Devil's Gulch by R.E. Sargent

Devil's Gulch Reviews

• 
  MarilynW

  If you enjoy a monster crunching, slurping, eviscerating, and skewering humans alive and dead, then this is the book for you. Entrails hanging from one or more of its mouths, this monster decimates the town of Devil's Gulch. And it's all because of the vaguely explained scientific experiment by a mad scientist, Stan Armstrong, who becomes the first monster snack of many.
  
  This horror novel is a collaboration between twelve authors, with each author taking a chapter of the book. Being the wimpy horror fan that I am, barely able to handle much more than a friendly hint of monster shenanigans, this story went way past my comfort level. This monster is not a picky eater of humans, young, old, man, woman, it's all in a day or night's search for the next juicy morsel . So keep that in mind when I say that I was pretty good with the first chapter which showed us how the monster came to Devil's Gulch and then the last chapter, which gives the monster some of its own medicine. The last chapter is blood and gore but at least there is a hint of a tiny bit of mankind taking a stand and winning.
  
  Once I read two chapters of the monster on a rampage, the following chapters were just more of the same. Each chapter is almost its own short story, with new characters that I knew not to grow attached to because this monster is unstoppable. My mind was numb by the time the second set of folks became a snack.The idea of all these authors working together on a story like this is intriguing but in the end, there is only so much that can be done to make a horrible monster, playing a bloody version of Pacman on humans, not be too much of the same thing, over and over. 
  
  Thank you to Sinister Smile Press for this ARC. 
• 
  Farrah

  ⭐3.5 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠'𝙨 𝙂𝙤𝙩 𝘽𝙞𝙩𝙚! 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 ⭐
  
  Devil's Gulch is done in a unique way where each of the ten chapters is written by a different author.
  I really like this concept and hope to see more of it in the future.
  
  I found (with the exception of two chapters) that this book had some really excellent writing and I've found some new authors that I plan to read more from.
  
  I also found this book to be very short on plot, which made the middle chapters feel repetitive and unnecessary, regardless of the quality of writing, since each one introduced a new resident(s) of Devil's Gulch and their attempts to slay/survive the beast.
  "..... 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙨 - 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙥 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙥. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙨. "
  
  Luckily the final chapter broke the mold and united some unlikely heros that I could connect with and gave this book a very satisfying ending.
  
  𝘈 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘒 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵 𝘕𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘕𝘖𝘞.
• 
  Bridgett

  DISCLAIMER: I am the author of a chapter in this collaborative horror story, so please know that my rating and review is an unbiased look at only the rest of the chapters included.
  
  I was so excited to take part in this absolutely unique novel-writing experience--twelve authors writing one cohesive monster story. It was so much fun. Challenging too, of course, making sure everything flowed.
  
  But it does. It really, really does.
  
  You'd never know, reading this book, that so many writers had a hand in its creation. My kudos to the editors,
  R.E. Sargent and
  Steven Pajak for making the story flow so effortlessly. My congratulations to my fellow writers for your engaging contributions. I'm a fan of each and every one of you.
  
  Bottom line...if you like monsters, a great plot, a great setting, and memorable characters, you'll love
  Devil's Gulch: A Collaborative Horror Experience.
  
  Available November 16, 2020
  
  Many thanks to Sinister Smile Press for my review copy.
  
  
• 
  Janie

  Devil's Gulch, Utah, is a quiet, laid back area where people tend to stay. Until the eponymous devil comes to town. Summoned by a scientist who had no plans to unleash something evil, the monster is about to cause major damage, ending or changing many lives. The residents are more than ready to break away from their home town to escape their destinies.
  
  The stories of the townspeople and their fates are broken down into a prologue, ten chapters and an epilogue by different authors. Each new chapter presents different characters and their experiences with the hungry monster.
  
  "It wasn’t hard to suss out the creature. Even though its body melded with the shadows, its glowing orange eyes were a beacon. This wasn’t a creature that needed subterfuge to hunt. Wherever it was from, it was the top ... predator of its food chain."
  
  Having ten stories about the same monster provides a challenge to keep material fresh. At times, I felt that the chapters could have been interchangeable. However, overall, the concept worked, especially when the same characters appeared in different chapters, providing consistency.
  
  My personal favorite offerings were by Jon Miller, who penned two wonderful characters and lent some much needed comic relief, and by Bridgett Nelson, whose ending chapter and prologue wrapped the novel up seamlessly. For anyone looking for a wicked creature feature, this is your book.
  
  My sincere thanks go to author Bridgett Nelson for providing me with an early copy of this novel.
• 
  Bren fall in love with the sea.

  Oh Stan..what did you DO??!!
  
