Review: The Devouring by Simon Holt

The Vours: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice.

When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic. But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it's clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman's imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life.

To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares. Can she devour her own fears before they devour her?

Bone-chilling, terrifying, thrilling...what are you waiting for? 

The Devouring is an engrossing tale of terror that will have you wondering: what if your worst fears became your living nightmare?



For someone who hates anything to do with horror, I was hesitant about this book. I picked it up originally because I had heard so many good things about it and I didn't realize it was in the horror category. However, I decided to give it a try and see if I would be pleasantly surprised.

I can say, I think I was.

The book was disturbing in so many scenes. Which! I say in a good way because I assume that is what people look for in the horror genre. It was just the right amount of descriptive to be horrifying. 

However, a good thing for me: It wasn't continuous horror. I can really only recall about five chapters that I felt brought out pure fear, horror or disgust out of me. Holt managed to intertwine beautiful and thought-provoking quotes and scenes. I loved reading about the more deep questions regarding the evil or goodness of being a human.

Another part which surprised me with how much I enjoyed it was the world building - that is the supernatural - world. The normal world which involved backstories of family and high school dynamics, honestly didn't interest me as much.

I loved learning about the Vours in the same time the characters were, I loved hearing about their abilities, their weaknesses, backstories. The Vours were such great antagonists. Their powers and how it was explained, including scientifically, was so smart and attention grabbing. These creatures were such a unique idea and in the book, they were executed perfectly. It was so interesting and whenever the novel focused on the characters' research or planning, I was honestly so caught up in the book.

One of the downfalls of this book would have to be the ending. Not because of what happened but because of how the ending was shown. After what I would consider the climax of the book, it only took three more pages for it to end. It ended so abruptly and I wanted to be able to see more of the aftermath. I know there are other books in the series but I think what happens after is relevant to this one. 

Overall, while the book had great aspects, it wasn't that gripping. It didn't make it impossible to put the book down and it wasn't much of a page turner. But while it wasn't that impactful, it was...good.