I read The Devil Rides Out as a 13 year old and thought it was the pincacle of adventure writing. Mocata, the main occultist, is a none too subtle version of Aleister Crowley who was someone Dennis Wheatley met on several occasions and got to know well. Indeed it was apparently Wheatley, Maxwell Knight and Ian Fleming who came up with the Amazing to think that, when I was a youngster in the early s, bookshops had rows of Dennis Wheatley books.
The tale opens in s London with the Duc de Richleau, and wealthy young American Rex van Ryn, having to rescue their friend Simon Aron from a devil worshipping cult. Thus starts a struggle between light and dark with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Almost 50 years since my initial read, and despite the clunky and cliche ridden writing, the lazy racial stereotypes, the everyday sexism, and a massive side order of hokum, I really enjoyed The Devil Rides Out.
Coincidentally it was made into a Hammer film in the s. If you're willing to suspend disbelief and indulge a lot of mystical nonsense then this still stands up as a thrilling adventure yarn. View all 5 comments. Feb 18, Lyn rated it liked it. Saruman: Indeed, one thinks of Crowley, Lovecraft or Stoker. Dracula: Stoker, yes, and of course Wheatley, in his book on Satanist rites and black magic also devotes some time to the creatures of the night, vampires included.
All nod to him respectfully, to which he bows assent. Dooku: I was curious to see that the film was made so close to the original text, describing as it does the paganist ceremonies. All agree.
I'd seen dreadful, dreadful things, without saying a word. Seeing horror depicted on film doesn't affect me much. Apr 07, Dfordoom rated it really liked it Shelves: horror-gothic. Dennis Wheatley is one of those authors who has gone from topping bestseller lists to complete oblivion in the space of less than 30 years. As recently as the s he was one of the most widely read authors in the world, with total sales exceeding 50 million copies.
He dismisses any idea of the literal existence of Satan or of Hell as simplistic nonsense, and his heroes use Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist and even pagan rituals in their battles with the forces of darkness. He certainly does believe in the forces of darkness though.
His style is a bit like one of those wonderful s movies warning of the dangers of fast cars, dope and heavy petting. But combined with X-Files-type conspiracy theories plus wicked devil-worshippers who'll stop at nothing to get innocent young women to take their clothes off, plus non-stop action.
His stuff works superbly as High Camp. I just love him. Sep 09, Malum rated it it was amazing Shelves: horror. One of the best occult horror novels that I have come across. If you are familiar with the Christopher Lee movie, it follows the book pretty closely, but where the movie ends, the book is just getting going. Some people might have a few problems with this book. They weren't anything that detracted from my overall rating, but they are there: First of all, this book is a bit racist.
It One of the best occult horror novels that I have come across. It's not overwhelming, but it's certainly there. Second, the plot comes to a screeching halt every now and then so that a character can go in-depth on occult or mythological topics.
I didn't have a problem with this, as I felt it added to the book's overall occult tone, but some people might get frustrated by some of the side-tracking. Besides that, though, the pacing is almost perfect. Wheatley always spends a bit of time setting up a suspenseful scene "we are going to sneak up on these cultists He never sets something up just to have it fizzle out. When the characters begin to feel like things are going to get dicey, they are always right.
We also get monsters, spirits, and magic, but they are never overused. Wheatley always shows us just enough to give us something cool without it becoming boring from being done to death. Finally, Wheatley goes the way of "every good religion and good person is on the right track" rather than "everyone who isn't a Christian is going to burn in hell!
Considering the book's age and satanic antagonists, he certainly could have went the former way and I appreciate that he didn't. As an aside for the roleplayers out there: author Seth Skorkowsky I haven't read any of his stuff but he has a fantastic YouTube channel said something to the effect that this book presents us with a near-perfect Call of Cthulhu RPG adventure structure and I would have to agree.
Apr 27, Bettie rated it liked it Shelves: published , film-only , paganism , boo-scary , black-magic , autumn , re-visit , paper-read , halloween , cults-societies-brotherhoods. Description: 29 Apr - 4 May Black Magic is still practised in all the great cities of the world.
Bet they regretted that. Apr 17, The Reading Bibliophile rated it really liked it Shelves: ov-english , eur-uk , genre-fantastique , books2movies. I got this book for 10 pence at a thrift shop in Belfast yellow pages, cover wearing out - I could not afford anything else, being in dire straits at the time -, I started reading it just for the sake of reading something and I loved it!
