Literature Review #18: Black Devil Spine

Shortly after we meet our enigmatic antagonist, Martin Springer, we learn that he has an operating room in his mansion.  Given that Springer isn't a surgeon, us horror fans cringe momentarily and quickly put the thought out of our mind. The horror that could be inflicted with that plot device could be so extreme...well...some horror avenues are best unexplored.  Warning....Doug Brunell isn't worried about limits or steering clear of uncharted taboo.  Black Devil Spine is the most intense and graphic horror novel you will ever read.  Hardcore fans of the genre will never forget this story, and even they will cringe and beg for mercy (the mercy that will never come).

Dan Gere is a hero.  His best selling book, which has just been made into a motion picture, chronicles his investigation into finding an abducted 15 year old girl.  The girl was kidnapped by a pedophile who used her for so many unimaginable horrors.  Gere finds her, rescues her, and assists in the capture of the pedophile.  Writer's block is preventing Gere from beginning his next book.  Then he meets the mysterious artist, Martin Springer.  Even before they meet, Springer's art, which blur the line between erotica and porn, seems to have a spell on Gere.  Uh oh, Gere may not be emotionally whole.  His ordeal in the world of pedophiles may have scarred and changed him.  He's about to be tested again.

After what appears to be some cat and mouse play (it is not yet apparent which one is the cat), Springer agrees to allow Gere to write his story.  Quickly Gere is pulled into Springer's world of sexual torture, hyper BDSM, and misogyny.  As the line has already been blurred from erotica to porn, now the line between art and snuff is similarly blurred.  As Springer emerges as a devil who may just be a serial-sexual predator, Gere is seduced.  With an already wounded psyche from the pedophile world, will Gere become the monster that Springer already is?  As we are witness to some gruesome episodes of torture and worse, we tell ourselves, incorrectly, the future scenes could no way be more extreme (you'll be wrong about this).  Warning....in reading Black Devil Spine you will be pulled on a voyage that will have you questioning your own boundaries.

This is the most graphic and grim horror tale you will ever read.  By no means a casual read at the beach, this one will stay with you long after you finish with it, or it finishes with you.  To order this from Amazon click on the following link Black Devil Spine . Kudos to Doug Brunell for his courage in writing this novel, as most horror writers would shy away at the extremes he explored.  Not for the squeamish and faint of heart, if you think you can brave this hardcore horror, give Black Devil Spine a read.