Raising a little hell with... Hellfighters by Alexander Gordon Smith

Hi guys and gals!

Welcome back to the FRIDAY edition of Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Whew!  What a week!  Can I get an amen? ^-^  Seriously though, world wise and work wise, it's been pretty intense; so glad I have books to disappear into and forget it all for a while.  Take today's pick for instance...though not anything along the lines of a light or fluffy read, it will definitely take your mind off your troubles (or the possible one taking charge of our nation) and put you square in the middle of a fight too keep the world from turning into the devil's playground without supervision. 

Two warnings first though...

One...it's not for the faint of heart, but then again, NONE of his books really are.  You don't get compared to Stephen King and write about singing daisies.

Second...it IS a sequel and though others may say otherwise, I personally think you have to read the first one in order to understand what's really going on, the depth of the situation, and the characters connections along the way. 

Anywho, let the fanfare play because as this motley crew would tell you...

"If you want to fight the devil, you have to raise a little hell..."

Today's book of choice has arrived...

Hellfighters

The Devil's Engine, Book 2

by

Alexander Gordon Smith

9780374301729

Farrar Straus Giroux

About the book...

Thrown into a relentless war against the forces of darkness, fifteen-year-old Marlow Green and his squad of secret soldiers must fight for control of the Devil’s Engines―ancient, infernal machines that can make any wish come true, as long as you are willing to put your life on the line. But after a monstrous betrayal, Marlow, Pan and the other Hellraisers find themselves on the run from an enemy with horrific powers and limitless resources―an enemy that wants them dead at all costs. Failure doesn’t just mean a fate worse than death for Marlow, it means the total annihilation of the world. And when all looks lost and the stakes couldn’t be higher, just how far is he willing to go?

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My first experience with this author's work was the fascinating, dark, uber-scary-yet-oh-so-good Young Adult series, Escape from Furnace.  It featured a world on the brink of an apocalypse like nothing you could fathom and a cast of would-be-heroes that you weren't likely to forget...and I haven't.  I can still shed a tear for Donovan.  I can still feel the angst of Alex as he tries to hold everything together while it's crumbling in his hands.  I can still hear Zeke making a crack when all seems lost beyond reason.  Ahh, good times...but while those memories are grand, I was craving some new blood, I mean reading material, and with the release of The Devil's Engine:  Hellraisers last year, my reading prayers were answered.

I dove into the new series like a dolphin to water...wait, that's not nearly dark enough, how about a leech to a blood bath?  (~shudders~)  It was hard hitting, heavy and layered with complexity you didn't see coming and yet was as easy to follow as the bloody footprints of an inept serial killer.  (You can read my review right here on SFIR.)  In this second installment, it only gets better...and by better I mean, darker, more complex, building tangible webs that breathe with the life Mr. Smith has written into being with his powerful imagination and yet, there's still heart.  I know, I know.  HOW CAN THAT BE WITH EVERYTHING I'VE SAID?  You don't have to scream...I heard you.  (*wink*) 

The heart isn't on anyone's sleeve (well, it is literally to some degree with a particular character, but not in the "tender hearted" sense you're thinking), or pouring from someone's lips in bouts of poetry (again, yes to the pouring, but not in this way).  The heart in these works beats strong and true in his characters.  There is genuine feeling in each and every one of them, for better or worse.  It's in every breath they take, every task they undertake, every misstep and loses, every move forward or triumph.  Their hearts may be buried under so much muck that you'd need to bathe everyday for twelve years to attempt to remove the first layer, but they are there and the hope that lives in them is what drives them through the depths of hades to try and save a world that may not even give them a second thought.

In closing, I will leave you with my final thoughts as posted on GoodReads upon finishing the book...

Wait, what?! No! It can't end there, it can't! But, but, so much has happened, so much may still happen and we're just left to wonder what was there, who survived, the truth of EVERYTHING?!?! Aaaaaarghhhh!

