The Devouring #2: Soulstice

Having been sucked in by sheer originality and smoky creepiness of The Devouring, I find it hard to believe that Simon Holt could top himself in a second book. He does. I was happily astonished after reading Soulstice. My only complaint was that there wasn't *more of it*! Holt's writing is so good, I wish he would expand his page count. Reggie and Aaron are buried deeper than ever in nightmares that have begun to contaminate every element of their lives - home, school, family, work - their peaceful existence is a thing of the past. It's one thing for them to suffer terrifying hallucinations (Reggie has a *doozey* at school in the opening), and another to suffer them while being dragged off by police for questioning, or strapped in and shipped to a psych ward by well-meaning family members. Such deliciously unsettling things happen to the characters in their real lives that the Vour's fearscape has to dial it up to keep pace - and it does! But chin up, the worse things get, the deeper Reggie and Aaron are able to dig to find hidden strengths. The plot is expanding in fascinating directions, broadening the world of The Devouring books, complicating the plot, and fleshing out already great characters. In particular, Aaron gets to shine in this book, which is well overdue and comprises some of my favourite moments by far. I think fans will find themselves repulsed and morbidly fascinated by Vour Quinn -- the monster keeps stealing the good lines! The conflict between Vour Quinn and Aaron drips smoky Vour disdain, and Vour Quinn is actually frightfully insightful about Reggie. The simple statement that Reggie likely doesn't know what her worst fear is comes across as positively chilling. I can't wait to see where that little lump of coal leads us. Holt really hits his stride in these books. I am so enthusiastic about the next in the series, and am hoping for a long run on these characters. This series is absorbing, original, and well done! I'm crossing my fingers Simon Holt can maintain the respect for the characters, and high quality for a long time to come. More please!

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't read the first book in the series there will be spoilers. The first thing I want to say about this is that it is probably my new favorite series! I loved both this and the first one. They were both the perfect mixes of scary, funny, and cute. I definitely never really thought that I would like the books when I started but I was so wrong. Soulstice begins six months after the ending of The Devouring and I really got into it from the very first page. Reggie's visions from the Vours are getting worse but she doesn't know who the Vour is. She knows Quinn is gone but she also knows that there are more Vours in her small town and they continue to torment her, her brother, and her friend. And things seem to be getting more intense for all of them and Henry is finally getting his memories back. And Reggie gets an unexpected visit in the middle of the night that I really did not see coming. The book really took off from there. The one thing that tore me up about this book was how sad I felt for Henry. He was only eight and he had no clue what had happened to him or why he wanted to hurt people that were mean to him. He thought he was the monster when it was just the Vour inside him. I felt so bad for him. He was too cute. =] Oh and I will warn you that the end is a total cliffhanger. I never expected it and there were so many other things that I couldn't have predicted would happen in the book. It was just so great! But yeah if you don't like waiting you might want to hold off on reading this one until we know when the next book will be released. Overall, I think you can tell what I think about this series. Check it out because it is purely awesome!

Six months. That's how long it's been since Reggie found Macie's journal and since Reggie freed her brother Henry from the Vour that had taken him. That also means it's been six months since Quinn Waters has been missing. In those six months a lot has happened, but the Vours have also gone dormant except in Reggie's dreams. The Vours still haunt her there, until one night when an unexpected visitor becomes not a nightmare, but a reality. Even though the Vour that had taken over Henry is gone, he still has nightmares, but he is now stronger than he was before. Reggie has also stopped trying to protect him all the time and finally begins being somewhat honest with him. But what Reggie and Aaron, her best friend, don't realize is there are more of these Vours than they ever thought possible in their little town. And once they start realizing that Henry and Quinn weren't the only one's Vourized, it becomes clear that things aren't always how they seem, and that you better be careful who you put your trust in. You never know who might be a Vour, and who isn't. There was no loss in the creepiness from The Devouring to Soulstice. Unlike most sequels, Soulstice did not succumb to the "sophomore slump." Soulstice not only held strong, but it also held its own fabulous story. There's plenty of the same action and twists that you fell in love with while reading The Devouring. I must admit though, Soulstice definitely ups the creep factor and imagery that once again puts you in a Hell that is not your own, but that is even more twisted than you can imagine. Despite it being a sequel, Soulstice could easily stand on its own. While skipping The Devouring would in my opinion be a mistake since you would miss out on a lot of important story points, but Soulstice does cover enough background points that you could still read it without reading book one. Needless to say, this definitely lives up to its horror classification. I wouldn't exactly call it "bedtime reading," since when I tried that I laid in bed for an hour with the images of demonic creatures running through my head. But despite the creepiness, I loved every page! I found it to be totally fascinating and absolutely unputdownable! And now, I can't wait for the third book in the series. I need to know where Reggie's next adventure takes her, and us readers.

