Devil Tree

By Steve Vernon

The roots of evil run deeper than you can ever imagine.
Lucas Sawyer and his wife Tamsen find themselves marooned in the heart of a mid-nineteenth century wilderness forest. They are rescued by Jonah Duvall, a mysterious woodsman abiding in this strange valley with his wife Jezebel and thier son Cord. Brooding over all stands the Devil Tree - a huge evil jackpine that has summoned them to this valley to feed upon their collective emotions and their unnatural offspring. Part earth spirit, part elder demon - the tree is farming them.
The characters are bound in a tightening noose of of undeniable fate. As winter sets in they must face the tree's unholy fury in an utterly horrific finale.
Devil-Tree is a story that will take you further into the heart of unimaginable horror.
PRAISE FOR DEVIL TREE:
"This genre needs new blood and Steve Vernon is quite a transfusion." - Ed Lee
"Steve Vernon taps the strange fiction vein like no one before" - Hellnotes
"Steve Vernon is one of the finest new talents of horror and dark fiction" - Owl Goingback
"Steve Vernon is a hard writer to pin down - and that's a good thing." - Dark Scribe Magazine
"Armed with a bizarre sense of humor, a huge amount of originality, a flair for taking risks and a strong grasp of characterization - Steve's got the chops for sure." - Dark Discoveries
"Steve Vernon is something of an anomaly in the world of horror literature. He's one of the freshest new voices in the genre although his career has spanned twenty years. Writing with a rare swagger and confidence, Steve Vernon can lead his readers through an entire gamut of emotions from outright fear and repulsion to pity and laughter." - Cemetery Dance
"If Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson and Robert Bloch had a three-way sex romp in a hot tub, and then a team of scientists came in and filtered out the water and mixed the leftover DNA into a test tube, the resulting genetic experiment would most likely grow up into Steve Vernon." - Bookgasm
"The G-forces generated by Steve Vernon's writing and creative force are awesome to behold, and could easily generate mental whiplash in the unprepared." - Fear Zone
"Steve Vernon was born to write. He's the real deal and we're lucky to have him." - Richard Chizmar

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crossroad Press
• Release date: Feb 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458008183

Steve Vernon

Everybody always wants a peek at the man behind the curtain. They all want to see just exactly what makes an author tick.Which ticks me off just a little bit - but what good is a lifetime if you can't ride out the peeve and ill-feeling and grin through it all. Hi! I am Steve Vernon and I'd love to scare you. Along the way I'll try to entertain you and I guarantee a giggle as well.If you want to picture me just think of that old dude at the campfire spinning out ghost stories and weird adventures and the grand epic saga of how Thud the Second stepped out of his cave with nothing more than a rock in his fist and slew the mighty saber-toothed tiger.If I listed all of the books I've written I'd most likely bore you - and I am allergic to boring so I will not bore you any further. Go and read some of my books. I promise I sound a whole lot better in print than in real life. Heck, I'll even brush my teeth and comb my hair if you think that will help any.For more up-to-date info please follow my blog at:http://stevevernonstoryteller.wordpress.com/And follow me at Twitter:@StephenVernonyours in storytelling,Steve Vernon

Reviews for Devil Tree

[dwatson2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Devil Tree by Steve Vernon is an alternate history horror story set in the 1800's. The story begins with Lucas and his wife Tamsen as they are floating down a stream in a raft looking for a place to settle after having to leave their home in shame. The raft hits a log and the couple is thrown into the flowing current. They are rescued by a man named Duvall and brought to a strange valley which is ruled by a giant Jackpine.Marcus and Tamsen are nursed back to health by Duvall, his wife Jezebel and their son Cord. The valley seems like it could be a good place to start a new life but the giant tree that stands above the valley has plans for them. Everyone has their secrets and the tree feeds upon their emotions.Thats all I can say about the story in The Devil Tree because it was a little hard to follow. The characters go through quite a few changes in the story, Duvall is shown as being good, then bad then good again and Lucas also seems to change from good to bad. Tamsen stays the same throughout but we find out that she has done some very bad things in the past. The story is about the characters and because the character's personalities are constantly changing it makes for a confusing story.Other things I didn't like about The Devil Tree was how for awhile it looked like Cord was going to be a big part of the story but then nothing was done with him. I also didn't like how Tamsen declares her love for Duvall but then acts afraid of Duvall a little later in the story and Lucas doesn't seem to care. Another thing that doesn't get explained well was the tree's power, why it was there in the first place or what it was trying to do. I wondered if maybe the tree wasn't controlling the people in the valley and they were going crazy because they were the only ones there and it was their guilt about their past that was ruining everything.Despite my confusion with the story there was a lot I did like about The Devil Tree. I enjoyed how metaphors were used, along with how complex the characters were and I liked how everything was described in the story. The opening where the valley was discovered was beautifully done. I also liked when Lucas and Tamsen's raft capsized and you see how much they love each other as they fight to survive.Also if you are into horror there are some gruesome scenes such as the the final battle with the tree and the description of the fight between lucas and Duvall. The way the characters are all battling their inner demons was also frightening. This book is very dark, I found myself feeling creeped out near the end when it looks like Lucas has finally lost his mind.I realize my review here is a contradiction but despite its flaws I found myself not wanting to put this book down. It is very well written and I will want to read more from Steve Vernon. It takes a little while to get going and has some story flaws but The Devil Tree is a psychological horror story that you won't want to put down..