The Devil Rides Out

By: Dennis Wheatley

Narrated by: Christoper Lee

Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

The Devil Rides Out

Many consider it to be Dennis Wheatley's finest work, which is praise indeed for this world beating novelist. It was a huge best seller in the 1930s when it first came out, full of 1930s atmosphere, skilfully written and well researched, too - although Wheatley never practiced magic himself, he met with many of the most famous occultists of his day to make the book as authentic as possible.

In The Devil Rides Out, the Duke de Richleau and a friend find that one of their number is missing from a reunion, and it turns out that he has fallen under the influence of a black magic sect. Disbelieving at first, the Duke and his friends soon discover that magic and the powers of darkness are still alive and very real, as they fight a series of terrific earthly and occult battles to save their friend's soul.

The book was filmed in the 1960s, with Christopher Lee taking the lead role as the Duke, and he he is back in splendid form as he narrates for your listening pleasure.

Public Domain (P)2019 The Copyright Group

Christopher Lee (Rest in Peace) is perfection here

His voice is the right amount of creepy without being over the top, and telling the difference between characters was easy. For my first ever Audio Book, this was perfect to listen to.

Saruman can read a Dr Seuss book and it would still be perfect

A Great Occult Adventure for Any Time

Christopher Lee is a legend and brings this tale to life. Fully engaging from start to finish and now one of my all time favorite books, especially in audiobook format. HIGHLY recommended.

Good, if a bit dated

I enjoyed this story and remember it from the movie and reading it a very long time ago. It is a bit dated but that is to be expected. Lee’s performance was a treat.

Inject this into my veins

Aside from the casual racism, this is perfection. I wish Lee could have read more of these!

Classic!

Obviously this was my first introduction to Wheatley because of the movie by Hammer. Lee is AMAZING and I love just closing my eyes and visualizing this book because of his amazing voice and narration. However, as with DW books, endings are abrupt and can leave you with more questions than answers.

The Duke can call in ‘the police’ because car stealing is a breech of the law but cannot call them in when over 100 people are having a Satanic meeting/Sabbath? In this period of history, this was against the law in England and France and penalties were quite stiff! 😂

The Mocata character is a great villain but in all honesty the ‘epic battle’ in the Pentagram is THE ‘Boss Fight’ for any gamers out there.

The ending becomes kind of anti-climatic after the Duke and Co. have to withstand Mocata’s wrath during that night in the pentacle.

Like I always say in my reviews, I think I am fair and am willing to suspend disbelief up to a point, but this book/story will make you roll your eyes more than once.

With that said, what a great book to listen to at night or fall asleep to. I wish I could read 1,000 books narrated by Christopher Lee. What a treasure he was. Strange Conflict, the follow-up to this is just a watered down version of Devil, but Lee makes that book a tour de force!

Masterful performance, classic story

Christopher Lee’s narration is faultless - his authoritative and versatile voice bring a breath of life to the tale. The story itself is captivating enough though clearly dated in some aspects - part of the charm or a bar to some would-be listeners is up to you.
Sufficiently creepy for a 21st century reader in places while maintaining approachability. My only complaint is the rather abrupt ending which it seems could have been better pulled together. 4/5 Stars.

this deserves much, much wider renown

first of all, like all truly great audiobooks, this is the perfect marriage of content and delivery. i can not imagine any better or even any other performer for this text. christopher lee is a master. absolute master. and the text itself... it too is a masterwork of old horror/supernatural fiction. it is not as psychologically scary as the exorcist but it is a great adventure and filled with interesting information about the occult and satanism. its a bit like an indiana jones adventure with indy being the duke and the bad guy here is a satanist named mocato. and what an adventure! really amazing. just a great, great story. its definitely old, decidedly not modern or current. but that is one of its great strengths and charms. i devoured this in a day, listening in every possible moment day and night. i wont say it is truly scary (again, it didnt freak me out like the exorcist) but it is very informative and a rip-roaring adventure in the style of indiana jones but set in post-WWII europe. if you like sherlock holmes, indiana jones, body snatchers, rosemarys baby, sheridan lafanu or general occult stories... this is an absolute cant miss. i wish more people knew about this story. it really is just immensely enjoyable and a great adventure. highly, highly recommended.

Christopher Lee Makes it worthwhile.

Decent enough story if you like the Hammer film from the 70’s. Only really worth a listen for Christopher Lee’s narration.