home  book reviews  discussion  links  about us  contact us John Crow's Devil Marlon James, Akashic Books, 232 pgs. Here is a story that grabs you from minute one and doesn't let you go until you've read the last word. I finished it in one evening. First-time novelist, Marlon James has the steadiness and confidence of a seasoned story-teller and writer. The imagery is flawless and the dialogue in patois enhances the overall tone of the tale. James never falters or stumbles in his delivery and his words convey the imagery of someone who thinks in pictures. This is not a story of good versus evil. Neither man is a saint and both are true sinners. One is consumed with guilt, the other madness. Hector Bligh, known as the drunken Rum Preacher is living up to his name, except that he drinks everything but rum. The Apostle York, who is anything but an apostle, comes to town and brutally removes Bligh from his church, with no resistance from his congregation. They both spew fire and brimstone, but they are polar opposites. Bligh is sacrificing his life to pay a debt and York is succumbing to the ravages of mental illness. To liven things up, James throws in a shape-shifting night woman and a God-hating widow to compliment each of the men. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence so it seems, when it comes to loyalty to their pastor. The townspeople are in for the ride of their lives with Apostle York at the wheel. No saints themselves, they are an unsavory bunch of people as well. They are men who routinely beat their women; women who routinely commit adultery--one with her husband sleeping soundly in the same bed while she and her lover are getting jiggy; a pedophile who preys on young boys he calls his “nephews”; not to mention, a woman who killed her own mother; and the list goes on. The two preachers wage war on each other spiritually and physically but Bligh is no match for York. The Rum Preacher retreats and advances in an admirable, but repeatedly doomed attempt to save his congregation from eternal damnation, only to be defeated time and time again by the seemingly superhuman York. This is a tale that begs to be put on the wide screen. It has the requisite exoticism, darkness and supernaturalism that audiences are drawn to these days. A book is no good if the ending doesn't measure up to the beginning and middle. This ending supports the entire story and doesn't leave you disappointed and wondering what happened. That's what makes it a great book for me. It grabs you and never lets you go until it’s over. I look forward to the next adventure with Marlon James.