Blue Devil Island

By: Stephen Mark Rainey

Narrated by: Joshua Saxon

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

October 1943: The tide of war in the Pacific has begun to turn in favor of the United States and her allies. With the opening of a new offensive campaign, the U.S. military deploys a number of new air groups in the Solomon Islands, including a naval fighting squadron known as the Blue Devils, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Drew McLachlan. From their base at a remote island known only as Conquest, McLachlan and his brave pilots mount a number of successful raids against the enemy, eventually making a name for themselves that comes even to the attention of the Japanese.
 

Soon, however, a new and sinister force begins to stir on the island, seemingly disturbed by the very presence of the American fighting forces. Several men disappear under mysterious circumstances, but their bodies turn up horribly mutilated. The sound of drums begins pounding out of the jungle. And Lieutenant Commander McLachlan witnesses a gigantic, half-invisible shape moving atop the mountain at the center of the island.
 

Soon, the Blue Devils are forced to fight on two fronts: against the known enemy, the Japanese, and an unknown, predatory force on the island that threatens to destroy McLachlan and his men.

©2015 Stephen Mark Rainey (P)2019 David N. Wilson

Excellent WWII Horror Story

"Blue Devil Island" is an entertaining novel about World War II pilots stationed on a small island in the Pacific. I highly recommend it, but with one note of caution. I came across this book listed as a Horror Novel. And it does indeed have elements of the supernatural and horror. But if you are looking for a wall to wall blood bath or monster fest, this is not that novel. The majority of the story focuses on the pilots, their mission, and air battles over the Pacific. I do not know much about the author, but he is either a pilot or has done an amazing amount of research because the accounts of the air battles and what it takes to fly one of those planes are brilliantly drawn and wonderfully detailed. So why the word of caution? The horror elements of the story don't really appear until about halfway into the story, and even then they build very slowly. It's really not until the climax of the novel that it truly becomes about the horror element of the story. This is not a bad thing. Far from it. But the bulk of the book does not feel like a traditional horror novel, and I felt that if people go in with the wrong expectations they may miss that this is still a fantastic tale. Lastly, as this is Audible, I should mention that Joshua Saxon does an excellent job as narrator. Clear narration (even at ramped up speed), and great character definition. Definitely check this one out.

Surprisingly good

I have never been a fan of horror movies or stories and with this in the horror category I almost didn't give it a chance. My main reason was I wanted to listen to another story by the narrator as the first one I listened to by him fell short for me. Now I am glad I picked this book, the story is very well written, the dog fights were described in great detail, as well as the lurking island danger. The read by Joshua was spot on, he almost made me feel like I was there, his narration was easy to follow and his tone helped set the scene.

Would I listen to another book by the narrator? Yes

Would I listen to another book buy the author? Probably

Would I recommend the book? Yes

Great Narration... Interesting Story

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

First, hats off to the narrator! I really enjoyed listening to him tell the story... really felt drawn into the story, especially the action sequences. I recommend seeking out other audiobooks that he is involved with.

This book was an interesting mix of sci-fi and history. Being interested in WW2, particularly the war in the pacific, it was right up my alley. Well written action and a lively fast paced read.

Very Entertaining WWII Meets Something Weird Story

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This review is for the audio copy of Blue Devil Island by Stephen Mark Rainey and narrated by Joshua Saxon. This was a fun book to listen to. It contained sufficient WWII air war action to make it interesting while combining a mysterious otherworldly twist to be dealt with. This made for a very entertaining story. Very good narration by Joshua helped make the story come alive in my mind.

Did not disappoint

I listened to this one on audio and enjoyed it.

WWII stories or war stories in general really aren’t my bag. I like them every once in a while, and this one looked like it had some elements more up my alley and seemed promising. It did not disappoint. The narration and the story moved briskly and kept me entertained throughout.

This is a solid 3 stars, but the audio elevated it to 3.5+. I wish I could give it the half star, but alas, GR or Audible won’t let me. Thanks a lot GR and Audible :)

I’m going to go 3 Stars with a stipulation that I may change my mind and round it up to 4, if and when the mood strikes me. I also reserve the right to leave it a 3 star forever.

*"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Great air action!

Here we are, 1943 in the midst of WWII in the Solomon Islands fighting the Japanese. Our protagonist, Lieutenant Commander Drew McLachlan is in charge of a squadron of F6F Hellcats. They have been assigned to a remote island, which they call Conquest, to perform raids on the Japanese and provide cover for U.S. ships. There’s also a platoon of marines on the island to provide maintenance for the aircraft. Things are going well in the raiding department, but soon there is a feeling of unease as they no longer believe they are alone on the island and are being watched. Bad feelings deepen and strange occurrences begin to take place. What our boys discover on the island is far beyond the norm, and something they’ve never experienced before. The military actions are exciting and very well described IMO. The mysterious happenings are a bit underwhelming but the air action makes up for it. I enjoyed the story and recommend it. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Blue Devil Island

I enjoyed this book. It was not as fast-paced as some that I have been reading lately, but it was consistent and interesting and the plot was fun. I thought it would be a different novel, frankly, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that though starting out as a war novel it morphed into something else as well. The characters were well thought out and the plot moved along well. I enjoyed the ending of the novel and will look for more books by Stephen Mark Rainey in the future. The narration was also well done and helped to create the atmosphere for me.

This story was given to me for free at my request for my voluntary and unbiased review.

Great story concept.

Blue Devil Island.
Great story concept, strong characters, and a story that flows and sucks you in.
Superb narration.
I received a free copy of this audio book at my own request and voluntarily leave this review.

Pacific WW2 Combat with a twist

Pretty good read altogether. Excellent narration, story was a little....odd. I wish the ground commander had been a little more developed or had some incite into his story to understand the sudden change.

Entertaining WW2 action/horror novel

This book is hard for me to review. There was a lot of action with all of the aerial combat and it blended well with the monster horror, and the whole story moves along quickly. I had trouble suspending my disbelief though. I’m not a pilot, so I can’t comment on the accuracy of most of the aerial action, but I believe that opening your canopy at 15k feet would lead to rapid decompression and hypoxia. Also, during a ground-based gunfight, the author says "I slammed the clip into the magazine" I have absolutely no idea what that means. Other than that, it was an enjoyable novel. The narrator did a great job with all of the characters and voices. Overall, this book is worth a listen, especially if you’re into airplanes, the pacific theater in WW2, or Military thriller/horror blend.

This audiobook was provided by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Gripping and interesting

I confess that I only chose to listen to this book because of the narrator. Joshua Saxon is hugely talented and blessed with a beautiful voice and I've loved all the books I've heard him narrate. This one was every bit as good as the others.

And despite my misgivings (I normally hate anything to do with war) I really enjoyed the story too. It's always hard to tell how much of that enjoyment comes from the narration but it's a gripping book that's well written and which manages to make even the technicalities of fighter planes interesting to someone who has zero knowledge of or interest in the topic. Not only was I entertained but I also learned a lot!