The Devil You Know: A Felix Castor Novel (Felix Castor Novel 1) (Paperback)

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• This item: The Devil You Know: A Felix Castor Novel (Felix Castor Novel 1) by Mike Carey

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• Vicious Circle: A Felix Castor Novel (Felix Castor Novel 2) by Mike Carey

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• Dead Men's Boots: A Felix Castor Novel (Felix Castor Novel 3) by Mike Carey

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Dead Men's Boots: A Felix Castor Novel (Felix Castor Novel 3) by Mike Carey 4.6 out of 5 stars (9)  £6.39

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Review
'Sleazy and down-at-heel and quintessentially London, Mike Carey's Felix Castor steps effortlessly into the growing field of supernatural noir and brings with him a blast of fresh, British air. Think Shoestring meets Constantine, with backing vocals from the shades of Leslie Charteris and Anais Nin. Carey's plotting is tight and laconic, and laced with shivery, understated horrors from both the human world and beyond. It grabs you from the first out-of-nowhere nasty surprise, and rarely lets go thereafter. You'll be up all night finishing this one.' Richard Morgan, bestselling author of ALTERED CARBON 'Imagine an unholy cross between Buffy, Jonathan Creek and hardboiled noir, set it in the sleazier bits of London, and you've got Mike Carey's The Devil You Know, a supernatural crime novel featuring Felix Castor, reluctant magician and part-time exorcist. Britain is filling up with zombies, ghosts, werewolves and demons; it's something to do with having entered the new millennium, maybe. All anyone knows for sure is that the beggars in street doorways are as likely to be dead as not. Recently retired, following a vicious encounter with a demon that left one of his friends in a very strange state of mind indeed, Castor owes his landlady rather too much rent. So when a ghost shows up in a library, Castor takes the job of exorcising it. A simple ghost, a library, how hard can it be? The reader knows the answer, the author knows the answer and so do Castor and the ghost. Fast, fun and furious, worth it for the final joke alone.' THE GUARDIAN 'Entertaining, well-paced, intelligently plotted and full of memorable characters' THE TIMES 'Witty, deadpan and shudderingly noir ... With a plot nailed down tighter than a coffin lid, Carey drives this thriller like Chandler at the wheel of a runaway hearse, combining the mundane with the monstrous to depict a capital city where demons, ghouls and werewolves share the dirty streets with the living, and he does it so you believe it. You've heard the rumour that Londoners are never more than a few feet from a rat - Carey will persuade you the same is true of the undead.' DAILY EXPRESS 'A violent ghost in a world where spirits are rarely mean-spirited is a clue to a deeper mystery in this engrossing dark fantasy debut from comics-writer Carey. Felix "Fix" Castor is an itinerant exorcist who (like a certain famous group of Hollywood ghost-evicters) alternates between dispatching spooks and doing stage magic at ungrateful children's birthday parties. When he's summoned to end a haunting at London's prestigious Bonnington Archive, he finds a vengeful specter with a blood-veiled face that resists methods for extirpating the usually docile dead. When Castor begins probing more deeply, he quickly finds himself harassed by a ravenous succubus, a belligerent fellow exorcist and a slimy Eastern European pimp. The resolution of this ingeniously multilayered tale will satisfy fans of both fantasy and detective fiction. Fix Castor's wisecracking cleverness in the face of weird nemeses makes him the perfect hardboiled hero for a new supernatural noir series.' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review) 'It's some way into The Devil You Know that the brilliance of Mike Carey's 'unique selling point' strikes you ... Carey's established a fascinating world and character to further explore, not least thanks to a lovely final twist that leaves you wondering how Castor and his unlikely new partner will work together...' STARBURST 'The Devil You Know is a stunning supernatural thriller, and one so brilliantly written that it simply blows away the competition in a field saturated at the moment. It's only April, but here, I guarantee, is one of the best books you'll read this year!' SF REVU.COM 'Extremely impressive - entertaining and assured. You're left with the eerie feeling that Felix Castor will be haunting us for a long time to come.' SFX "Carey's writing is nimble and witty, his dialogue believable ... [a] quirky, dark and imaginative tale that compels readers to keep turning pages long after they should have gotten to sleep' KIRKUS (starred review) 'The pacing is impeccable. There's plenty of action and surprising twists.' ROMANTIC TIMES (four and a half stars) 'It's an audacious move for a first-time prose novelist to choose as his protagonist a character who sounds like the setup to a joke, but that's exactly what Carey has done. Narrator Felix Castor is a hard-boiled exorcist who also dabbles in magic. The real trick, though, is that Carey pulls it off. Set in London, the story follows Castor as his financial woes lead him to take on a job in a career he thought he'd sworn off. It's one last exorcism, Castor tells himself, just to pay the bills, but he quickly finds he's taken on a great deal more when a haunted archive draws him into a sordid mystery. Carey has already made a name for himself in the world of graphic novels for, among other things, his work on Hellblazer. That series shares with this novel an attention to the seedier side of magic and the occult. Ghost hunters in Carey's novel are something akin to the private eyes in a Raymond Chandler story, and the recipe works startlingly well. While appealing to fans of Carey's graphic novels, this will likely also find praise among readers of horror and those looking for an offbeat mystery. Highly recommended.' LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred review) 'An exorcist with attitude, Morgan Kingsley is sure to win Black a legion of fans' Kelley Armstrong 'A sassy heroine ... a sexy hero, great secondary characters and a storyline that keeps you reading, and this one is definitely a keeper...' Keri Arthur

