I was surprised by this book. I was expecting something a lot different, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The book is about grief and how it affects you. There is philosophy, facts, etc throughout the book. I found it really moving.

Life, death, grief, abuse, what it all means to each of us, packed in a lil horror book with a cool portrayal of Death? Sign me up.

Not gonna lie, I hadn't heard of either the book or the author beforehand (though, sir, you have my attention now), I just saw a cool cover, something about horror, and requested. What I got was philosophy quotes, witty humour, random fun facts, PAINTINGS, all of it better than I had expected. Dark? Yes. Funny? Also yes. Good soup.

The concept for this book was interesting, and there were some moments of really beautiful writing, but overall this read to me like a rough draft that hadn't been polished enough quite yet. I found the writing inconsistent; for every moment that stood out to me as particularly thoughtful, creative or humorous, there was another that felt as though it had been carelessly added in to move the plot along.

I applaud all the unique ideas brought up in this plot, but the second half of the book started to feel like every interesting idea the author had ever had thrown together, and there just wasn't enough space to fully flesh them all out. I appreciate a quirky book, but between the alternating chapter titles, the wide array of quotes from other sources, the song lyrics, and the non-linear breaks to set up thematic elements, it started to feel gimmicky and not purposeful.

That said, it seems like I'm in the minority of reviews regarding the things I did like. I thought the Reaper was a fun character! I think a death god is bound to have idiosyncrasies, and if that makes him a little cringey then so be it. I also enjoyed the ending; I think I may have felt differently about an adult protagonist, but generally I want kids and teens to come out okay at the end of their stories, and I think it ties into the overall themes of the book well.

The art of the characters and the included playlist were also a neat touch!

A Fig For All The Devils was the opposite of what I was expecting. When I first read the synopsis I thought this was more focused on Grim Reaper and a little bit cheery. But this book was very heavy and emotional. It was a rollercoaster of emotions for me. Death and grief are very affecting me a lot and reading through a child's eye were a little bit hard. Overall, A Fig For All The Devils was a very unique and interesting book to read. I know it is not for everyone but I highly recommend it, especially for the spooky season.

21/50: "A Fig for All the Devils" by C.S. Fritz
"But, if happiness is not one's center and merely a product of one's venture, then she can be found seemingly everywhere you look, like fresh flowers perched at the tips of weeds."
After the loss of his father, teenaged Sonny and his mother move to a new town for a fresh start. Instead, they find themselves dug deeper into their grief, especially Sonny, who then meets the Grim Reaper, who is in search of his new replacement. And he has his eyes on Sonny.
This was such a unique concept. It started off incredibly strong by introducing the lore in Magnus's story, centuries before, in Iceland. Then the story jumps ahead in time, to the present, and we learn about Sonny, the loss of his father, and his neglectful mother. As Sonny's rage and grief grows, so does his desperation. That is when he meets the Grim Reaper, giving Sonny what could be his true escape: the chance to become Death himself.
Overall, this was an intense, interesting, and investing read. I only knocked it down a star because a lot of the dialogue felt as though it had the same "voice", but the characters are well-developed and the story is so strong that it didn't affect any enjoyment.
4/5

What a peculiar and beautiful book about life, death and grief. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time to come! It's one of my new favourite arc's I've ever read and I will be recommending this to everyone for the upcoming spooky season.

A surprisingly touching story about learning to live with grief, A Fig For All The Devils is a super fast and very engaging read. The horror elements were creepy and unsettling but not to the level of nightmare inducing, and the way the story unfolds could be really helpful in giving some readers a way to relate to their own sense of grief.

Thank you Albatross Book Co., Independent Book Publishers Association and Netgalley for giving me the ARC for exchange for review.

I was kindly given this Arc this summer by publishers. I believe it's already been out for a while. I had so much fun reading this book. I love the premise. The story kept reminding me of the Arc of Scythe series. I really like these kind of stories about death. I think I want to re-read this during Halloween season. And I'm definitely going to recommend it. Thank you for providing me the ARC.

This is such a beautifully written story. I found it very reminiscent of <I>A Monster Calls</I>. It has that same poetic feel, but with more horror thrown in. I did really love the creepy aspects of this book, and the concept. I’m not sure why the ending didn’t work for, but I found it a little to predictable and I guess I would have preferred the book take a darker route.

Otherwise still a very enjoyable book, with absolutely stunning prose.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC

A terse and in depth meditation on deaths nd the grief it accompanies. A short book so it won't make you feel heavy cognitively, but it will make you think about life and mortality. Loved the book. Loved the characters. Loved the plot. A wonderful read.

I finished this book in one sitting; I was absolutely addicted to the writing style, the premise of the book, everything. The cover initially drew me in and I was so excited to read it.

This book was incredibly unique and the discussion about grief, loss and death were beautifully written and very deep. I also enjoyed that the chapters were short and easy to get through.

Overall, I just adored this book and I will 100% read it again.

A Fig For All The Devils is one of the best novels I’ve read this year. It is a wonderful blend of horror and comedy, mixed in with the philosophy of dealing with grief, and a coming of age story,

Sonny is a teen whose father committed suicide. Feeling bereft as he feels his Mom doesn’t really like him, the family moves to rural Oregon. It’s there that he ends up meeting the Grim Reaper, who believes that Sonny will be his perfect replacement. What then follows is the story of Sonny’s journey to becoming an apprentice Reaper, along with his personal growth into maturity.