The narrative is very good and I was quite frightened by the story's atmosphere. Living in Belfast at that time was somehow frightening as well. Jun 02, Mel rated it it was ok. Literary equivalent of Hammer Horror. It struck me early on that this would make a classic Hammer Horror Movie, with the emphasis on 'ham'.
And if fact, it did, with Christopher Lee playing the hero for a change, as Duke de Richleau. That is pretty much all you need to know. However, I will make a few personal observations. Its a group of upper class rich stereotypes from a bygone era that I am not sure ever even existed. They go charging about the English country side and dashing off in conveni Literary equivalent of Hammer Horror.
They go charging about the English country side and dashing off in conveniently fuelled and ready to take off private aircraft across Europe to foil a dreadful satanic plot in which they have unwittingly become embroiled. They are temporarily thwarted at every turn by villains, who can be readily identified by their various physical peculiarities and deformities.
The text is littered with all manner of references to satanic practices and daft myth and legend relating to the dark arts, to the point that it just becomes very, very silly. How much bunk the author must have waded through to end up with such a mish-mash of nonsense I can only imagine, but he must have been overwhelmed because he certainly wasn't discerning in the final cut.
The effect is an overload that renders any reasonable suspension of belief impossible. No occurrence or situation is so terrible it seems, not even the kidnapping of ones only child, that one cannot make the time at least, to manage a ham sandwich, if not a full 4 course meal and every venue has access to a well stocked cellar of excellent wines.
Every repast is detailed. At first, I found it 'quaint' and nostalgic but I struggled to complete it because it is just so 'twee' and dated without the depth or skill needed to elevate it above this perception. No suspense, no terror, angst or pathos, oh and in the end, everyone, save the chronically obvious villain, lives happily ever after.
Does it work? No, It fails on the horror front. Just not at all frightening but it did make me laugh in a couple of places. I think the difference between a novel being described as dated and a novel really achieving classic status must be in the execution. Bram Stoker's Dracula is a classic. The Devil Rides out is just daft. Read it for nostalgia or comedy effect. View all 4 comments. Mar 17, Simon rated it really liked it Shelves: wordsworth-mystery-supernatural , horror.
An action packed thriller focusing on the practice of black magic. Good fun but some infuriatingly dense characters. Apr 19, Jean-marcel rated it liked it.
While Dennis Wheatley may have been quite a sensation in his day, I certainly hadn't heard of him until I came across the Hammer Productions film based on this novel. I've owned the film for years now and frankly love it, and because it's indellibly imprinted on my psyche, I'm going to talk about the movie more than I normally would in a book review.
Normally, I feel that the two artistic media are of equal merit and should generally be kept apart and considered as separate entities even when th While Dennis Wheatley may have been quite a sensation in his day, I certainly hadn't heard of him until I came across the Hammer Productions film based on this novel. Normally, I feel that the two artistic media are of equal merit and should generally be kept apart and considered as separate entities even when they are supposedly tackling the same story.
All right, I may as well lay my cards on the table right now: I like the film a fair bit more than the book. I'm chuckling to myself over here because writing this now, I realise I can't really think of another instance where this is true for me. Maybe it's down to Richard Matheson writing the movie script and turning a sometimes meandering, occasionally pontificating and sometimes even unintentionally funny novel into a taut fast-paced screenplay.
Maybe it's Christopher Lee, whose grave, saturnine Duc De Richleau somehow comes off as more dignified and charismatic than the old fart of the novel. It could even be the way Hammer and the actor Charles Grey handled the villain, which seemed to make him a more active presence in the story.
Dennis Wheatley's style is solid and engaging, if nothing too remarkable. I found myself wanting to skip pages at times, but I almost never do that and was for the most part able to resist the urge, with the possible exception of the sticky family-oriented scenes near the end. Wheatley has an interesting habit here of leaping onto the soapbox occasionally, taking jabs at all kinds of stuff that usually come from the mouth of his wise and learned protagonist, the Duc, but which feel like they just stem from nothing when you read the book.
While Wheatley obviously did plenty of research and talks about the occult convincingly, I don't feel he revels in it as much as he should.
If his heart was really in the latter, he might have given the story a bit more juice, but I feel it's the former Wheatley that sort of wins out here.
Interesting that while the Hammer film does feel necessarily a bit tamer because of what could be shown on screen in England at the time, it somehow comes across as enjoying its subject matter a little more and not really trying to preach against it, except maybe for all the "Jesus stuff", but I'll come to that in a bit.