  Ha! This was one of my more twisted reads lately. And how could I not read it? An old school horror written by multiple writers including two of my GR Friends? It was a must read.
  
  I must admit I did not think I'd like it at first. This is not my usual type of read..but as time went on, I got more and more into it..and surprised myself with how absorbed I got.
  
  This Is PURE old school Horror. It is about a..well..a creature, created in a lab, by a smart gentleman by the name of Stan. Poor Stan! He got way more than he bargained for!
  
  Each chapter is written by a different author but the ebb and flow of the story stays smooth. It also is plenty creepy.
  
  I mean..really creepy. The descriptions are macabre and just plain terrifying. I'm also a bit more tired (and spaced out) due to recent surgery so I was kind of already a bit out of it. What a book to wake one up!
  
  My horror book influences, who made me appreciate the genre growing up, are John Saul and Christopher Pike. I read so much of their work. This brooding and scary tale reminded me of both of them and I also love the collaborative quality of the book.
  
  Shout out to R.E. Sargent and Bridget..you guys rock! Thanks to all the writers. Highly recommended for a fun and dark read.
• 
  Ceecee

  Stan Armstrong ‘a man of science’ lives in Devils Gulch, Utah. He is building a machine he christens Bernice to open a door to another dimension. His safety checks fail dismally and he unleashes a nightmarish monstrosity on the small town.
  
  I love the start of this one and the first couple of chapter where horrifying mayhem ensues in various locations with destructively gruesome consequences. It’s revoltingly bloodthirsty but ultimately as what feels like a cast of 5,000 do frequently futile battle you become inured to the horror because of the repetition and I’m sorry to say I became bored. Fortunately, the final chapter by Bridgett Nelson draws the somewhat disparate chapters together as some survivors go onto battle like Knights of old (except with 20th/21st century weapons) and the creature ends up resembling a monstrous Medieval Wound Man. The end is so clever and kudos Bridgett! I like the touches of dark black humour especially in the ending.
  
  Overall, I really like the concept of this book and I hope the authors try the experiment again but avoiding too much repetition.
  
  With thanks to Bridgett Nelson and Sinister Smile Press for the copy.
• 
  Javier

  Review published in:
  https://diagnosisbookaholic.blogspot....
  
  I've always thought that writing a book between two authors must be a terribly hard task. Well, "Devil's Gulch" is a twelve authors collaboration. Imagine that!
  
  This kind of story is so out of my comfort zone. I tend to like my monsters in human form, but one those twelve authors is my friend Bridgett, so of course I was reading this book even though it is not my usual cup of tea.
  
  There were some good things and some not so good, hence the 3 stars. On the good side it is to be applauded the fact that although twelve different authors wrote this, the writing flowed nicely and, minus some small details, the style was similar enough to make it look as if one person wrote it all. The editing process must have been quite an ordeal.
  
  Also on the good side, and this is just my personal taste, I'm thankful that, although it was a sci-fi/horror story, there was not much talk of the science behind how the monster got to Earth, where it came from and so on. It read more like an action movie with monster (think Godzilla).
  
  On the not so good side, I was expecting more of a plot throughout the different chapters. They read more like short stories of how several inhabitants of Devil's Gulch dealt with the monster. Think about it like this: in a movie you would expect to have a big final confrontation with the monster right at the end, wouldn't you? Well, here there was one of those at the end of each chapter, so it felt a bit repetitive.
  
  Also, the fact that there was such a huge amount of characters made it nearly impossible to root for them, as it soon becomes clear you won't probably see them or learn about their fate again, Each chapter had its set of characters, with no appearances from previous characters till the last chapter. In my opinion, it would have worked better with a smaller cast of characters and more plot continuity. That would have delivered a more cohesive story, but I understand that this would have made the collaborative writing even harder.
  
  There were several similarities between some chapters, with quite similar descriptions of the monster and nearly identical lines of dialogue (each time a kid needed to be saved or taken care of).
  
  Special mention to my friend Bridgett, who was in charge of tying everything up in the last chapter. This chapter was my favorite one and not only because she wrote it, but because the chapter's structure (recurring characters, alternating POVs and actions that moved forward the plot) was what I was hoping to find all throughout the book.
  
  While I thought my main issue coming into this would be the theme, it was the execution itself that let me down (the execution as a whole, cause I couldn't find fault in the different chapters by themselves). Anyway, kudos to the authors for undertaking such a big project.
  
  Thanks to Bridgett Nelson and Sinister Smile Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Cheryl

  What a story. If you like blood and gore and a good old horror creature feature this is the book for you. Beware - there is A LOT of blood and very graphic descriptions of people dying in horrible ways. I for one liked the attention to detail.
  
