Hellraisers by Alexander Gordon Smith

Sweet hallelujah! Hellraisers is the first book in The Devil's Engine series, there is a second book planned. Smith has lots of other books out, I do recommend his Escape From Furnace series, I have read the books but I do not have reviews up for them. I do, however, have The Fury by Smith reviewed. Warning: theory rant coming....  Here's the video for it too!



Making any wish you have come true sounds amazing. It is until the machine granting you the wishes, tries to kill you eventually. The Devil's Engine is a contraption that will grant any wish you have, you just put your life in its hold for the time being. Marlow Green is in the middle of a fight with monsters from nightmares. To top it all off, he's asthmatic. Stumbling upon a secret group that combats them, he ends up joining in on the fight. Now it's a matter of staying alive and fighting those monsters. Here's to hoping you don't die and end up in Hell for eternity!

Whelp. I loved Hellraisers. There was lots of action, it started with a bang and kept going. I really like the back story to the Engine and what it takes to get a wish to come true. However I don't like the time that is given to the person. I did like the characters Marlow was really likeable, along with Pan-for me. Though I really want more about her, I don't think everything was revealed about her. Smith's descriptions are very good. There are few authors that can make me visualize what I am reading, and Smith is one of them. I laughed a lot too, the airplane bathroom scene had me rolling in the breakroom of my work.

THEORY TIME. So I follow Smith on social media, and he is a huge fan of Darren Shan's. I have read Shan since elementary school starting with the Cirque du Freak series. In Shan's Cirque series there are two best friends: Darren and Steve. In Smith's book there are two best friends: Marlow and Charlie. If you have read Shan's series and Smith's book you may see where I am going with this. I feel like there is going to be more parallels between the books because there where a few spots in Smith's book that where similar to Shan's. I really, really can't wait to see where it goes!! Any other fans of the two feel the same or different?

There is only one dislike I would like to bring up. Cliffhanger. Give me the second book already! This is why I don't read recently published books. I want to read the series completely and not have to wait. Honestly, that is my only complaint.

Hellraisers was not what I expected and I wasn't disappointed. Smith definitely has me hooked and I can only hope the rest of the series is just as good. I do recommend this book to everyone even though it is a YA book. I do want to own this book, and I can see myself rereading it.Though I really want to know if anyone has the same theory as I after reading this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Page count: 342 pages (hardcover)

Price: $17.99

Next: Defying Destiny by Kylie Price

Thank you for reading!
~Jade



You can also follow me on these sites: Facebook, Goodreads, Tumblr and now YouTube

The Fury by Alexander Gordon Smith

This is a fairly new book from Smith, it came out in 2013. Smith has a series out called Escape From Furnace, along with a couple other stand alone books. Happy New Year!

Without a single warning the whole world has turned against a selected few. They want to tear them apart, and not care that it is their own child, friend, brother, sister, whoever. The Fury has infected everyone that it can, and it will not stop until these people are dead. These poor teens create a group and try to find out what has happened, why, and how to stop it. It is never that easy though, and they go through a series of battles just to survive. But the real enemy isn't everyone attacking them, it's a seriously dark force that wants nothing but the decimation of the world. These kids have a lot on their plates, and it seems that with every hour that goes by, something else is added to it.

I just recently found out about Smith through his Escape From Furnace series, and I really loved those books. So I was expecting more of the same from him in this book. I was extremely happy with this book. I couldn't put this book down (I know I have said this for the past few review but it is true!) I had to keep reading. Smith really draws you and keeps your attention even when you don't want to be reading. I love that Smith didn't go with a straight up zombie apocalypse, they don't try to eat the kids just kill them. The Fury when it infects these people the teens have to be about 20 meters from them for the Fury to kick in. So long as they are farther then that they don't have to worry about the people. You start off and end with Brick, Cal, and Daisy and then as the book goes along you get to meet other characters who are not infected with the Fury, and a couple who are. There is action all throughout the book, sometimes it is slower paced action to keep things balanced and not on a constant high, and this worked very well with this book. I loved basically all of the characters especially Daisy and Adam, and hated those evil characters. What makes the literal kids different is this thing inside of them. Smith calls it "angels" I like to think of it as a supernatural defense system for the human race. I can see the parallelism between the two though. *SPOILER-ALERT* I can see where the angel part comes in because when the defense system kicks in in the kids they become this fiery blue inferno.*SPOILER-ENDED* Also for anyone reading, if they liked Stephen Kings The Stand I instantly thought of that book when I was reading this one. Smith also reminded me of Darren Shan, I'm not really sure I just thought of him too while reading. I love the main problem that arises, "the man in the storm" who is destroying the world. It was different and I haven't read another book with the same exact thing, yet. There is so much more that I really enjoyed about this book, but I don't want to bore you all with a really long post.

My dislikes should not be taken to heart for this review. They are just me wanting the events to have happened differently. The first one is the ending, and who "dies". I really was not happy with that but I understand why they were chosen and why they did it. Secondly is how they defeated the man in the storm. Once again I understand why it was done, it was just really cheesy to me. It gave me the same exact feeling Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes did when the little boy is saved by a hug. If it weren't for me being me, I would have nothing to complain about, but those where the only things I had to say.

I am extremely happy with this book. I say it is not just for Teens it is for everyone. Smith did a very good job with this book. I would love to own this book along with his Escape From Furnace series. He is slowly becoming an author that I wouldn't hesitate to pick up and read a book from. He is a young author and I hope that he continues to write such captivating books. I recommend anyone to read his books.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Page Count: 681 pages (hardcover).

Price: $19.99

Next Book: Passion by Lauren Kate.

Thank you so much for reading!
~Jade