Devil's Engine

It's an Old West that never existed except in the imagination. It began with dead men stirring at the Battle of Shiloh, and, since then, the land has bristled with lethal magic. Here and now, in a post-Civil War America, taking on the office of Sheriff in the rugged frontier not only means upholding the laws of men but also being the first and last line of defense against the supernatural forces which threaten the town. Few Sheriffs last for long. Mark Sumner continues his peculiar but addictive western fantasy series with DEVIL'S ENGINE, the explosive sequel to Devil's Tower. To recap a bit: DEVIL'S TOWER told the story of how Jake Bird came into his own powers and eventually became Sheriff of Medicine Rock. As DEVIL'S ENGINE opens up, Jake Bird has been Sheriff for around five years now, with his beautiful, fearless wife Josie acting as his deputy. Five years since his faceoff with the dark sorcerer General Custer, enough time for Jake to master his prodigious talent of chattering, although his talent for clarity (what amounts to super-accurate hunches) seems to have deserted him years ago. So, life has been hard, but Medicine Rock and its sheriff have survived, if not exactly flourished. Then, one day, word comes down that an influential New Yorker is planning to run a transcontinental railroad, from New York to San Francisco, with Medicine Rock as a key railway station. For the struggling town of Medicine Rock, it's a sure-fire path to growth and prosperity. But if it all seems too good to be true, well, it is. There's a catch, and it's a nasty one, as the railroad is tied into a scheme to plunder the Old West of its magic. But Sheriff Bird is unawares of this and decides to travel to New York to further look into the railway deal, which leaves Medicine Rock suddenly vulnerable to sorcerous attacks... There, so much for the main storyline. You know, as good as DEVIL'S TOWER was, it turns out DEVIL'S ENGINE is even better. The scope is larger. It's just as imaginative, atmospheric, and exhilarating, and it moves like the blazes. A hell of a read, this was. Mark Sumner knows how to keep his readers on the edge of their seats. He piles on the tension and the craftings and hexes and the magical faceoffs, which are thunderous and wild. Jake is simply awesome as the big hero, but his wife Josie may even be more impressive. Josie, unlike Jake, doesn't have any talent to speak of. What she has, instead, is a fearlessness to her. And a big friggin' eight-gauge shotgun. Sumner expands his world building beyond the wild west to include the eastern seaboard, specifically New York. We soon learn that magic isn't restricted to the wild west alone and, in fact, has greatly impacted the more civilized populations. In the East the advent of talents has given rise to protection societies (read: protection rackets). Jay Gould, head of one of the biggest protection societies in New York, is the one behind the railway plot. Gould, no surprise, is the main bad

I thought the Devils Tower was a great read. This sequel is even better!!! I literally could not put this book down! It was like a roller coaster ride. Full of twists and turns everywhere. You cannot go wrong by taking the time to read this book.

I really enjoyed Sumner's DEVIL'S TOWER, so much so that when I came across this one I was almost scared to read it. But it only took a chapter for me to know this book was even better than the first one. Jake Bird and the citizens of Medicine Rock are back. This time they're facing an evil scheme meant to drain all the "talents" from the land. More action, more crazy characters, more wild magic and stunts than the first one. Hey, Hollwood! This would make a great movie!

Devil's Engine was a very stimulating read in that the concept is one that hasn't been heavily used or explored. I am now trying to find Devil's Tower, the book before this one in sequence, and I cannot wait to read that one either. The characters are all very realistic, everyone will have certain people in their lives that will correspond to the characters' traits. A very fresh idea backed up by a strong plot,very good storytelling prowess and the aforementioned convincing characters. I'm not really a big fan of westerns, but this one does not disappoint