Hellraisers (Devil's Engine Series #1)

by Alexander Gordon Smith

Overview

From the author of the Escape from Furnace series, The Devil's Engine: Hellraisers is the opening salvo in an explosive new horror trilogy about an ordinary American kid caught up in an invisible war against the very worst enemy imaginable.

When a sixteen-year-old troublemaker named Marlow Green is trapped in a surreal firefight against nightmarish creatures in the middle of his New York City neighborhood, he unwittingly finds himself amid a squad of secret soldiers dedicated to battling the legions of the devil himself. Powering this army of young misfits is an ancient machine from the darkest parts of history. Known as the devil's engine, it can make any wish come true-as long as you are willing to put your life on the line. Promised powers beyond belief, and facing monstrous apparitions straight out of the netherworld, Marlow must decide if he's going to submit to a demonic deal with the infernal machine that will enable him to join the crusade-if it doesn't kill him first.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374301699
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	12/01/2015
Series:	Devil's Engine Series , #1
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.50(h) x 2.20(d)
Lexile:	810L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Alexander Gordon Smith lives in Norwich, England. "The Stephen King of YA horror," he is the author of The Fury; The Inventors; the Escape from Furnace series, which has sold nearly half-a-million copies; and the Devil's Engine series.

Editorial Reviews

A YA horror knockout full of nonstop action, populated by broken but beautiful characters, and blisteringly scary.” —Emmy Laybourne, author of Sweet and the Monument 14 series

“This Faustian tale is a hit for horror fans looking for a world of mystery, the macabre, and lots of fire and fighting.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Immediately immerses readers into a fast-paced, action-packed, epic good-versus-evil story.” —The Bulletin

“An epic conflict between good and evil . . . Full of dark imagery and unsettling descriptions as unstoppable demons face off against superpowered teens.” —Publishers Weekly

Praise for Alexander Gordon Smith:

“Smith is an expert at balancing tension and hope, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.” —Publishers Weekly

“The Stephen King of YA horror.” —The Book Zone

From the Publisher

★ 2015-10-06
When Marlow Green stumbles into a hellish fight with nightmarish creatures and helps save a girl's life, he is unwittingly dragged into a centuries-old war and must choose between cowardice and courage. From brushes with the law to expulsion from the last school that might take him, 15-year-old asthmatic Marlow is always running from trouble, but this ups the ante considerably. The girl, Pan, is a Hellraiser, a soldier in the battle between evil, and, well, a lesser evil. In exchange for wishes and her service, Pan signs a contract with the Devil's Engine—an infernal, ancient machine thought to have been forged by Satan. And when her contract expires, she'll be dragged down to hell. Even though Pan won't admit it, Marlow has saved her and thereby become involved, and the two inevitably team up with the other Hellraisers to try to stop the Circulus Inferni, an ancient, evil group of monsters, from using the Devil's Engine to unleash hell on Earth. Pan's aggressive, testy, take-charge attitude earns her the enmity of many, including Marlow and her Hellraiser mentor, Herc, who fling such epithets as "bitch" and "cow" around liberally. However, Pan's strong will and heroism win out in the eyes of readers and even her prickly companions. With high-stakes situations, a fast-paced plot, and gruesome, terrifying creatures, this Faustian tale is a hit for horror fans looking for a world of mystery, the macabre, and lots of fire and fighting. (Horror. 13 & up)

Kirkus Reviews