From Daryl Gregory, whose Pandemonium was one of the most exciting debut novels in memory, comes an astonishing work of soaring imaginative power t...
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Oct 17, 2011
Savinien
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The Devil's Alphabet starts out like a supernatural thriller, but quickly loses steam and finishes in a muddle of character resolutions without the kindness of a climax.
The premise is fascinating and unusual--an unknown disease mutates a town full of people into three different kinds of beings, while several people remain untouched. One of those untouched people, called "skips," leaves--only to return years later when a friend commits suicide.
Unfortunately, Gr More...
The premise is fascinating and unusual--an unknown disease mutates a town full of people into three different kinds of beings, while several people remain untouched. One of those untouched people, called "skips," leaves--only to return years later when a friend commits suicide.
Unfortunately, Gr More...
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Aug 20, 2010
Juushika
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Switchcreek was once a small town like any other, until a mysterious disease swept through, killing many residents and transforming even more into one of three new humanoid species. Pax is an even rarer oddity: a human left untouched by the disease. Now, 13 years after leaving, Pax returns to his childhood home to attend a friend's funeral, and his stay in Switchcreek may reveal much about his own past and the town's strange biology and society. The Devil's Alphabet's intrigue is its premise. Un
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Jul 30, 2010
Sue
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Paxton Martin, a preacher’s son, is returning to his hometown of Switchcreek, TN, for the funeral of a childhood friend. Pax left Switchcreek 12 years ago, soon after an outbreak of Transcription Divergence Syndrome devastated the population of the small town. TDS, or The Changes, killed a third of the people living in Switchcreek and caused three different mutations in most of the people left alive. The victims of TDS-A, or Argos, became gray-skinned and grew to abnormal heights. TDS-B victims,
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Jan 18, 2012
Candice
rated it:
I am torn on how to rate this book. Do I rate it on just what is there, or what *could* have been (and I wish was) there? It should probably get a 3.5, but since I can't, I have to go with a 3.
I have to start with the good - I blew threw this book! I really, *really* wanted to know what happened next, and the little bits of tantalizing information kept pulling me on. Definitely a good read in that respect. Unfortunately, I feel like by the end I had been dropped on my face, and al More...
I have to start with the good - I blew threw this book! I really, *really* wanted to know what happened next, and the little bits of tantalizing information kept pulling me on. Definitely a good read in that respect. Unfortunately, I feel like by the end I had been dropped on my face, and al More...
Mar 01, 2011
Paperclippe
rated it:
If there was a 4.5 star option, I would give it to this book. I can't give it a 5 for two reasons - the main character, Paxton, slipped between useless and unlikable, and clever and funny, far too often to be interesting or realistic. Secondly, this is another book that wanted to be science-fiction but didn't know enough about the science to properly fictionalize it.
Aside from that, this novel's execution is almost perfect: the small town politics, the divisions between people, and More...
Aside from that, this novel's execution is almost perfect: the small town politics, the divisions between people, and More...
Mar 26, 2010
Erin
rated it:
As a reader, I operate under a strict "you can't judge a book by its cover" policy. The Devil's Alphabet tested that resolve, though. When I picked it up at the library, my 4-year-old daughter cringed. "Ew, that's scary, mom," she said. And she's right - the cover art is a little dark. But like many books, I quickly discovered that the image on the cover is more unsettling than any of the content within.
I was expecting a sci-fi/horror story, but I was surprised t More...
I was expecting a sci-fi/horror story, but I was surprised t More...
