human - luckily, there's a lot more going on and the devil gets to redeem himself, if he can enlist said human's help to kick ass. The story is cute, it takes place in the present day and it contains the doggiest infernal hound ever. Also, her hell is the least hellish of the whole. It's a nice romcom, which makes it somewhat at odds with the rest of the anthology (and I realized that even though I love Jordan L. Hawk's stories usually, this time I... thought this one was ok).
T.A. Moore's "Collared" is one hell of a different beast. It's a thriller/horror where hell rots its way through the world - the main character is a former priest who sold his soul, then tried to kill himself, only to be brought back undead. It's disturbing in the way the world festers and turns into a nightmare - and I loved it.
Ginn Hale's "Counterfeit Viscount" is an alternate history sort of story - all the demons in hell came up to earth to redeem themselves, and now their descendants live as subhuman citizens who occasionally dabbles in the dark arts. Archie is impersonating his dead friend and cousin with the help of such a devil, wanting nothing other than to bring down his uncle, the shit of a man who sent him and his dead cousin to fight in a war when they were children. It contains plotting, schemes and houses with trap doors.
C.S. Poe's "11:59" is a story which I forgot was part of this anthology because I forgot it contained a pairing. Not that it bothered me much, I didn't buy the book for the smut. Anyway, Asuka traded his soul and dreams to the devil a long time ago, and only realized too late that "dreams" included things such as hope. The world's run over by nightmares which become real, killing people both from the outside and the inside - and it's gotten so out of hand, that even the devil is worried. Luckily, Asuka can't fall prey to inner nightmares (no dreams, remember?) which makes him perfect to destroy the root of this madness.
Rhys Ford's "Wonderland City" takes place in Lewis Carroll's Wonderland, which is a pretty terrifying place, where queens are mad, white rabbits are killers and human children can wreak havoc just by existing. It's quite creative, even if a bit disturbing.
"Dark Favors" by Jodan Castillo Price has a world in which the devil chooses his own, and they trade in favors of all sorts. And now the devil wants one of his own to kill one of the Chosen. The world building's pretty good, but I'm not so sure about the action or the romance. Something seems off, but I'm a bit too tired to analyze what.