Review: Very Dark, And Brilliant!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 6, 2011
I've been a fan of Steve Vernon's since "Long Horn, Big Shaggy" came out in 2004.  I've scoffed up everything he's published since then and "Devil Tree" ranks up with his finest work.This one is a bit of a departure for Steve; it's dark, way dark.  Though Steve has broached the themes of murder, gore, and eroticism in the past, never has he combined them in a tale that is as brutal and soul searching as he has in Devil Tree.  The birthing scene alone, when Jezebel (Duvall's mate) pushes out her disgusting spawn to be sacrificed to the Devil Tree is about as gruesome as it gets.  And anyone who has had a cheating spouse can't help but share the mental anguish that Lucas suffers.As I've discovered with his prior novels, "Hard Roads" and "Gypsy Blood", Vernon isn't content to just drag his readers into the depths of his horrors blindly.  He reaches into the parts of all of us that we aren't too comfortable with, and then he grabs these fears by the throat and forces the readers to confront them.  Fading love, guilt, betrayal, and lust all play a part in our lives and Vernon has done a brilliant job confronting these troubling aspects in "Devil Tree".So yeah, I loved "Devil Tree", and I think anyone who picks this up will too.