Russell Newquist's War Demons

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So what would you do if you were a combat veteran who got stuck fighting something you didn't recognize? What if it killed your buddy? What if it followed you home? How badly would that suck? Yeah, I'm not really sure how that would feel either, but if you wanted to ask Sergeant Michael Alexander, main character of Russell Newquist's War Demons I bet he could tell you. I mean, I'm not sure the answer would be all that pleasant, but that's kind of beside the point, right? I mean, not if you were asking for the truth.

I'm going to start this thing at the beginning though: Ward Demons had a prologue that I actually enjoyed and found relevant. There aren't too many books that can say that. Of course, explosions do help here but I still think that this was well written. It's also indicative of a wider world than the one we see throughout the rest of the book and I notice that Russell has a sequel planned (this is, after all,The Prodigal Son, Book One.) This is good. Most of War Demons takes place in a southern college town and it might be fun to see it go worldwide if that's what Mr. Newquist wishes to do. He may or may not. I'm just saying I'd read it if he did.

I really enjoyed Newquist's portrayal of Alexander. The good sergeant is a complicated man. He's been there, done that and gotten the t-shirt. Dude has been places that most people have and done things that most people never will. He's faced things that have others who have similar experiences doubting that they actually happened. He truly is on the outside of just about everything. He also suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but it doesn't rule his life. He's a good guy with some stuff to work through and a good heart. I like this character. I'd have a drink with this dude.

The rest of the heroes are pretty cool as well. I kind of got the feeling that maybe Newquist has seen and/or read some post-apocalyptic fiction featuring some weird weapons, but that's okay. It makes  for some interesting reading and it's not like every random townie is going to have a huge stockpile of firearms and the knowledge to use them effectively while being attacked by a massive wave of enemies.

Of course, there are also the villains. Let's start out with the mooks. There are lots and lots and lots of mooks in War Demons. They fight, they die and then there are more. I'm glad I'm not in charge of Newquist's Magic Mook Generator because if I were, I'd be overworked. The thing is, the use of so many mooks works. Why? Because A.) They present a palpable threat to our heroes and B.) they keep the good guys from getting to where they're going too quickly. War Demons is a book that generates a lot of suspense, and a lot of it comes from the little guys getting in the way.

Oh, and by the way..

If I admitted that part of my love of the mooks comes from a desire to screen shot a few of these pages and email them to the D+D group I DM with a caption like, "I wonder how you guys would handle this. I'll see you Thursday!" then, well...

I mean...

It's true. How could I be a Dungeon Master if I didn't have a bit of a sadistic streak? Honestly? How?

Of course where there are mooks, there needs to be a Big Bad of some type. I'm not going to say who, what or how, but there is definitely someone worth hating here. That's good. I like hating bad guys. It makes it more fun to cheer for the good guys. I have a strong dislike of the big bad in this one for a very particular reason, but I'm not going to say what it was here. If you really want to know, feel free to buy the book (as you should anyway) and find out what it was for yourself. I kind of feel like it should be fairly obvious to anyone who pays attention.

Something Newquist does get into a bit here is religion. I'm okay with that. The religion he's espousing is the one that both of my daughters were baptized into. I find that it works well within the story. I think that it really does add a dimension to what's going on. I just know that there are those of you out there who style yourselves as atheists and would be repelled by the thought of a book that includes religion. That is your right. I think it's a good story, but I'm telling you now so that you can't say I didn't warn you.

Overall though, this isn't a truly religious work and if some of the framework of Catholic belief seeps in, I'm alright with that. If you've read my reviews of Declan Finn's work you shouldn't be surprised about that anyway. As long as it fits the internal logic of the story and moves things along then it belongs there. I once read something similar in a book by Leonard Nimoy and I agree. He was speaking about the use of characters and why he wouldn't do Star Trek: Generations but the gist is the same. If it works, use it. If it doesn't, don't. In this case, it does.

As a complete work, I really enjoyed this book. The characters are believable. The action sequences are fun. If I wanted my shift at work to end earlier so that I could read War Demons, I suppose I'll have to forgive the author. That just means he did his job well. I'm looking forward to the sequel and I'm wondering when I'll see it. That's also a good thing. When the audience wants more, you know they loved what you've already done. We'll see when it hits. I'll make sure you see something here.

Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Yellow Noses

War Demons
Russel Newquist
Silver Empire, 2019

War Demons is available for purchase at the following link:



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