The villain seems like he'd be interesting, but we mostly hear about him and what he does because of other characters relating events. Frankly this is a pretty boring method of storytelling; I almost think Simon should have been more at the centre of things, as his conversion to satanism and possible eventual redemption would probably have made a more interesting tale than what we got. About three quarters of the way through it struck me: Mocata doesn't do a damn thing in this book!
He mostly just shows up and pronounces ominous things, and instead of seeing the scene directly we get to hear about it afterwards.
The nadir is when he shows up at Richard's house and Oh, there's something vague about an attempted mind control in there, but it doesn't seem to really work on anybody important.
The film certainly made him seem much more of a credible adversary. All the "good guys" are pretty flat and boring to read about, I'm afraid, and the satanist girl everyone is chasing after falls in love with the big American fellow for some reason, even though she leads everyone on a really plodding car chase halfway through the book that is the sort of thing people always criticised early 70s Doctor Who for doing but which it didn't actually do all that much.
The evil Mocata is portrayed in the novel as a greasy fat foreigner, whereas in the film he's "one of us", rather english seeming and handsome, which seems like it should work much better for a charismatic cult leader.
But, you see, Dennis Wheatley kind of has a distrust of the un-english, and most of the people in Mocata's cult are shown as being from some foreign place or having something wrong with them, the suggestion being that a strong and proper English protestant would be happy with his lot and see no reason to join up with a bunch of satanists.
Much is made in the novel of Simon's Jewishness, and how while everyone loves him for the man he is, his history and background basically have set him up for this fall, and it's the job of the Duc de Ricleau and good ole' Rex to rescue him from his follies. They first do this by hanging a swastika around his neck, and when he's almost killed the Duc says, "oh no!
I made a mistake! That's a symbol of the East! I can't use that here! Having said that, Wheatley does appear to at least make an attempt at giving his story broader, more universal concerns. The Duc of the book interestingly appears a bit more worldly and less outwardly religious than his counterpart in the film.
I don't think the book even mentions Christ directly more than once, and this is a contrast to the screenplay, where in several instances the protagonists invoke the name of Jesus and the movie even ends on a somber note that they should all thank God and his son for having allowed them to triumph in the end.
I have to confess that the overtly Christian angle is the one thing about the movie that I didn't entirely like, and Wheatley seems to take some pains to imply that it isn't necessarily christianity that will save the world, and that one positive religious or spiritual faith is essentially as good as any other although he does condescend to make a list of the applicable ones, I believe.
Another facet of the novel which surprised and pleased me was the ending, which is quite a bit different from the film's and which actually felt more satisfying. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but there's a section of several dozen pages near the climax where the characters don't quite seem like themselves and something feels deliberately altered in the writing style.
It feels kind of dreamlike and oppressive in a strange way, and in the end, when I realise this was purposefully done, I felt like cheering Wheatley, because he'd managed to push some of my irritation buttons and yet kind of came through as being rather good in the end.
I came down a bit hard on this novel, but the truth is that I'll probably read more Wheatley. View 2 comments. Nov 14, Karen Witzler rated it liked it.
Watch the movie. The sort of mad Satanic astral plane and racist nonsense that modern conspiracy theorists think is real. I liked the ending of the book better than that of the film, but there was a lot of filler.
Female characters very flat, with the males much more attached to each other. Interesting period pulp. Influential in genealogy of horror novels and film.
One of the Duke Richle Watch the movie. I will reread this section. Dec 10, Mel rated it it was amazing Shelves: 20th-century-fiction , occult. I bought this book because I am very fond of the Hammer film, and wondered how the book compared. I have to say I enjoyed it tremendously. It was a very fast read, it was written quite simply, but there were very effective passages of action as well as lots of interesting discussion between the characters on the nature of magic and good and evil.
I was amused by the introduction which mentioned how in order to do research he met with both Crowley and Montague Summers, and that it was Montague I bought this book because I am very fond of the Hammer film, and wondered how the book compared.
At first I was surprised to see how closely the book followed the film and had a hard time picturing everyone in nice s clothes instead of their 60s Hammer attire. But as I read further it was easier to see the characters in the book quickly over shadowed their counterparts in the film, with the exception of De Richelieu who always remained a lot like Christopher Lee.
This started with the abduction of the friend Simon; the older and wiser De Richelieu in order to protect him from the occult influences put a swastika around his neck. The book was a sequel and there were constant references back to their previous adventure in Russia I found this rather reassuring rather than annoying. As that adventure has simply been a straightforward adventure story with no supernatural or occult events, to me it added further spookiness to what they were going through this time.
