Helpful Score: 5
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 to discover that Daryl Gregory's second novel is really neither of these things. Sure, it's sci-fi in that the story takes place in an alternate reality with some pretty fantastic characters unlike anything I've ever encountered. But beneath all that, The Devil's Alphabet reads more like a gothic southern mystery akin to something Charlaine Harris might dream up.
The plot is too complicated and rich to sum up effectively in a short review, but here's it in a nutshell: Paxton Martin is the prodigal son returning to his hometown of Switchcreek, Tenn. to attend his childhood best friend's funeral. But Switchcreek is not your average small town --it's the site of the TDS crisis, an unexplained epidemic that swept through the community 15 years ago and left 30 percent of the town dead, and nearly everyone else changed in some way. His best friend, Deke is an "argo" -- the result of the first wave of the disease, which left people gray-skinned, sterile and more than 8-feet tall. His friend Jo, recently deceased, was turned into a beta -- the spontaneously-breeding, bald, burgundy-skinned victims of the second wave of the disorder. Paxton's father, Harlan -- a former pastor -- is a "charlie" -- the morbidly obese clade that emerged in the final stage of the Changes. Paxton himself is a rare "skip" - someone that made it through the TDS outbreak without any physical effects whatsoever.
Paxton quickly discovers that all is not right in his hometown. His father seems to be going insane, and needs care Paxton isn't sure he's able to provide. The former church secretary, Rhonda, is now Mayor Rhonda -- and has become a scheming, manipulative leader bent on preserving her town, but most importantly, her Charlie clade at any cost. Half the town is addicted to a strange drug called The Vintage. And all is not as it seems when it comes to Jo's apparent suicide -- or her 12-year-old beta twin daughters.
The plot is multi-layered and one of the most creative I've read in years -- I was drawn into the murder mystery as well as all the strange politics and relationships of the town. But the characters are also top-notch. Pax is a great narrator, because his outsider status, lack of life direction and self-understanding allows him to discover the mysteries of the town right along with readers.
All in all, don't judge a book by its cover. I feel like many of the people that would most enjoy The Devil's Alphabet might be unwilling to pick up the book just because of the unsettling cover art. This is a gothic murder mystery first. Yes, there are a few gross elements in the book, and some unconventional sexual content is inferred, but for the most part, it's a story that is one part science, one part science fiction and one part good, old-fashioned small town secrets.
I was expecting a sci-fi/horror story, but I was surprised to discover that Daryl Gregory's second novel is really neither of these things. Sure, it's sci-fi in that the story takes place in an alternate reality with some pretty fantastic characters unlike anything I've ever encountered. But beneath all that, The Devil's Alphabet reads more like a gothic southern mystery akin to something Charlaine Harris might dream up.
The plot is too complicated and rich to sum up effectively in a short review, but here's it in a nutshell: Paxton Martin is the prodigal son returning to his hometown of Switchcreek, Tenn. to attend his childhood best friend's funeral. But Switchcreek is not your average small town --it's the site of the TDS crisis, an unexplained epidemic that swept through the community 15 years ago and left 30 percent of the town dead, and nearly everyone else changed in some way. His best friend, Deke is an "argo" -- the result of the first wave of the disease, which left people gray-skinned, sterile and more than 8-feet tall. His friend Jo, recently deceased, was turned into a beta -- the spontaneously-breeding, bald, burgundy-skinned victims of the second wave of the disorder. Paxton's father, Harlan -- a former pastor -- is a "charlie" -- the morbidly obese clade that emerged in the final stage of the Changes. Paxton himself is a rare "skip" - someone that made it through the TDS outbreak without any physical effects whatsoever.
Paxton quickly discovers that all is not right in his hometown. His father seems to be going insane, and needs care Paxton isn't sure he's able to provide. The former church secretary, Rhonda, is now Mayor Rhonda -- and has become a scheming, manipulative leader bent on preserving her town, but most importantly, her Charlie clade at any cost. Half the town is addicted to a strange drug called The Vintage. And all is not as it seems when it comes to Jo's apparent suicide -- or her 12-year-old beta twin daughters.
The plot is multi-layered and one of the most creative I've read in years -- I was drawn into the murder mystery as well as all the strange politics and relationships of the town. But the characters are also top-notch. Pax is a great narrator, because his outsider status, lack of life direction and self-understanding allows him to discover the mysteries of the town right along with readers.
All in all, don't judge a book by its cover. I feel like many of the people that would most enjoy The Devil's Alphabet might be unwilling to pick up the book just because of the unsettling cover art. This is a gothic murder mystery first. Yes, there are a few gross elements in the book, and some unconventional sexual content is inferred, but for the most part, it's a story that is one part science, one part science fiction and one part good, old-fashioned small town secrets.
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