Feb 14, 2010
notyourmonkey
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Mar 14, 2010
Jessica
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The Devil's Alphabet is a re-reader. You won't have any trouble following the main structure of the plot. The final reveal is certainly a disturbing surprise but you aren't left caught in the author's web, turning back through the pages trying to figure out how it all happened. What makes it worth reading again, even when you have a to-be-read stack a mile high, is the truly unique flavor of Daryl Gregory's mutants and the modern human rights statements that seem to be scattered through the book
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Jul 21, 2010
Pygmy
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Well-written and interesting....but the main character is not the brightest, has a fairly blah personality, and a genetic predilection for drug addiction. Which...kind of puts a damper on me loving this book the way I liked the author's previous book Pandemonium. Also, they never do figure out how exactly the disease/transformations are occuring; they throw around some outlandish ideas of alternate universes, but while I read the story, I never felt that the idea was truly serious. The story
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Dec 26, 2010
Merredith
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This book started out great, then fizzled towards the end. The main guy, Pax, comes back to his hometown at the death of his childhood best friend, who has apparently hung herself, but he doesn't believe it. While there he sort of reconnects with his other old best friend, and a whole complicated relationship with his estranged father. Pax left the town when he was about 14 because the town mysteriously went through changes, where a third of the town died, and most of the rest, except for Pax an
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Oct 26, 2010
Dana
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Hmmm... This book is a bit difficult to rate. <3.5 stars>
I picked this book up solely on the cover art.
Although... I did read part of the synopsis from the back cover --- which I almost never do--- so I had some idea as to the premise of the book.
The premise is basically this:
Small town in Tennessee is the site of a mysterious disease that 1/3 of the population doesn't survive and the vast majority that do are changed into one of thre More...
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Mar 21, 2010
Renata
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I thoroughly enjoyed this story of a young man who returns to his small town in TN to attend the funeral of a high school friend and to possibly reconnect with his father. But on the first page the reader quickly realizes this is not just any small southern town. Switchcreek had been struck by a disease fourteen years earlier that killed about a third of the population and changed the majority in ways that still left scientists stumped. Pax's friend Deke became an argo, muscles and bones stretch
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Nov 08, 2009
Mike
rated it:
Gregory's stuff can be boiled down to some high concepts (an alternate history of an America plagued by constant demon possession; a town struck by sudden transformations of its population into three new species), 'though they're never reduced to simple narrative beats or big-Plotted thumping. They're almost deceptively calm, measured, and contemplative once you get past the simple, utterly strange narrative hook that centers each novel.
And they're damn good. (In retrospect, Greg More...
And they're damn good. (In retrospect, Greg More...
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Jan 21, 2011
Lize
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I went to the library looking for Daryl Gregory's "Pandemonium", which was checked out. But this one was in, and the cover drew me like a magnet. (It's a neat trick with the eyes--wish I'd thought of it.) The story begins like this: Paxton Martin, lately of Chicago, is returning home to the small town of Switchcreek, Tennessee, for the funeral of a childhood friend who has committed suicide. Switchcreek is no ordinary place, however. Fifteen years before, the entire town was infecte
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Dec 03, 2009
Emily
rated it: 
I thoroughly enjoyed The Devil's Alphabet. It truly had a little bit of everything--crime, love, addiction, struggles for acceptance.
This story reads a bit like a braid to me. There are three main plots that all tie together in the end. There is the mystery surrounding Jo-Lynn's suicide (whether or not it was suicide and if not, who is responsible?). In addition there is the attempt at connection and resulting complications in Paxton and his father's relationship. And finally there i More...
This story reads a bit like a braid to me. There are three main plots that all tie together in the end. There is the mystery surrounding Jo-Lynn's suicide (whether or not it was suicide and if not, who is responsible?). In addition there is the attempt at connection and resulting complications in Paxton and his father's relationship. And finally there i More...
