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The War That Never Ends
Has Begun
AUTUMN, 1943:
The beginning of the American offensive against the
Japanese in the South Pacific. Just west of the Solomon Islands lies a remote,
desert island called Conquest, where the U.S. Navy stations a
new fighting
squadron, led by Lieutenant Commander Drew McLachlan,
an ace pilot and veteran
of the Battle of Coral Sea. |
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Blue Devil Island
By Stephen Mark Rainey
Publisher: Crossroad Press
ISBN: 978-1941408582
Kindle Price: $3.99
Approx. 265 pp.
Release date: September 29, 2015
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With his group of
air warriors, who call themselves the Blue Devils, McLachlan soars into frequent
combat with the Japanese, inflicting serious casualties upon the enemy. However,
on the squadron's island home, signs appear that it may not be entirely alone,
for in nearby volcanic caves, McLachlan finds evidence of habitation by
unknown natives—natives that resemble no known living race, and that may yet
exist in the mysterious subterranean catacombs. As the tension on the island
mounts, McLachlan is forced to fight on two fronts: against their known enemy,
the Japanese, and an unknown, predatory force that leaves mutilated victims as
the only evidence of its presence.
As the Solomons campaign enters into
its final skirmishes, the Japanese at last turn their attention to Conquest Island. In the final conflict, the Blue Devils find themselves the target of an
overwhelming assault by the desperate Imperial Japanese forces—and McLachlan must face the reality that the key to his men’s
survival lies deep in the dark and deadly caves of Conquest Island itself.
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About
BLUE DEVIL ISLAND...
"...An enjoyable
World War II adventure with a science-fiction plot twist. Readers nostalgic for
the era's war movies and pulp fiction will enjoy the ride."
—Publisher's
Weekly
"Rainey skillfully mixes military fiction with
alien encounters to present a fast-paced tale of wartime heroics and unearthly
terrors. Blue Devil Island is a good selection for large
science-fiction or horror collections."
—Library Journal
Blue Devil Island
is tailored with a pulp sensibility, but written with far more intelligence and
attention to detail than most traditional pulp fiction... Fans of historical and
supernatural fiction should find much to like here.
—Robert Morrish,
Twilight Ridge
"Blue Devil Island is by turns a war
adventure, a buddy thriller, and a gripping horror throwback to the classics of
the 40s. Filled with pulpy fun but written with a muscular prose that'll shake
you sideways until your back teeth rattle."
—Tom Piccirilli, author of
The Dead Letters and
Headstone City
"Remember those weird-war
comic books that usually opened up with Old Man Death garbed in the tatters of
some military uniform, braced astride a battlefield, looking oddly cheerful? I
must confess that I am a sucker for such a tale, and in Blue Devil Island,
Stephen Mark Rainey lets us have it with both barrels. This book definitely
represents balls-to-wall combat scenes; spine-tingling, old-school terror; and
plain big fun."
—Steve Vernon, Hellnotes
"Rainey has successfully written an original cross-genre story. It draws the
reader into the story and establishes a feel for the time and place. The care he
gives the storytelling makes the book a good gateway book for those who enjoy
either war novels or horror fiction."
—The Monster Librarian
"Blue Devil Island is like a vintage pulp action novel, only
with a great science-fiction edge, and plenty of horrific scenes ŕ la the
author’s previous offering, The Nightmare Frontier. Rainey’s
knowledge of airborne combat will leave the reader dizzy and whiplashed, and one
scene toward the end is stand-up-and-cheer-level cool. This is easily one of the
more exciting novels I’ve read in a very long time. Highly Recommended.
—Nick
Cato, The Horror Fiction Review
"Stephen Mark Rainey
has crafted an exciting, compelling read. Combining genres can be a tricky
maneuver, but Rainey does it here quite effectively. The writing is top-notch,
and the action scenes drag you along by the throat. You'll have to force
yourself to breathe during some of the aerial fight scenes. You don't need to be
a World War II buff to enjoy Blue Devil Island, either; it appeals
to anyone who enjoys thrilling reads. Pick it up, read it, then go out and find
more of Mr. Rainey's fiction. You will not be disappointed."
—Ron Dickie, HorrorWorld
"Mr. Rainey writes his aerial combat scenes with great attention to detail; the
culture of military life in a far outpost is harsh, with little comfort and
constant danger. I was reminded of the movie Bridge on the River Kwai
in which soldiers held prisoner in a jungle ultimately triumph over their
captors. Readers who enjoy a World War II setting with plenty of action and
thrills should pick up Blue Devil Island."
—Lisa Baca, Romance Reviews Today
"Rainey creates the
sort of excitement that movie viewers only wish they’d seen in films like
Flyboys. On the ground, he generates an atmosphere of suspense and dread.
Blue Devil Island is a first-rate horror story, and a deftly told tale
of soldiers in courageous combat in the South Pacific theater of the last great
war."
—Kilian Meloy, The Edge
"I haven't had this much fun reading a book in a
long time. I was right there on the edge of my chair during the flight
missions, ducking and juking along with the pilots, and I was biting my
nails as the more sinister elements of the island itself came into play.
Adventure. Great humor. Undercurrents of unsettling suspense and wallops
of terror. Blue Devil Island...had everything I wanted
from it. And more."
—Scott Falkner, The Daily Cave Reviews...
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Stephen
Mark Rainey is author of the
novels
Dark
Shadows: Dreams of the Dark (with
Elizabeth Massie),
Balak,
The
Lebo Coven,
Blue Devil Island, and
The Nightmare
Frontier; the short story collections
Fugue
Devil & Other Weird Horrors,
The
Last Trumpet,
Legends
of the Night, and
Other Gods; and over 100 works of short
fiction. He achieved questionable infamy and absolutely no fortune as editor of
Deathrealm magazine, and has edited the anthologies
Deathrealms,
Song of Cthulhu, and
Evermore (with James Robert Smith). |
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