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In The Devil's Cradle
Senator William Esquival is in a rush to save his family’s life. Fleeing political persecution, William takes his family from the capital and flees to the family stronghold of Rio Rojo, a town known as the birthplace of William’s ancestor, a powerful former dictator whose legacy haunts the nation of Antioch. But even as the Esquival family seeks refuge, the country continues to fray around them. As Antioch bleeds, ancient hatreds, secrets, and ghosts pour from its wounds.
From S. L. Edwards comes debut novel In the Devil’s Cradle, a captivating haunted house story where the house is an entire country, a nation coming apart due to influences both internal and external, both natural and supernatural.
From S. L. Edwards comes debut novel In the Devil’s Cradle, a captivating haunted house story where the house is an entire country, a nation coming apart due to influences both internal and external, both natural and supernatural.
- GenresHorror
242 pages, Paperback
Published November 8, 2022
68 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 6, 2022
Review in the September 1, 2022 issue of Booklist and only blog: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2022/09...
Three Words That Describe This Book: political horror, deeply unsettling, thought provoking
Debut, any country, truly. Sure it is probably in South America, but it is written to be any country, anywhere. 20th century setting. Could also easily be Central or Eastern Europe.
3rd person omniscient inside the entire family, moves around freely-- Emelda [mom], William [Dad], Christopher, Edward, Torie, Tea.
Political family, tied to the founder of Antioch. Hiding in Rio Rojo, the town in the jungle where the country began.
A country in the midst of a coup, but also there are actual ghosts and monsters in the woods, creatures that are inexorably tied to the country's founding.
Very good and compelling. Great characters. Each member of the family is fully formed and unique. The pov switches felt a little forced a few times, to keep the reader guessing and turning pages. I think if this was a more established author, the editor would ave allowed some of the scenes to go on a little longer before switching.
Only other negative is that the creatures in the woods [I don't want to spoil but some resemble small children without eyes and they are present VERY early in the story], their back story needed a lot more explanation. There was some. But I have more questions. Maybe that is the point because after all of the violence, the country will continue and this menace is still there, but I still wanted a little more.
But overall, a solid read. Impressive for a debut. Very worth adding to all libraries. Word Horde is a VERY reliable Horror indie press-- great editing, good covers, books tat stand up to multiple checkouts. It is why I requested this book from the publisher to review. I like what they do and this was one that they were also excited about.
Readalike: Combine The Hacienda by Canvas, with Frankenstein in Bahgdad by Saadawi, and Wonderland by Stage. That's the book.
Three Words That Describe This Book: political horror, deeply unsettling, thought provoking
Debut, any country, truly. Sure it is probably in South America, but it is written to be any country, anywhere. 20th century setting. Could also easily be Central or Eastern Europe.
3rd person omniscient inside the entire family, moves around freely-- Emelda [mom], William [Dad], Christopher, Edward, Torie, Tea.
Political family, tied to the founder of Antioch. Hiding in Rio Rojo, the town in the jungle where the country began.
A country in the midst of a coup, but also there are actual ghosts and monsters in the woods, creatures that are inexorably tied to the country's founding.
Very good and compelling. Great characters. Each member of the family is fully formed and unique. The pov switches felt a little forced a few times, to keep the reader guessing and turning pages. I think if this was a more established author, the editor would ave allowed some of the scenes to go on a little longer before switching.
Only other negative is that the creatures in the woods [I don't want to spoil but some resemble small children without eyes and they are present VERY early in the story], their back story needed a lot more explanation. There was some. But I have more questions. Maybe that is the point because after all of the violence, the country will continue and this menace is still there, but I still wanted a little more.
But overall, a solid read. Impressive for a debut. Very worth adding to all libraries. Word Horde is a VERY reliable Horror indie press-- great editing, good covers, books tat stand up to multiple checkouts. It is why I requested this book from the publisher to review. I like what they do and this was one that they were also excited about.
Readalike: Combine The Hacienda by Canvas, with Frankenstein in Bahgdad by Saadawi, and Wonderland by Stage. That's the book.
May 30, 2023
3.5 stars. This was a fun read and super interesting premise of a haunted nation (as opposed to a house). I’ve been following SL Edwards since his short story collection and he has just gotten better and better. Fans of Nadia Bulkin and “political” horror will dig this.
I thought there were a few too many characters and in a short novel there wasn’t enough space to develop them all fully. Some minor pacing issues, too.
I really loved the characterization of the son character who has to learn to shoot and the girl (Alma) who teaches him. I found myself really looking forward to those sections. The ghosts were creepy and had an ultimate purpose other than to just throw ghosts in, which separates this story from lesser efforts by different writers.
I thought there were a few too many characters and in a short novel there wasn’t enough space to develop them all fully. Some minor pacing issues, too.
I really loved the characterization of the son character who has to learn to shoot and the girl (Alma) who teaches him. I found myself really looking forward to those sections. The ghosts were creepy and had an ultimate purpose other than to just throw ghosts in, which separates this story from lesser efforts by different writers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews