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The Devourers – Indra Das
Lambda
Literary Award Winner - Horror
Pages: 306
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Language: English
ISBN: 9781101967515
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Synopsis: Under the light of a full moon, college professor
Alok decides to stop in at a local tavern Kolkata, India to have a
drink. Alok ends up getting a lot more
than he bargained for. He encounters a
mysterious stranger with a bizarre confession and an unbelievable story. Tempted
by the man’s unfinished tale, Alok will do anything to hear its completion,
so he agrees to transcribe the stranger’s collection of notebooks, parchments,
and once-living skins. From these
documents, Alok learns the history of a race of people that are half human
and half beast, ruled by instinct and a desire for blood. And with every chapter of beauty and brutality
that Alok transcribes, his interest in the stranger evolves into something
dark and urgent.
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Elements of
LGBTQ Genre
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Pace:
The story moves rather slowly, but the author provides many details to
paint a thorough picture of the scene.
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Characterization: Characters are rather
dark and mysterious, but well developed, and the reader begins to see a lot
about them and what they have lived through.
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Setting: The setting is based in Indian
from the 17th century to present.
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Tone/Mood: The tone/mood is very dark
due to the fact that there is a good bit of gore and violence in this story.
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Story Line: The story is about a
mysterious stranger and the college professor who becomes completely
infatuated with him, his life story and his history. The story floats between
the past and present, but unfolds neatly so the reader can imagine the
stranger’s previous life vs. his life now.
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Read-a-Likes
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Certain
Dark Things
Silvia
Moreno
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The
Terracotta Bride
Zen Cho
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Vigil
Angela
Slatter
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Okay I didn't know I needed to read this book until now. Everything about this seems amazing, dark themes, mysterious stranger, secrets hidden in journals! Yes Please!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great. I love when the the romance isn't the leading factor of a book. Is this a series or a stand a lone?
This sounds really cool, and almost like it lends itself easily to a graphic novel. (Is it? Did I just miss that?) It has the feel of 1001 Arabian Nights to it, just based off the description, but with less threat towards the storyteller. I feel like books like this one are part of the reason the section shouldn't be separated--because some conservative readers might not stumble upon it in a separate LGBTQ section, missing out on a story that just devours (ha!) them whole.
ReplyDeleteoh! I love the way you presented this novel - I'm going to need to read it now! I appreciate your note of how the story line floats from past to present - sometimes they're just plain choppy and it can be (sometimes intentionally) jarring.
ReplyDeleteI will admit, I didn't even realize this was a LGBTQ novel! Great job bringing that to my attention, and wonderful annotation! Full points!
ReplyDelete