  This is a really unusual book. Each chapter is written by a different author but it remains consistent in quality and doesn’t lose its train of thought throughout. It’s consistency might be part of the problem though, it’s a bit samey. The stories are good but each chapter was a bit like a short story in its own right so by the end it was getting a bit monotonous - the same monster just a new set of victims each time.
  
  There are some excellent strong badass female characters here which I liked and the beginning and end were nicely done to round it all together.
  
  I rated each chapter and not one was below 3/5 and most were 4 or higher so taking the average I think 3.75/5 is about right.
  
  I recommend reading this book slowly, perhaps one chapter every now and then to break it up as all in one go gets a bit much after a while.
  
  My thanks to Bridgett Nelson For providing me with a copy of this book, I enjoyed this read and will look out for some of these authors again.
• 
  Ian

  'Simply a large piece of marauding, monster munching mayhem and madness!'
  
  In the backwater town of Devil's Gulch, Utah, an unknown piece of flesh-eating evilness is beginning to stir and is now just craving to feed its insatiable and bottomless hunger. Sadly, the unfortunate and unwitting local inhabitants are about to have their lives changed forever, but how will they deal with the arrival of this beast which appears to have been sent...straight from Hell?
  
  After the initial Prologue - 'arrival', this book consists of 10 vignettes from different authors, detailing how different townsfolk fared when faced with this man-eating monster. Then, this grisly adventure is nicely concluded with the short, or maybe never-ending, Epilogue.
  
  Although many of the stories appear to have been moulded around a similar format, I really enjoyed meeting all the characters and reading each calm preamble before experiencing the aggressive violence and downright evilness of the storm itself - this remained interesting and informative throughout.
  
  On the appearance of the grotesque goblin of death itself then it would help to just think: run, scream, blood, flesh, bone, splatter, mutilation, devour, death and destruction - yep, just all round plain good horrifying fun. Enjoy the gore-fest as it just keeps going on and on and on!
  
  Glad to see some overlapping of main protagonists, although maybe not enough, and although the gruesomeness of events remained pleasantly steadfastly detailed, the stories did have the appearance of becoming slightly repetitive and predictable at times. Liked the final twist - I just knew it!
  
  Guaranteed fun action all the way - so go read, relish and devour!
  
  Last, but certainly not least, a big thank you to Bridgett Nelson (one of the authors) for providing me with an early copy of this book.
  
  Rating: 3.8 well deserved, gruesome, blood-splattering stars.
• 
  Doug

  I admit, I'm not much of a reader but this was fun. It was quick, gory, and ended really well. I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy horror stories.
• 
  Mark Young

  DISCLAIMER: This is a review for the ARC copy I’ve been given. Therefore, as one of the authors (chapter 9) I exclude myself from this review.
  
  Devil’s Gulch is rip roaring riot. If fast paced creature feature horror action with a heavy dose of blood and gore is your thing, with a very satisfying and deserving ending, then this is the book for you.
  
• 
  Kaila Marie

  I am in the process of reading Devil’s Gulch.
  This book had me at the prologue. This is by far the best prologue ever written. Not to mention this book was done by many amazing authors! I haven’t put it down yet! I will be done with it this evening! Stay tuned! Thank you Bridgett!💜
• 
  Louise Bélanger

  Monster from hell!
  
  Monster from hell book written by several authors. Quite unique and the story flows perfectly. Scary like a good old horror movie, run for your life if you can book. Well done! 😱😁
  
• 
  Pan | Book Reviews and Recommendations

  Recipe for the an amazing monster horror novel : 12 collaborating authors, 1 scientist with a fixation on exploring the limits of experimentation, 1 experiment gone awfully wrong, 1 extremely violent and bloodthirsty monster, 1 town helplessly awaiting its doom.
  
  The lovely people at Sinister Smile Press were kind enough to send me a copy of 'Devil's Gultch', their terrific collaborative horror novel for review.
  
  All hell breaks loose at the town of 'Devil's Gultch' Utah, the place where Stan Armstrong chose to build his lab. Away from the eyes of the law, the 'mad' scientist embarks on a journey to unravel the mysteries of the universe and creation. What comes forth as the result, is a close approximation of hell itself.
  A monster; unleashed to ravage, destroy and decimate all things that sum up to a town.
  
  What follows, is knuckle whitening, sheer horror, broken down in prologue, 10 chapters and epilogue, each written by a different author all in a harmonious blend that provides an undiluted reading experience.
  
  The story flows and the body count increases chapter by chapter. Each author does an amazing job providing the terrifying and terrific story of the people of Devil's Gultch and their unfortunate 'interactions' with the monster until the very satisfying end. (Very very satisfying final chapter)
  
  Lock up your doors and pack your cabinets with your favorite snacks and drinks because this old school monster horror gem will keep you nailed on your seat reading.
  