Daily Express
"Carey drives this thriller like Chandler at the wheel of a runaway hearse"

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14 Reviews 5 star:  (8) 4 star:  (3) 3 star:  (3) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.4 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   9 of 9 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining read with some padding, 20 Jun 2007 By  tybalt-quin (London, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)       I find Carey's alternative London, full of ghosts and zombies to be fascinating and I've never seen anything like his take on were-creatures before (essentially, they're ghosts that bind animal flesh to themselves to form a human shape). He skillfully uses Felix Castor's first person perspective to help navigate through this world and Castor's distinctive voice easily makes you buy into what is happening. The central mystery to the story revolves around a veiled ghost haunting a documentary archive in central London. From a benign start the ghost has started to attack some of the employees and the curator wants it exorcised as quickly as possible. The problem is that Castor has been warned that getting involved in the case could kill him and as he tries to work out who the ghost is and why she's haunting the building, he discovers links with a sinister underworld criminal who brings new meaning to the word 'ruthless' and also to rogue exorcists who are taking their art to frightening levels. There is some padding to the story - notably a scene where Castor visits Bunhill Row cemetary to try and center himself, which doesn't add a great deal. Strictly speaking, I think that the beginning of the story (where Castor is performing as a magician for a childrens' party) is an obvious way to crowbar in one plot strand aimed at fleshing out the mystery. It's entertaining but I wonder if Carey could have achieved the same effect in a different way. I also thought that some of the characters were a little cardboard cut out. For example, the main villain has evil written through him like a stick of rock, which kind of takes away some of the mystery element, and makes the ending a little predictable. This is particularly disappointing when Castor himself is such a multi-levelled character - a reluctant hero who's not entirely comfortable with what he does. I'm surprised to find this book labelled as a horror novel, when to me it seemed to be quintessential urban fantasy. There are some disturbing moments - notably with the succubus Juliet but the description isn't excessively gory and does fit in with the plot. All in all it's a good, solid read and with enough dark humour to keep you wryly chuckling. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   8 of 8 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent debut novel from a great comic writer, 25 May 2006 By  Mr. Stephen Davies (Bristol, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Fans of HellBlazer will recognise the name Mike Carey, as will fans of Lucifer, the ongoing series from Vertigo comics. Carey's been writing in the comics world for quite some time now, recently carrying on some of the fae stories started in Neil Gaiman's Sandman as well as developing Lucifer and taking the reigns of writing Constantine stories. This is his first novel, and whilst it has some of the flavour of a HellBlazer story there's enough there which is different to keep things fresh. The story involves a world very much like ours excepting the fact that ghosts not only exist, they are recognized by the government with all the legal issues that causes. The main character, Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist who is hired to remove the presence of a Ghost from a London hall of records. Part of his method of exorcism is to learn about his subject, and in the course of doing so he realizes things are not quite what they seem. Part mystery, part occult story this is an excellent read. Carey writes characters very well, as those who know his comic works will I'm sure agree. The story is by turns amusing, exciting and disturbing which makes for a very powerful read. Highly recommended. Oh, and to correct one of the other entries Constantine is one of Alan Moore's creations, though Mike did a damn good job of writing an extended set of stories for the HellBlazer title. