Customer Reviews

The Devil's Rood: A Group Novel about America's First Serial Killer

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

After only 10 pages into The Devil's Rood, I made the observaton that it read like a high school creative writing exercise. After looking through the US Five's web page, I found that I was close to the mark, except that this pedestrian work is the creation of a college professor and four of his former students. The dramatic monlogue device, or whatever you call it, gets old very fast. Since you only hear one part of a conversation, the text does it's best to give you an idea of what the other characters are saying with unnatural utterances and silly dialogue. By the time you are a quarter of the way through the book, you no longer think of the book's style as a gimmick, but as the only way five very poor writers, with an ear for cliches and preposterous dialogue, could blend their respective messes together. I did get some enjoyment out of the book once I allowed myself to laugh out loud. I could just imagine the US Five getting together on the weekends:drinking coffee and guffawing over the salacious letters and dialogue they had written in their spiral notebooks during the week. I'm sure they received a lot of pleasure at their literary sewing circle. It's too bad they didn't use their research to write a real novel, as opposed to The Devil's Ruse (Sic). It is my guess that the positive reviews I've read were written by family members of the five authors. An awful mess.

The interesting writing technique brings you first hand into the presence of the characters and illuminates Herman's very sick mind. It is a story of evil gone awry and once I started the book I could not put it down. That it is based on a factual story makes it even more frightening.

The Devil's Rood is a dramatic monologue about America's first serial killer and told through conversation, letters, and diary entries of spouses, employees, and victims. The Devil's Rood exposes the mind of a genuinely evil man, a multiple murderer with many split personalities. The Devil's Rood is a "group novel" combining the joint efforts of Bob Stanton, Sandi Branum, Gary F. Izzo, Dedra Torelli, and Nina D. Wade. Be forewarned, this novel is so vividly crafted that it is not for the squeamish. The writing is as good in execution as it is horrific in content.

This is a unique work which is presented entirely in character monologue, diary entries and media clippings, all of which relate to one Herman Mudgett, a man of many names and one dark purpose. To read of Herman's nonchalant attitude toward killing is equally chilling than being given blow-by-blow accounts of his misdeeds, and that for me was the true horror.

The structure of this novel may remind some of Stephen King's Carrie, which was written in a similar way. All in all, the book is a quick yet engrossing read.

This book is good entertainment, the realism not-withstanding and the dialog approach an appealing feature.

This is an awesome book about America's First Serial killer. The book is very hard to put down... As a practicing physician, it is difficult to understand how such a hideous crime could have happened. The monologue style of the book was stupendous! Thanks U.S. Five!

After the first ten pages, you'll become accustomed to the unusual literary style of the book and you won't be able to put it down!

Don't believe everything you read in this book as much more than the 75% suggested by the author(s) is made up. Don't believe everything you read in the 4/5 star reviews above because the book wasn't nearly as enjoyable as they say. Is the book scary? No. Is the manner of storytelling new, unique or effective? No. Those who rave on endlessly about the merits of this work do not read nearly enough. The author(s) open with a narrative figure that disappears never to return after the brief intro. Many of the one-sided dialogue/monologues are too similar in tone and style to make you believe in the characters. What is described as "the wildest book I ever read" or "a totally new concept" is nothing more than a gimmick designed to disguise a rather poorly told story. Could have been much better, but is not worth the price of admission.

As Herman Mudgett grew up, several personalities emerged, one more evil than the other, they knew each other, they could not control each other, they worked their devious carnage while deceiving hundreds along the way.

The letters and scenes written in the persons of the killer, the victims, and other characters seem disjointed at first, then come together as the story unfolds and suspense mounts.

Don't expect another Stephen King novel. This one is entirely different.

When you read this book, it is as if you are listening to a one-side phone conversation; yet, you can still grasp the main gist of the story: that all of the characters in The Devil's Rood are connected to Holmes in some way or another. This book made me feel squeamish at times, particularly when I read the letters from Holmes to Frank Noland. What a monster!