Yes, my friends, it was a FANTASTIC read.  Glorious in it's darkness but with oh so much hidden light just waiting to burst through.  I can't recommend it and its predecessor enough.

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About the author...

Alexander Gordon Smith is the author of the Escape from Furnace series, including Lockdown and Solitary. Born in 1979 in Norwich, England, he always wanted to be a writer. After experimenting in the service and retail trades for a few years, Smith decided to go to University. He studied English and American Literature at the University of East Anglia, and it was here that he first explored his love of publishing. Along with poet Luke Wright, he founded Egg Box Publishing, a groundbreaking magazine and press that promotes talented new authors. He also started writing literally hundreds of articles, short stories and books ranging from Scooby Doo comic strips to world atlases, Midsomer Murders to X-Files. The endless research for these projects led to countless book ideas germinating in his head. His first book, The Inventors, written with his nine-year-old brother Jamie, was published in the U.K. in 2007. He lives in England.

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Special thanks to the marketing team at MacMillan for the ARC for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, the series, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title just celebrated it's book birthday November 1st, 2016 via Farrar Straus Giroux, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

BOOK BIRTHDAY: The Devil's Engine: Hellraisers by Alexander Gordon Smith

Hi guys and gals!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers...the site run by the girl that never did know when to say NO to a good book.
^-^

We're coming to you a little late today due to life delays (work, work, and umm, let's see...more work), but I simply couldn't let the day pass entirely.  Why?  Because!  Because today is the BOOK BIRTHDAY of author Alexander Gordon Smith's latest release!  You may recognize his name from me gushing over his Escape from Furnace series so many odd years ago; if you haven't indulged, please do!  Perhaps you recollect mention of him from his slightly more recent release that went by the title of The Fury; it was a bit more twisted and puzzling, but definitely worth the read.  If not, well then...prepare to make his acquaintance and ready a spot on your "wish" or "to read" list for today's book of choice...

The Devil's Engine:  Hellraisers

by

Alexander Gordon Smith

9780374301699

Farrar Straus Giroux

About the book...
When a sixteen-year-old troublemaker named Marlow Green is trapped in a surreal firefight against nightmarish creatures in the middle of his New York City neighborhood, he unwittingly finds himself amid a squad of secret soldiers dedicated to battling the legions of the devil himself.

Powering this army of young misfits is an ancient machine from the darkest parts of history. Known as the devil’s engine, it can make any wish come true-as long as you are willing to put your life on the line. Promised powers beyond belief, and facing monstrous apparitions straight out of the netherworld, Marlow must decide if he’s going to submit to a demonic deal with the infernal machine that will enable him to join the crusade-if it doesn’t kill him first.

From the author of the Escape from Furnace series, here is the opening salvo in an explosive new horror trilogy about an ordinary American kid caught up in an invisible war against the very worst enemy imaginable.

AMAZON   |   B&N

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This is a story out of place with all the holiday reads flying our way but it deserves the spotlight nonetheless.  It whisks us away to a world much like our own, in fact it really IS our own, but with something very sinister unfolding in the background that affects us all.  You see, good and bad, right and wrong, aren't so black and white when it comes to the Engineers.  Who are they?  Simply put, they are outcasts, lost causes, and orphans; those the world has forgotten about (some with somewhat good reasons) or cast aside because they are TROUBLE.  Here, trouble is a GOOD thing and making it is a normal day at the office, all in the name of stopping the demons and unearthly creatures from tearing through the veil that separates us from them and claiming the world as their own.  Why is that bad?  Well, let's just say you and I wouldn't make it...or at least in any way that is conceivably agreeable to a happy, healthy life.  *gulp*