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   7 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Not just John Constantine revisited, 18 April 2006 By  D. C. Harold "dharold" (London) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I really thought this would be a prose version of Carey's Constantine / Hellblazer comics work and the first pages with lots of "London, my place of power" type stuff and a rather cruel Contantinesque way of ending a birthday party pretty much had me convinced. But then the broader humour, some Silence of the Lambs overtones, and general sexiness kicked in and it became clear that whilst Contantine may have been the kicking off point his influence diminishes as the book progresses and something rather spiffy results - though you'll spend a lot of time spotting echos of other books and even films. (And Juliet is a worryingly Constaninesque character to wrap on so lets hope the next novel keeps on in an original vein and doesn't turn her into Ellie...) Highly recommended. I finished it in less that a weekend cos I couldn't put it down. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 14 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic supernatural mystery The book's blurb sounded interesting and I'd heard of Mike Carey from his comic book work so I thought I'd give this a go. And I'm so glad I did! Read more Published 11 months ago by S. Bates 4.0 out of 5 stars Gumshoe Exoricist Felix Castors original outing and one that proves Carey's origins in Hellblazer. Well crafted, witty and with characters that just jump out of the page this supernatural thriller... Read more Published 12 months ago by Gareth Wilson 5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely X files stuff I picked up this book in a second hand shop not knowing what to expect as I have never read this author before, but I will certainly read the rest of them now. Read more Published 15 months ago by Tallulah 5.0 out of 5 stars wonderfull was a bit weary as he used to write for hellblazer, but is an original, gripping and entertaining supernatural noir story, with heart. Bring on the new ones Published 17 months ago by P. Wagner 3.0 out of 5 stars The Devil Takes His Time Felix Castor is an exorcist in a version of modern day London were ghosts are a common occurrence. He is hired by the head of an archive to exorcise the spirit of a young women... Read more Published 19 months ago by Sam 4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Delivered exactly what I was looking for, a gripping read and an enjoyable plot. Ignore the comic book geeks who're looking for a new Hellblazer and settle down with this on a wet... Read more Published on 1 Feb 2007 by Tom 3.0 out of 5 stars Good Book Felix Castor is an exorcist, well a retired one, but an exorcist nonetheless. His acerbic wit and brutally honest look at life is a simialr mirror to most of Carey's... Read more Published on 19 Nov 2006 by Mr. William J. Davies 3.0 out of 5 stars Disapointingly Average Novel from One of the Best Hellblazer Writers So I love Hellblazer and have been consistently impressed with Mike Carey's writing on it as well as the devastatingly impressive Lucifer series so I came to Felix Castor with... Read more Published on 26 Oct 2006 by Mr. P. Rigby 5.0 out of 5 stars Deliciously dark humor in this noir paranormal detective story! Felix Castor, free lance exorcist is working in London at a time when the supernatural is becoming more a part of everyday life in London--business is booming. Read more Published on 4 Oct 2006 by Snowbrocade 5.0 out of 5 stars How to very quickly become a social pariah I am far too lazy to write reviews but am breaking my habit in this case. I loved the story, but what made the book so special were the times when I laughed out loud! Read more Published on 9 May 2006 by Mrs. Caroline Callan Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 14 customer reviews...

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