Book Review: “It Devours!” by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

Warning: If you have not read “It Devours!” by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, do not read this review unless you don’t mind spoilers or already read the book!

I’m back with another book review, and this time it’s the book “It Devours!” by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor! I’ve already read the first book, “Welcome To Nightvale,” so I’m thrilled to read and review this one! Here’s a summary so we know what it’s about:

“Nilanjana Sikdar is an outsider to the town of Night Vale. Working for Carlos, the town’s top scientist, she relies on fact and logic as her guiding principles. But all of that is put into question when Carlos gives her a special assignment investigating a mysterious rumbling in the desert wasteland outside of town. This investigation leads her to the Joyous Congregation of the Smiling God, and to Darryl, one of its most committed members. Caught between her beliefs in the ultimate power of science and her growing attraction to Darryl, she begins to suspect the Congregation is planning a ritual that could threaten the lives of everyone in town. Nilanjana and Darryl must search for common ground between their very different world views as they are faced with the Congregation’s darkest and most terrible secret.”

Nilanjana and Darryl’s growing relationship in the book was really fun to weird. Both have this awkwardness shared between them when they first meet, but it gets particularly less awkward over time and more definitely romantic. I liked how both of them acknowledged how they have their different beliefs, with Nilanjana being more scientific while Darryl is clearly religious to the Church of the Smiling God, and both of them take the time to understand each other’s beliefs and each other as a whole. It’s a very interesting, fun romance to read, and I wish I could gush on more about how much I love these two together, but I would end up spoiling a good amount of the book, so I won’t.

Nilanjana’s friendship with Carlos was also really sweet to read. Both of them have a clear trust and support in each other for whatever they are doing (except for when Nilanjana had to dissuade Carlos from doing something that would actually end up destroying Nightvale if he went through with it of course), and it’s so endearing to read such a friendship.

There was also a lot of worldbuilding involved regarding the Church of the Smiling God, and though some people are clearly ominous, such as the Pastor, it’s clear that not all the followers are malicious, such as Darryl and his fellow friends. I really liked how there was a variety of personalities within the Church overall, and this helps avoid the trap I see of everyone in one specific group thinking or believing one specific way in literature.

There was a bit of a continuity nod, as we got to see Diane, Josh and Jackie from the first book again, and it made me feel like saying “Hey, welcome back!” Even if they mainly were in the book for a short time, from what we know about them now sounds like that everyone involved from the last book is doing well, and that was honestly really sweet. Other sweet moments included all of Carlos and Cecil’s moments scattered throughout the book as well.

Overall, I’m rating this book 5 out of 5 stars!

This is because of the wonderful relationships, the well-done worldbuilding and continuity nods! Again, it would probably be helpful to listen to some podcast episodes of “Welcome to Nightvale” as well as read the “Welcome to Nightvale” book for some continuity understanding, but it’s not necessarily needed to understand this book, which is nice.

If you like this post, please share it with your fellow writer and readers! Also, feel free to follow my blog and/or like my Facebook Page, Twitter, and Tumblr for more reader/writer posts, fanfics, book reviews, and other updates!