  This is a fantastic, well written collaboration with the end result being a triumph for the monster horror genre.
  Good old horror, the way I love it. A fun and dark read that does not hold back on the creepy, bloody factor. A must have for a new reading experience like no other.
  
  Sinister Smile Press, Claire Brown, Matthew A. Clarke, T.M. Morgan, Chris Wilkerson, Chisto Healy, Kayla Krantz, Jon Miller, T.M. Brown, Mark Young, Bridgett Nelson, R.E. Sargent and Steven Pajak I am in awe.
  
  Get Devil's Gulch at:
  https://geni.us/Devil's-Gulch-Pap...
• 
  Hollis Queens

  A Collaborative Horror Experience - what is that all about? These were my first thought when I was asked to provide a review in exchange for a free copy of "Devil's Gulch." My preconceived notion was that the voice of the novel could not be maintained throughout - I mean how do you take individual stories and morph them into a novel without it coming out choppy and disjointed?
  "Devil's Gulch" blew me away in this respect. The narrative voice is cohesive throughout the entire novel. There are slight nods to the author's unique writing style, but they do not overpower the collective voice.
  The first half of the novel contains individual stories from the monster making its way into this world to the individual character's failed attempts to survive the incoming threat as it ravishes the run-down desert oasis. This is probably the bit I struggled with the most - at a certain point, you are so certain that the character you are learning about is going to die that by the end of the story you start to disengage. The characters are well written and interesting, but after a certain number of the people you are rooting for don't make it, you stop rooting.
  The second half starts bringing the characters together and introduce the reader to Emma, who was my favorite character. She is witty and smart and her first chapter gives some breathing room from all the carnage. As the novel comes to a close, the stories intersect and tighten effectively.
  "Devil's Gulch" is a gory, visceral read with an extremely high death count, but it is also well crafted and written, especially for a collaborative work. Hopefully this is a form that other genres will embrace!
  
  ps. I wish there had been a chapter from the monster's perspective!
• 
  Kayla Krantz

  *Disclaimer! I am the author of chapter number six in this story.*
  
  Devil's Gulch is a collection of gory horror, eerie suspense, and supernatural badassery. From the very beginning, we're introduced to this otherwordly creature, and we follow it on a journey around the small town of Devil's Gulch as it wreaks all kinds of havoc. For me, the story was less about the people involved and more about the creature itself. To me, it was the main character of the story.
  
  Each chapter features a different location and group of Devil's Gulch residents that the beast must encounter. While the middle chapters all offered a simple "arc" of events in them, I thought they each added their own little magic touch to the book whether it be awesome characters, powerful descriptions, needed comic relief, or wonderful dialogue. I thought every author involved added something unique.
  
  The ending of the book was beautifully done and was probably my favorite part. Seeing the survivors of previous chapters coming together in a final showdown against the beast for control of Devil's Gulch was just plain awesome. Not to mention the creepy cliffhanger in the epilogue.
  
  If you're looking for something outside the box and you're willing to give a host of different authors a try, this is the perfect sample of horror.
• 
  Patrick Whitehurst

  Collaborations can be iffy. But not this one. Get one off tale and the piece can fly off the rails. There isnt an off chapter to be found in Devil's Gulch and the writing seeps into your psyche- like pudding fed by Lovecraft himself. Great story and great project!
• 
  SUSAN

  Hahaha I seemed to have fallen down a Sinister Press rabbit hold of late and I'm enjoying it thoroughly.
  
  Devil's Gulch is small town, so small it only has the one gas station. It's a place you pass through to get somewhere else, but not at all known to travelers. So the unlucky people who have found themselves living there have seen their hopes crushed and dreams shrivel to something bitter, dusty and tasting of failure.
  
  We find a science experiment gone awry (because those are the best kinds, let's be honest) begins a trail of destruction that is taken up by various authors and I have the feeling they really enjoyed themselves writing their chapters. You get a piercing look into the various lives and loves of this doomed town and I myself felt like having a hand-rolled cigarette and convenience store ice cold beer to compliment some of the stories.
  
  There is a lot of gore, a lot of bloodshed - so horror readers will be satisfied with body count and the descriptions of deaths but it's balanced against getting to know many of the characters before they meet their demises. I wonder how many readers feel sympathetic to which characters, but that's just me.
  
  I'd def recommend to people who enjoy some visceral action set against the small dusty backdrop of rural US America.
• 
  James Seamone

  Interesting concept to have different writers, write different chapters to make a whole novel.
  Also a fun creature feature with lots of action and violence.
• 
  Kate

  This book is absolute, ridiculous, filth. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME