The Devil Pulls the Strings by J.W. Zarek is a fantasy adventure with mystery and time travel elements, along with a few hints of the paranormal. Prepare to meet a character with a wendigo attached to him, who will find himself on an adventure that he had no idea to even expect. I mean, who would when a friend simply asks you to fill in for them at a gig? Adventure and crossing paths with dangerous secret societies would be the last thing on your mind.
In The Devil Pulls the Strings, the author starts the story off with a prophecy and a character who will later be a familiar name repeated again and again. This intro is short, and then I was introduced to Boone Daniels. Boone doesn’t really come off as the most outstanding main character to come around. Thanks to his past he has some serious problems, but he manages. Add insult to injury, thanks to a freak “chance” he almost kills his friend during a joust. While his friend lands in the hospital, Boone is called upon to fill in for his friend playing a gig up in New York. Little does Boone know that this favor will put him on a path that will throw him into a whirlwind of mystery, portals, and danger.
When I read this book was compared to two of my favorite shows (that are no longer on air), the Librarians and the Magicians, I was eager to pick it up. I wanted to see for myself whether this book reflected elements of these two shows. While it does in some ways, it is its own in others. There is magic, danger, secrets and lies, and hints of the paranormal as well. The characters are on the hunt for mysterious mythical pieces of music that are claimed to raise the devil. The drama behind the idea is quite engaging and helps pull the story forward. Boone frequently finds himself just escaping danger, and then finding himself in a new spot of trouble not long after. There are some hints of romance, but nothing really comes to fruition. Who knows what will happen if future books are written with these characters though.
This book has quiet a few good elements going for it, but then it has some elements that were working against it. For me, this book reads at times like someone learning how to drive a stick. There are lot of stalls, and a bit of jerky moments, but once the story gets in the correct gear then the story really flows. But watch out when the story is changing gears, then you get some more jerky moments that break the flow until it’s recaptured. When the story is flowing along it’s a real page turner and I enjoyed reading it. However, when the author puts in certain sequences that break the rhythm it’s distracting. I appreciate the author putting in “sound effects” for gun fire, items breaking, etc, but I feel that at times it’s just a distracting and takes away from the story overall. Then there are places where the author seems to become a bit too wordy. A prime example would be – “the ground rumbles. The ground grumbles. The ground shakes. Etc.” It’s a bit much and for me, it feels unnecessary. I’m guessing it’s intending for dramatic effect, but it ends up taking away instead of adding to. In this case, less is more.
I did like the twists and the surprises that the author weaves throughout the book. There is one twist that I guessed at, but then dismissed because it seemed far-fetched. Haha! Well, all I can say to the author is – well played, sir. Well played. There is a lot going on in this book, and I enjoyed reading it. This book has a lot of potential to be truly amazing, and I’m sure that if the author continues writing and makes this a series that they will truly hit their stride.
I’m rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. If this story had flowed a bit better and the author nixed some of the wordy moments in this book then this novel would have easily rated a 5. As it is though, it’s a 4. I enjoyed reading this author’s work and I absolutely look forward to reading more of his work in the future. If you enjoy fantasy novels full of adventure, drama, danger, mystery, and a hint of paranormal then you’ll probably want to check out this book.
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