Review: Reign of the Devourer: A Marvel Untold Novel by David Annandale
As always thank you to Aconyte for making me one happy nerd, to Netgalley and to David Annandale for continuing to bring further depth and spotlight to Doctor Victor von Doom. The Harrowing of Doom was the third Aconyte title and the second Marvel one and I fell in love with it instantly. I have always liked villains (I think everyone does if they are honest) and in Marvel Doom is probably one of top five villains. The combination of science and supernatural/mystic arts that we get with Doom along with the folklore is something I have always loved. Add to this the Annandale made arguably one of top three marvel couples and the fact they are part of the LGBTQ+ community is just the icing and cherry on top. I am, of course, talking about Kariana and Elsa.
As always I won’t spoil too much of the plot because the book is yet to be released but needless to say it has everything you could hope for in a Victor von Doom focused novel and so much more besides.
While this novel continues on from The Harrowing of Doom you do not exactly need to have read it, I am not sure why you wouldn’t have though and I would highly recommend it. Doctor Victor von Doom saw his future for an instant, and now he cannot rest. His obsession with regaining those memories leads him into the arcane science of geomancy. As Doom delves into the ancient memories that lie beneath his land, he discovers a tremendous concentration of power. One that should never be explored – but why would that stop him. Doom’s excavations and necromancy fracture the prison of something awful: the Devourer of Souls. Now free to roam Latveria, the Devourer spreads a plague of soul-hungry vampires. Now Doom must make a choice – does his seize the power for himself or destroy it. A choice that must be made before his realm is no more.
As with the first novel Annandale is a master of his craft. The writing style is beautiful, macabre and vivid. It flows and is a perfect match for the genre and characters. All the characters shine brightly; their strengths and weaknesses. It was easy to relate and become invested in them, even someone like Doom (although I admit I am a bit of a fan already!). In fact, and I thought this for The Harrowing, Annandale is amazing at writing Doom. It is so easy to fall into the trope of Good Vs Evil. Bad is bad. Particularly within a comic book setting but Annandale makes Doom human, albeit not exactly “average” and while he is by no means the good guy his people do love him and more to the point we see his motivation isn’t always just plain power and control. In short we see the human and to me that is brilliant.
As I have said the writing and characters are first rate but the story itself is just amazing. The pacing is superb. The different characters and their parts all interlink so succinctly and form part of the greater whole. The combination of realism, fantasy and horror is beautiful. You cannot help but get swept up in the narrative and end up believing all this could be real. The only downside? When you finish the book. Honestly I adored it and really hope we get more Doom content and maybe other ‘villain’ untold stories like the Dark Avengers: The Patriot List by David Guymer.
Simply, it is a must read for fans of the more mystical and science side of marvel. Or any Doom fan (there must be more of us out there!?). Most definitely one of my most anticipated releases for 2022.
The e-book will be available from January 18th 2022 with Paperbacks following on the 18th January for the US and 3rd of March for the UK!
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About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2021/2022 MARVEL
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