The plot here is VERY thick.  We're dealing with unearthly machines that aren't just gears and sprockets, churning out "enhanced" people based off of what their inner desires are.  Best go in with a plan because the moment you're caught off guard, you may make a deal you won't live to regret. The "truth" of it all unfolds at a slower pace but the action taking its place is more than enough to satisfy.  Speaking of which, let's talk characters.  First up, our friend Pan who happened to make a deal somewhere along the lines mentioned.  She's part of the gang that Marlow stumbles upon when the world is literally shaking apart at the seams.  News blames it on terrors from abroad, reality is they are from below....DEEP BELOW...and they were collecting on a contract that met its deadline; emphasis on DEAD.  She's a spitfire though and hardhearted to the core...or so it seems...but push comes to shove and she'll keep you alive if it kills her, literally.  Then we have the muscle of the group, Truck and Herc...though they both have fairly big hearts too.  The latter is pretty much their leader and never met a stray he didn't want to help...hence the new addition.  Don't let him fool you though, he's still taking orders from higher up and I'm not so sure about THAT fellow.  Night, or super speedy friend, rounds out the group, at least until Marlow comes aboard, leaving us to wonder at their combined strength and yet worry that it just may not be enough.  *dun dun dunnnn*

I can't help but wonder who is LYING and about what?  It's a repeated line throughout the book from several characters usually when at death's door...or as close as one can get to that door when they've sold their soul.  *ahem*  I have this feeling that we won't learn the answer to this question in the next book either...which is ALRIGHT by me!  Why?  Because...that means there are MORE BOOKS TO COME!  In my mind, the next installment delves into the lives and stories of the other Engineers; those proposed to be working for the WRONG side...or are they?  All we REALLY know right now is what everyone has been telling us.  We're the good guys.  We're keeping H*** on Earth at bay.  I mean, it's a lot to process and far fetched for certain but how do we REALLY know that's the case?  There's still all these shadows and shady dealings.  Sorry, we could go on for days trying to sort out which team is really in the right seeing as they both have GINORMOUS living (sorta) machines that grant wishes in exchange for your soul and so many odd days later if you've not a good "Lawyer" on your side, there is LITERALLY h*** to pay....for ETERNITY.  So really, what's to question?  *gulp*

In the end, a dark and twisted start to what promises to be a thrilling trilogy (TWO MORE BOOKS TO COME!  *fist pump*) from an author who's shown us before, he knows how to write YA horror with the best of them.  Though I admit, I knew who or what the weakest link was going to be and force the story to center around, but I didn't know exactly how so it kept me on my toes...and it looks like I have to stay there until book two at the very least. (*switches for good toe shoes*) Recommended read for guys and gals of the older teen persuasion as there is DARKNESS, DEATH, DEVILS, and dealings that may be a bit too powerful for the youngest set.  Don't worry kiddos....something to look forward to as you progress in years.  ^_-

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About the author...

Alexander Gordon Smith, 36, is best known as the author of the Escape From Furnace Series, made up of Lockdown, Solitary, Death Sentence, Fugitives and Execution. He is is also the author of The Fury, and, with his eleven-year-old brother Jamie, The Inventors books. His new series, The Devil’s Engine, has just been released in the US, starting with Hellraisers.

He is the author of two creative writing handbooks, Inspired Creative Writing and Writing Bestselling Children’s Books, a number of screenplays that are currently in development, several non-fiction books and hundreds of short stories and articles.

Gordon is the founder of Egg Box Publishing, an independent, non-profit imprint designed to publish and promote talented new writers and poets, and is the co-owner of Fear Driven Films, a production company filming its first feature.

He actively encourages people of all ages to read and write, and runs creative writing talks and workshops across the world. In 2009 he was named by the Courvoisier Future 500 as one of the most promising young entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom.

He is called Gordon, rather than Alexander, because his Mum and Dad liked the name Gordon but didn’t want his initials to spell GAS, so called him by his middle name!

SITE   |   FACEBOOK   |   TWITTER

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Special thanks to the publicity team at MacMillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC (!) for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is IN STORES NOW via Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of MacMillan Children's Publishing Group, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time...happy reading!