Galley Review: The Devouring (Book 2): Soulstice (Simon Holt)

Soulstice, written by Simon Holt (Galley Book)
© 2009 by Star Farm Productions; Little, Brown and Company (New York)

If you are seeking a new science fiction novel, then perhaps Simon Holt’s Soulstice is for you. The advance reading edition that I managed to come across was published in 2009 by Star Farm Productions. This 266-page turner is exquisite in an atypical way. The story takes place presumably after Holt’s first book called The Devouring. Having not read Holt’s first novel, the concepts between the textual lines were not hard to navigate. The characters are easily adaptable; Reggie for her adventurousness and flawless bravery and Aaron, who is surprised and betrayed by his only best friend.

The Vours are back again in Soulstice and Reggie is back on the prowl to stop the demonic beings from taking over the world. She is faced with countless encounters, including a few shadowy characters with which she will have to make many decisions whether or not to trust. Armed with dignity and faith of the world at her fingertips, Reggie manages to find a door that leads to many secrets which could perhaps change everything. Equipped with flawless narratives, Holt challenges the reader’s mind by appealing to the senses. The author gives you enough to keep reading and discovering with the characters as they walk through the depths of Hell and back. Chronologically, Holt is able to clearly depict for his readers at which point on the timeline he or she is presently in. The characters have been developed so clearly that the reader will instantaneously know who is who and most importantly where.

A downside to this novel: there is very little to work with when it comes to illustrations. The only one that you will find remotely interesting is the cover design—a mixture of font used for the book’s title and author’s name. There is half of a boy’s face on the cover surrounded by what seems to be yellow smoke. The primary colors used on the cover are white, black, and yellow, which may all signify caution, evil, and some pure humanity. I believe that some form of artwork would have helped bring out the basic fact that… Vours are downright creepy.

I would recommend this book to any science fiction or horror lover. I believe that Simon Holt did a wonderful job in attaching the plot and characters to the reader’s senses. The book, again, although I have not read the prequel, was very engaging. I thought that my time spent reading this novel was worth it. I would not recommend teaching this novel to students that are below 7th grade, simply because there are some graphical content. I do not recall any vocabulary that would be considered difficult for 7th grade. The book itself was an easy flow, easy to understand. I would rate this book an eight out of ten!