Feb 08, 2010
Bookmarks Magazine
rated it:
Daryl Gregory's work, particularly his short stories, has drawn a great deal of critical attention, but he set the bar for genre-busting fiction with Pandemonium, his critically acclaimed debut. The Devil's Alphabet follows in that vein, stirring sf, horror, and fantasy into a potent brew. Graphic imagery drives the story, and storytelling is always front and center, though Gregory has a knack for crafting strong characters. And even in a narrowly focused setting, he manages to deal with some pr
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Sep 21, 2010
Molly
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Pax is a likable character who left his hometown of Switchcreek, Tennessee after the Changes occurred at the age of 14. It begins with him returning home for the funeral of one of his best friends Jo Lynn, who happened to be a beta. During the changes three different segments of the population came into being. There are the tall, strong, deep voiced argos, the small, hairless, wine colored betas and the fat charlies. Pax was a "skip", which is someone who got passed over during the ch
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Nov 18, 2010
Paula
rated it:
this one was really different from my usual picks, but it turned out to be a really good story, quite science fictionish, but with that "could that really happen" thing nagging at your brain after you're done with it. it seems that fifteen years before, a genetic anomaly suddenly attacked a small town in tennessee, changing the inhabitants, those that survive, into three distinct types, the argos, chalky white giants; the betas, maroon self reproducing humanoids, and charlies, who gr
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Mar 10, 2010
Michael
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Much like Pandemonium, Gregory's debut novel, The Devil's Alphabet feels tepid -- like washing hands in water too cool to be comfortable, yet ultimately not bothersome enough to fiddle with the faucet knob (you simply know that in a few seconds, the scrubbing will be done), and just like Pandemonium, I rolled quickly into the second half realizing that while this book wasn't going anywhere very interesting, it would be over before I knew it.
Gregory feels like the sort of writer who More...
Gregory feels like the sort of writer who More...
Apr 05, 2010
Daniel
rated it:
This book does what science fiction does at its literary best: it uses the book's MacGuffin to explore human nature.
Some irritating French deconstructionist wrote a really cool essay in which he talked about the point of androids in fiction was to figure out what it meant to be human by examining something almost, but not quite, human. Look at Data, for example, or Pinocchio. This story turns that on its head: many of the people inside are externally inhuman but are entirely hu More...
Some irritating French deconstructionist wrote a really cool essay in which he talked about the point of androids in fiction was to figure out what it meant to be human by examining something almost, but not quite, human. Look at Data, for example, or Pinocchio. This story turns that on its head: many of the people inside are externally inhuman but are entirely hu More...
Feb 22, 2010
Caressa
rated it:
Great idea, great writing, great first third!!
Then it takes a nose dive. *insert explosion sound effects here* The writing is still great, but the plot gets bogged down by Pax's apathy. I kept reading, thinking that each chapter was going to be the one that picks up the pace. After another 50 pages, I just wanted to finish the book purely on principle. But by the time I had slogged through 75% of the novel, I thought, "If Pax still just doesn't care, why should I?"
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Then it takes a nose dive. *insert explosion sound effects here* The writing is still great, but the plot gets bogged down by Pax's apathy. I kept reading, thinking that each chapter was going to be the one that picks up the pace. After another 50 pages, I just wanted to finish the book purely on principle. But by the time I had slogged through 75% of the novel, I thought, "If Pax still just doesn't care, why should I?"
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Jan 30, 2011
Jason
rated it:
An interesting old time southern town story that happens to be the epicenter of a world changing scientific anomaly. This is a story that is a conspiracy, a mystery, and a sons acceptance of his past and his heritage. The science behind the "changes" are interesting and thought provoking. Like Gregory's first novel, this one uses off humor to drive the story forward. Pax is a believable protagonist, and I found him easy to like and to empathize with. The novel is short and to the p
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Sep 05, 2011
Twobusy
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I had high, high hopes for this novel — perhaps unreasonably high. Gregory's debut "Pandemonium" basically blew my socks off, and when I heard the premise for this novel - a small town in TN is struck by a strange phenomenon that kills off 1/3 of the residents, and transforms most of the survivors into three different kinds of not-quite-humans - I was fascinated. And while the book did indeed deliver a pretty fascinating account of this microcosmic post-transformational society (as see
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Jul 30, 2011
Gerri
rated it:
Daryl Gregory is one of the most exciting new authors to come on the scene in a long, long time. He manages to take the extraordinary and put it to the level of the everyday. I've seen him compared to Stephen King, and that's probably right (I don't enjoy King's fiction all that much, although I adore his On Writing). This book is very different than Gregory's first novel Pandemonium, but still packs a very large punch as he once again uses non humans to examine the human condition. And once
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Feb 09, 2010
Cathy
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This was a strange book, but I'm glad I read it. Paxton, the protagonist is difficult to love, although it's easy to understand why he is flawed. Pax flees his hometown after a terrible plague strikes. The disease kills half the inhabitants and changes most of the other ones. Pax returns to attend the funeral of a female friend, who has apparently committed suicide.