I can’t say enough about the author’s excellent and captivating writing style. The structure of the book was quite unique. All the characters were fully developed.

Highly recommended.

My thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing a copy of this great novel.

A solid story but also a bit predictable at times. I had a hard time relating to the characters but I will say that the book did hold my attention throughout and I was interested in the journey.

I REALLY enjoyed this. Right from the beginning I was pulled into the story and couldn’t wait to keep reading.

The whole idea of the book was so unique, I’ve never read something centred around the grim reaper before and I found it fascinating! Folk lore and myths are always a fun thing to dive into and I just really enjoyed this take on it.

The humour was not expected but very much appreciated. I loved the relationship between Death and Sonny, really fun and profound, yet unsettling at the same time. It reminded me a lot of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

Big 5 stars from me! Thanks to NetGalley for the copy 👍🏼

The book deals with some hard hitting topics such as death, grief, suicide, violence, child abuse, domestic abuse.

This book is best read in one sitting. It’s short, fast paced and equally heartbreaking as it is heartwarming.

This book begins with a gruesome scene in Baba Yaga’s cabin, and the Yaga asked “do you fear death?”

After the death of Sonny’s father, his mother moves them to Tillamook, Oregon. Otherwise known as a place of great pain and torment. Which as we quickly see, is filled with both of those things.

Unable to grieve the death of his father, Sonny is left with the one parent who has blamed him for stealing her dreams.

Enter Death, aka the Grim Reaper. Sonny befriends this menthol smoking, junk food consuming, poetry loving beast. And he was my favourite part.

Death injects some much needed dark humour into this otherwise grim tale about grief, abandonment, suicide, and poverty.

I really enjoyed the quotes between chapters and the images as well. It was a nice touch.

This one is a bit hard for me to categorize, but regardless I absolutely loved A Fig For All The Devils!
Horror and comedy are two of my favorite things in life, so of course I am so excited when I find a novel that is a brilliant mix of both. Add in some real emotional depth, and I am absolutely hooked.

Death isn't at all what it's cracked up to be, instead of the terrifying darkness that comes to take you away, Death is a chain-smoking, foul mouthed nerd, who just needs to find someone willing to take his place for the next thousand years.

While the horror came in great spurts of disgusting detail, and the comedy flowed darkly from nearly every page, there were often times throughout this book where I nearly teared up from the all too real emotional aspect of a young boy dealing with the grief left behind in the wake of his father's suicide.

C.S. Fritz really did a wonderful job balancing this genre-bending novel, and his ability to create characters with so much depth in such a quick read is quite impressive.

4.526/5

Thank you so very much to Netgalley and Albatross Book Co. for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was...weird. And philosophical. And fascinating. And insightful. And creepy. And an absolute delight to read. I find the Grim Reaper concept of fascinating when to begin with, and seeing how various authors approach the concept is equally as fascinating for me. This story was such a melange of themes and genres, from highbrow literary fiction to contemporary black comedy to cringe-inducing horror, it ran the gamut in a way that should have felt disjointed but never did. Fritz did a fantastic job blending all of the disparate elements of Life (and therefore Death) into one coherent story that I found moving and engaging and thought-provoking - and highly entertaining. This was a very cool find...

This book is best read in one sitting. It’s short, fast paced and equally heartbreaking as it is heartwarming.

This book begins with a gruesome scene in Baba Yaga’s cabin, and the Yaga asked “do you fear death?”

After the death of Sonny’s father, his mother moves them to Tillamook, Oregon. Otherwise known as a place of great pain and torment. Which as we quickly see, is filled with both of those things.

Unable to grieve the death of his father, Sonny is left with the one parent who has blamed him for stealing her dreams.

Enter Death, aka the Grim Reaper. Sonny befriends this menthol smoking, junk food consuming, poetry loving beast. And he was my favourite part.

Death injects some much needed dark humour into this otherwise grim tale about grief, abandonment, suicide, and poverty.

I really enjoyed the quotes between chapters and the images as well. It was a nice touch.

This was a great story about death the reaper whatever you call them in your mind.
This story unfolded in a easy way to understand and in a way that kept you entertained
There were certain family elements that could be disturbing or relatable to some people but nothing that wasn’t PG
I kind of wanted the story to end differently it had more of a heartfelt ending and I wanted it to be more of a fantasy ending

A Fig For All The Devils has been on my TBR for awhile. I saw everyone reading it last year and loved the simple cover design and knew I’d need to read it.

For a book that’s covering some heavy subjects (suicide, grief, abuse, neglect, poverty) it’s a brisk read that opens with a truly gnarly and gruesome scene that blew me away.

I really connected and sympathized with our protagonist Sonny who is grappling with his grief after the death of his father. Through his despair he meets the Grim Reaper who offers him a hard to resist opportunity: become his protege and successor.

While the Reaper is the embodiment of death, obviously, he’s absurdly funny and is a pretty unforgettable character. I could read a book solely about his exploits leading up to his meeting with Sonny.

If you’re looking for a quick read grief horror that’s equal parts brutal and heartwarming, you should pick this one up.

I want to thank @netgalley and @albatross_book_co for an ARC of this title.

If you were given the opportunity to live for a millennium as the Grim Reaper would you take it?