Bryan Alaspa's *Devoured* is a gripping horror novel that delves into the darkest corners of fear and survival. Alaspa’s taut, suspenseful writing and chilling atmosphere keep readers on edge, crafting a harrowing tale that lingers long after the final page. The novel’s blend of psychological tension and horror elements makes it a compelling and unforgettable read.

A decent creature feature that while not doing much new in the genre still manages to stand in it own two feet with good writing and really good dialogue.

A gigantic bird that should not exist has been spotted in Saint Louis. People are dying violently. What is the flying creature.that is killing them. It pays bullets no mind. Can they stop it? New twist on a old legend,

Unwelcome and Hungry, This Tourist Has Big, Sharp Teeth

Devoured is a shocking white-knuckle thriller inspired by Native American legends. It's easy to visualize the terrifying chaos and destruction that takes place when this ancient monster shows up for dinner.

I've always loved creature-features in books even more than in movies. No matter how sophisticated a film's special effects are, nothing can compare to the mind and its unlimited appetite for terror. Author Bryan Alaspa has boosted the impact by creating vivid victims, even if they didn't last very long.

Logan Field, St. Louis's Director of Public Safety, like Chief Martin Brody in Jaws, has his hands tied by the mayor when the creature first appears. Field can't shut the city down even though he's certain there's danger. Of course, the mayor's foolishness allows bloody and terrifying mayhem to ensue.

Field's enlistment of his old college friend, Mike Quinton, a sasquatch hunter and cryptid documentarian, and Aaron Baker, a Professor of Native American History Studies, adds some semblance of experience to a hastily assembled team. It's debatable whether they're really hunting the creature or if they're merely a food delivery service, but they succeed in delivering exciting action and suspense to the reader.

The structure of the book may be familiar, but it's effective. If you like stories that cause you to burn through the pages with your heart in your throat, look no further. The novel stands alone without any cliffhanger, but it's sure to become an exciting new series.

Thank you to author Bryan Alaspa, Wicked House Publishing, and Netgalley for my opportunity to read Devoured as a free advance reader's copy. Their generosity doesn't compel a positive review, but I'm delighted to give one anyway. I devoured Devoured.

This is a really well thought out horror Thriller with dragons It's been a while since I read a book that was modern day that had dragons in it,and this book did not fill to deliver it did start out a little slow but the Mayhem started not too far in I would kind of call this post-apocalyptic or kind of into the world stuff with dragons I didn't like the main character all that much but the Dragon material kept me reading I would definitely recommend it but it's far from a five-star read it definitely has its problems pacing is one I still finished it though cuz I love everything that has dragons in it could have been better still a solid horror Thriller
Thank you to Wicked House publishing and Netgalley for the ARC

I’m really not sure what to say here. This story left me speechless and not in a good way.
I don’t mind a YA novel, but this story is marketed for adults and feels plodding and written for children. It was actually painful to keep reading.

Not a fan of this creature feature unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Wicked House Publishing for a copy.

Series please! I love cryptozoology and can list off Josh Gates's entire tv history and books. The Piasa Bird is an underused cryptid in fiction, and Devoured combined everything I want to read about into a thrilling book that gave us crazy action set pieces, gore, solid characters, and mystery. The ending made me howl because it showed me a glimpse of something I want to read more about and I was so happy. I really liked how the author let us into the mind of the great beast and doesn't shy away from the destruction such a creature would bring to the human world. I like Matt and Logan, and Aaron, but aside from those three humans, I was team monster. A perfect summer blockbuster style read that I would love more of.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for a chance to read and review Devoured by Bryan Alaspa. All opinions are my own.

This story centers around Logan Field and him navigating his way in the public safety arena of St. Louis. What starts as problems with protesters and rioting, due to a police shooting, quickly turns into so much more. While dealing with those problems, other more sinister issues begin to happen. With no one in the government really trying to help, Logan starts calling and old friend and a professor to deal with the problem.

Unfortunately, this book didn't hit for me. I found myself not wanting to pick it up to see what would happen next. There was a lot written about what to do, how to do it, etc. in a large section of the book that seemed to drag for me. I didn't really connect with any of the characters to see what might happen to them. This does not mean that there aren't readers that would really love this book. It just needs to be placed in the right hands and unfortunately, I don't think that is me. If you are a reader that enjoys creature feature type books, this book could easily be treated as a first installment of a series. Devoured came out on August 18, 2023. Check it out and see if it is a good fit for you.

