The Devil Aspect is intelligently written and delves into some of the deeper concepts of human psychology and the nature of God and the Devil. It tackles Jungian concepts, intertwining it with Slavic folklore, and the political history of Czechoslovakia. It was a big task, but Russel rises to it masterfully. He creates deep characters, all with inner turmoil and unique motivations. He realistically writes about character reactions to the political crisis with the rise of Nazism, showing how different people would have viewed the politics of the day with varying degrees of acceptance, fear, and dismissal.
One of Russel’s more masterful strokes is that he subtly compares the thoughts and motivations of his protagonists with the actions of ‘The Devil’s Six’- the six criminals housed in the Hrad Orlu Asylum where young psychiatrist, Victor Kosarek is allowed to test his new methods in order to find the darkness within the prisoners that he terms ‘The Devil Aspect’. While a Jack the Ripper style murderer terrorises Prague with no obvious motivation, the reader hears the stories of The Devil’s Six, whose crimes are given a more human side, really making us question the nature of Evil.
When science can’t yet explain a phenomenon rationally, superstition explains it irrationally. That doesn’t make the phenomenon any less real.
The pacing of The Devil Aspect comes on you like a creeping dread. As the novel went on, I found myself feeling more and more uncomfortable, worrying for the characters and their futures. I felt pity for The Devil’s Six, and frustration at the rampant nationalism in the background for which we all know the inevitable consequence. There was a real sense of mystery underlying the narrative, and I was utterly engrossed.
There is no such thing as the supernatural. You know that, I know that, anyone with any intelligence knows that. All there is, is all there is – but you know we’re a long way from understanding it all.
Perhaps that’s why I found the last few chapters a little disappointing. There had been such a sense of mystery the whole way through, but as the The Devil Aspect reached its climax, I realised I knew exactly how things would unfold, and how the inevitable plot twist would play out. The subtle dread that permeated the novel gave way to an action sequence that was a little on the nose and didn’t feel entirely believable within the carefully constructed pacing of the novel.
While the ending was a little disappointing though, the rest of The Devil Aspect more than made up for it. It’s definitely a book that I would recommend, and I’m looking forward to reading more of Craig Russel’s work!