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A review by trin
The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell
3.0
Well this was a wild ride! A horror/thriller that takes place in 1930s Czechoslovakia, this novel follows a young psychiatrist, Viktor, who has just gotten a new job at the Hrad Orlu Asylum for the Criminally Insane – an institution in a remote village outside of Prague, built into a legendary old castle, and housing six of the country’s worst serial killers, known as the Devil’s Six. As Viktor pursues his pet theory of criminal insanity, which he calls “the Devil Aspect,” a new series of brutal murders, with shades of Jack the Ripper, are occurring in Prague. A detective named Lukas Smolak is on the trail of the killer, known only as Leather Apron.
This is a cheesy, pulpy, tropetastic thriller, but goodness if it isn’t a lot of fun. The opening is slow and exposition heavy, but once Viktor arrives at the asylum and starts working with his patients, and Smolak’s investigation really kicks off, the book becomes a pacey, addictive page-turner. Despite its length, I happily devoured it in two days. The writing is, at its best, cinematic, and there are a number of genuine scares (oh god the Glass Collector) and a general atmosphere of sinister paranoia.
The historical detail is not always perfect – I caught a number of anachronisms – but what Russell does really well is capture the mounting political tensions of the 1930s. Some of Viktor’s fellow doctors have joined the Czech branch of the Nazi party; there’s growing anti-Semitism and anti-gypsy sentiment in Prague; and Viktor’s love interest, who’s Jewish, is having prophetic nightmares about the Holocaust. I also found Russell’s interweaving of Slavic mythology – Chernabog, Koschei the Deathless, and various other unsettling forest spirits – to be incredibly effective. There are many scenes and images that will haunt me for a while.
The biggest problem with the book, for me, is the “twist” ending – I saw it coming from about page 10 and spent the rest of the book bracing myself for its inevitable arrival, and hoping against hope that Russell would surprise me with a different conclusion. Alas, he didn’t:
Yet in spite of this particular eyeroll, I have to say, I still enjoyed the journey of the book a great deal. This is some blackened, evil-smelling, but yummy, yummy cheese.
This is a cheesy, pulpy, tropetastic thriller, but goodness if it isn’t a lot of fun. The opening is slow and exposition heavy, but once Viktor arrives at the asylum and starts working with his patients, and Smolak’s investigation really kicks off, the book becomes a pacey, addictive page-turner. Despite its length, I happily devoured it in two days. The writing is, at its best, cinematic, and there are a number of genuine scares (oh god the Glass Collector) and a general atmosphere of sinister paranoia.
The historical detail is not always perfect – I caught a number of anachronisms – but what Russell does really well is capture the mounting political tensions of the 1930s. Some of Viktor’s fellow doctors have joined the Czech branch of the Nazi party; there’s growing anti-Semitism and anti-gypsy sentiment in Prague; and Viktor’s love interest, who’s Jewish, is having prophetic nightmares about the Holocaust. I also found Russell’s interweaving of Slavic mythology – Chernabog, Koschei the Deathless, and various other unsettling forest spirits – to be incredibly effective. There are many scenes and images that will haunt me for a while.
The biggest problem with the book, for me, is the “twist” ending – I saw it coming from about page 10 and spent the rest of the book bracing myself for its inevitable arrival, and hoping against hope that Russell would surprise me with a different conclusion. Alas, he didn’t:
Spoiler
Viktor has a split personality, his own Devil Aspect, and was the killer all along! I’m fairly tired of books that fall back on the old Fight Club shocker, as it has long ceased to shock me. Other readers seem less annoyed and even surprised by this twist, but to me it was a major disappointment.Yet in spite of this particular eyeroll, I have to say, I still enjoyed the journey of the book a great deal. This is some blackened, evil-smelling, but yummy, yummy cheese.