This is a wonderfully fun story about a terrifying creature causing havoc in Chicago and St Louis. I got a tiny bit of a 'Jaws' vibe from this book but there are no sharks here and the monster in question attacks from the sky, not the ocean. There are also some brilliant historical titbits about the St Louis area and Native American mythology that had me nipping over to Google on a couple of occasions. A fantastic, wildly entertaining read, perfect for a few hours of escapism.

3.5 stars rounded to 4. If there is something like creature horror fantasy, this is it. In hindsight, however, it may rather be some kind of science fiction horror, since some of the explanations dropped are of the scientific kind, or try to be. What are the explanations about? Well, judging by the intriguing cover, you'd guess dragons, right? Wrong! The book draws on Native American legends about huge birds, strange flying beasts, and ancient winged monsters. We're thrown right into the story, thankfully without any flashbacks. There's a lot of action, until we reach the point at which we can form some kind of idea about the creature (after a couple of awesome attacks on Chicago and St. Louis). Some interesting characters are introduced, with very adult problems and attitudes, who are tasked to deal with this mysterious situation. The attacks are described in detail, the descriptions are quite graphic, if not gorey, people's reactions are very believable, and the whole treatment of the issue, both politically and in terms of city management, utterly convincing. What threw me a little bit is how the situation is resolved: it felt rushed, too character-driven, and somehow it didn't really fit the large-scale level of the story: a city-destroying beast dealt with by three people hunting it to its lair? I'd say that's 20th century Hollywood, not 21st century horror. But others may appreciate this more than I do. In any case, if you love a good monster story, this is the book for you!

I received early access to this novel via netgalley.

This novel is the equivalent of a Saturday afternoon, cable tv action movie.

Is the writing the best? No.
Is the premise the most solid? No.
Is it fun? Yes.
Is the action and bloodshed going to keep me glued to my seat? 100%

If mystical creatures that aren’t easily explained wreaking bloody havoc on Chicago and St. Louis sounds any bit interesting to you then I implore you to read this.

DNF.

I tried to get into this book several times, but the writing itself stopped me. The prose is lackluster and stilted, and more often than not, boring. Overall this feels like a first or second draft in terms of the quality of writing, not a soon-to-be pusblished book. The cover and premise drew me in, but ultimately, I couldn't get past the writing.

Thank you Bryan Alaspa and Wicked House Publishing for sending me this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, although I wouldn't say it is truly a horror book but more of an urban fantasy. It is a fast paced book with short and attention grabbing chapters. You get to follow multiple POVs that encounter the horror of the unknown monster that plagues St. Louis.

This book is definetly worth your time!!

Devoured is a gloriously thrilling mashup or horror and fantasy. An ancient beast is awakened, only for it to begin terrorizing areas around St. Louis. Devoured has the perfect pacing. The story itself clocks in a little under 200 pages, and is split into chapters and subsections. This allows for the story to be told from multiple points of view. While it is predominantly told through the perspectives of Logan, Aaron, Mike, and the beast itself, various side characters are added in. This allows the reader to feel fully immersed in this fictional version of our world. Alaspa has done a mesmerizing job of creating simmering tension until the very last sentence. I was hooked from the beginning and finished this in one sitting! I look forward to reading more from him, as well as hopefully a sequel to Devoured.

Devoured
by Bryan Alaspa
Fantasy Horror
NetGalley ARC
16+

Logan Field is the public safety manager for St. Louis, and even though there's unrest because of an incident involving a kid and the police, the mayor demands that the city's Fourth of July celebration will happen.

Then there is a weird murder in Chicago, followed by a half of a horse dropping from the sky, landing in the middle of a St. Louis protest, a young couple is found murdered at a park a few days later. But worse, a young boy seems to disappear right off his bicycle as he was riding home.

But after there's speculation that those murdered were killed by being bitten in half and a professor from California shows up in Logan's office with a far-fetched idea, Logan decides, even though it's all outrageous, to call up his friend who currently stars on a cryptid reality show.


This book reminded me of a combination of 'Reign of Fire', Jaws, and other 'B' type monster movies, and I liked it. I could see this one made into a B movie for that cable channel. Though the Jaws mirror of the mayor demanding the party goes on was a little too copied, the rest of the story kept my attention, and there were times I had a hard time pulling myself away from this book.

There are some gruesome deaths, and a couple of disturbing ones, so readers take warning that you could have some stomach-dropping feelings, I know I did.

Overall, this book is for when you need a far-fetched, easy-read monster story, but would still like some blood and guts in the mix.

A little longer, and more character development and overall descriptions could have earned this book one more star.

3 Stars

Just an ok read, but didn't really keep my attention. I'm a big fan of nature run amok books but the size of the creature just didn't give the same creeps and dread as something smaller. It is a quick read and there are some interesting set pieces, just not really a book I enjoyed.