The provides a credible imagining of what would happen to a small town struck by such an unthinkable event. Some have com More...
The provides a credible imagining of what would happen to a small town struck by such an unthinkable event. Some have com More...
Sep 10, 2011
Kate
rated it:
Such an intriguing premise... with a disappointing lack of follow-through.
A genetic mystery-- The Changes--- mutating or killing most of the population of Switchcreek twelve years ago, and suddenly occurring in Ecuador: never resolved or explained.
Paxton, the main character, comes back to town for the funeral of his best friend, which the town calls a suicide. After a number of run-ins with characters of a dubious nature, he becomes convinced she was murdered. After final More...
A genetic mystery-- The Changes--- mutating or killing most of the population of Switchcreek twelve years ago, and suddenly occurring in Ecuador: never resolved or explained.
Paxton, the main character, comes back to town for the funeral of his best friend, which the town calls a suicide. After a number of run-ins with characters of a dubious nature, he becomes convinced she was murdered. After final More...
Mar 25, 2011
Ardene
rated it:
An intriguing story of the ongoing struggles of a small town became victim to a virus which killed a third of its people, but didn't spread outside the village. Except for a few “skips” like Paxton, the protagonist, who don’t get sick, the inhabitants become:
• Argos are abnormally tall, angular, and strong, and they cannot reproduce (Deke & his wife)
• Betas, hairless and dark; Beta women women reproduce parthenogenically (JoLynn and her daughters)
• Charlies are corpulent and in la More...
• Argos are abnormally tall, angular, and strong, and they cannot reproduce (Deke & his wife)
• Betas, hairless and dark; Beta women women reproduce parthenogenically (JoLynn and her daughters)
• Charlies are corpulent and in la More...
Jan 29, 2011
Sandi
rated it:
Daryl Gregory is now an author that I will be looking out for. His debut novel, Pandemonium, was unique and interesting. I never knew what was coming next. I can say the same of The Devil's Alphabet. It's very different from his first book, yet equally creative and compelling. He builds his situations and settings in ways that make them vivid to the reader without describing every little thing in minute detail. As a result, the reader becomes part of the creative process. His characters a
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Jan 10, 2011
Jennifer
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In the world of this novel, an unidentified syndrome sweeps though a tiny town in Tennessee in the 1990s and kills a third of the population. Those who survive are transformed into one of three completely new species of humanity; only a few members of the town survive unchanged. Ultimately, the book is about our bodies and their relationship to our identities.
What I liked best about this book is that it really forces you to draw your own conclusions and make your own judgements. No ch More...
What I liked best about this book is that it really forces you to draw your own conclusions and make your own judgements. No ch More...
Mar 19, 2010
Matt
rated it:
Wow! What an interesting book. Daryl Gregory has just become one of my favorite authors. The Devil's Alphabet has a very interesting premise, but it was the charactor and story development that made it stand out.
Paxton, a troubled man, comes back to his home town where a strange disaster took place when he was 14. A disease of some sort changed the DNA and tranformed most of the residents into one of three way: strong giant Argus's, bald seal-like Betas, and hugely obese Charli More...
Paxton, a troubled man, comes back to his home town where a strange disaster took place when he was 14. A disease of some sort changed the DNA and tranformed most of the residents into one of three way: strong giant Argus's, bald seal-like Betas, and hugely obese Charli More...