Reviewed by Neha N. Kashmiri (age 14) for Reader Views (5/09) It has been six months since Sorry Night - six months since Reggie's little brother, Henry, was possessed by the Vours, the demonic beings that can inhabit human bodies. Reggie managed to save her brother and now it's all over. Actually, no it isn't. The plaguing nightmares haven't gone away and the terrifying visions are back. Reggie broke the rules when she saved her possessed brother and now the Vours are looking to break some of their own. The investigation of Quinn's death is still going on and the police are getting closer to Reggie and Aaron. How can they explain that the town golden boy was really a Vour that tried to kill them? Henry is still suffering and may have been left with a power that would be useful in protecting them from the Vours, if she decides to tell him the truth about his possession. An old enemy has come back from the dead asking for Reggie's help. Can she trust him, or is it a plot to lure her to the Vours? And what about Eben and his secrets that may tell Reggie and Aaron more things they need to know about the demons? Reggie has to learn who to trust and who to be wary of in this haunting sequel to "The Devouring." "SoulStice" is most definitely creepy. Gore and blood do nothing to scare me, and thankfully neither of those things was overused in this book. I really enjoyed the psychological aspects of the book, the parts where Reggie goes into fearscapes and goes through whatever scared people as they grew. Simon Holt really keeps the story going without rushing or being too slow. I'm looking forward to sequels that promise to be just as good. Simon Holt's book is a must for horror fans.

Six months. That's how long it's been since Reggie found Macie's journal and since Reggie freed her brother, Henry, from the Vour that had taken him. That also means it's been six months since Quinn Waters has been missing. In those six months a lot has happened, but the Vours have also gone dormant - except in Reggie's dreams. The Vours still haunt her there, until one night when an unexpected visitor becomes not a nightmare, but a reality. Even though the Vour that had taken over Henry is gone, he still has nightmares, and he is now stronger than he was before. Reggie has also stopped trying to protect him all the time and finally begins being somewhat honest with him. But what Reggie and Aaron, her best friend, don't realize is there are more of these Vours than they ever thought possible in their little town. And once they find out that Henry and Quinn weren't the only ones Vourized, it becomes clear that things aren't always how they seem, and that you better be careful who you put your trust in. You never know who might be a Vour, and who isn't. There was no loss in the creepiness from THE DEVOURING to SOULSTICE. Unlike most sequels, SOULSTICE did not succumb to the "sophomore slump." SOULSTICE not only held strong, but it also held its own fabulous story. There's plenty of the same action and twists that you fell in love with while reading THE DEVOURING. I must admit though, that SOULSTICE definitely ups the creep factor and imagery that once again puts you in a hell that is not your own, but that is even more twisted than you can imagine. Despite it being a sequel, SOULSTICE could easily stand on its own. While skipping THE DEVOURING would, in my opinion, be a mistake since you would miss out on a lot of important story points, SOULSTICE does cover enough background information that you could still read it without reading book one. Needless to say, this definitely lives up to its horror classification. I wouldn't exactly call it "bedtime reading," since when I tried that I lay in bed for an hour with the images of demonic creatures running through my head. But despite the creepiness, I loved every page! I found it to be totally fascinating and absolutely un-put-downable! And now, I can't wait for the third book in the series. I need to know where Reggie's next adventure takes her, and us as readers. Reviewed by: Samantha Clanton, aka "Harlequin Twilight"