There was also a very striking scene set on the river as they young American hero attempted to woo the beautiful medium and she told him why she was attracted to the left hand part and why she wanted to participate in the ritual. I found it very interesting and highly enjoyable book. Sep 30, Neil Davies rated it it was amazing. Still the best Black Magic story I've read! A group of very self-righteous, incredibly rich people swan around in a desperate race against time to stop some Satanists doing - well, it's never entirely clear what - while taking frequent breaks to sample the finer things in life, lecture each other condescendingly, patronise women and complain about the bourgeois, poor, socialists Maybe those pesky Satanists intended to vote for Jeremy Corbyn?
The hysterical tone of the ultra-privileged heroes comes straight out of Tory central casting. Oh, did I mention the racism? This is a very racist book. I know this is a book from the 30s, but I'm genuinely surprised Wheatley was on our side during the war. Quite a few lines in here suggest at least a passing regard for the Nazis.
He probably just didn't feel they were from good enough families. Anyway, sort of despite all that and sort of because of it, I had a lot of fun with this. The first half at least.
It's not a long book, but it's twice as long as it needs to be. I haven't seen it, but I suspect the Hammer film adaptation may be the best way to sample it. That has Christopher Lee as the Duke and that guy who played Blofeld as the villain. Which, to be honest, is exactly how I imagined them both from the book anyway. And it's only an hour and a half. Apres moi, la deluge, but for now, someone open the Chateau Lafite! It's nearly 11am and thanks to those pesky cultists I haven't had a drink yet!
Mar 07, Louise Sinclair rated it it was amazing. Highly detailed book for those interested in Satanism. First read this aged 14 and was captivated. A set of wealthy people set out to rescue a friend wno has fallen into the clutches of a powerful satanist.
Mocata will stop at nothing to obtain The Talisman of Set and unleash the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on the world. To locate the talisman he needs the unwilling assistance of Simon Aaron and hypnotises him into becoming a satanist.
Led by the Duc de Richleau, his friends begin a race agains Highly detailed book for those interested in Satanism. Led by the Duc de Richleau, his friends begin a race against time and encounter the terrifying experience of Satanic entities. Detailed descriptions of Sabbats, kidnap and murder enthrall the reader. The beautiful doomed Tanith, the charismatic Duc, the naturalised Russian Princess, Simon the banker, Rex Van Ryn the suitor and skeptic Richard Eaton fill a cast of fascinating characters pitted againt the sinister cruel Mocata and his fellow satanists.
Filled with suspence, old fashioned glamour and detailed accounts of black witch craft. Recommended to anyone sick of modern writing with a politically correct slant. Apr 29, Kathy Davie rated it really liked it Shelves: horror , paranormal.
I suspect de Richleau would do better to ensure Max was better informed about black magic. Tanith was a pain. She comes across as an intelligent woman, but her reasoning for following the Left Hand Path is so immature.
Did the Malagasy give himself over to the demon, was he the demon, or what? Also typical of the times is the attitude towards people of other races. We do still have a ways to go, but at least we are making progress. The duke uses some interesting analogies to explain magic to Rex, Richard, and Marie Lou. And they are good points. People of my generation and older were taught to be polite to everyone.
The good guys did make some stupid moves: Rex drove me mad with his stupid decisions about Tanith at the inn. At the very least consult with the duke instead of falling asleep in the woods! Leaving Fleur unprotected makes me question their intelligence as well. Simon choosing to go against his friends despite the logic of their decision.
And poor Richard, having to go a whole day without his drinks and meat… Phew, these adventures make me so very appreciative of cell phones! The Story It must be truly important for Simon to miss the reunion dinner with the duke and Rex. And the duke is even more worried as Rex discovers. For Simon is the key to an evil ritual, and Mocata will never let him go.
And the duke must convince his friends that magic is real. The Characters The Duke de Richleau , a. Rex Van Wyn is a wealthy young man who enjoys sports of all kinds. They sold off the lesser stones of the Shulimoff treasure to provide the princess with an independent income.
They currently reside at Cardinals Folly in the country. Jim is a gardener; Malin is their butler; and, they have a nurse for Fleur. Mister Clutterbuck is ex-Scotland Yard who now works as a private investigator. Retired Detective Verrier identifies the duke. The psychic Miss Tanith a name taken from the Moon Goddess of the Carthaginians is an orphan with a death sentence. The Forbidden Territory is… …fifth in the Duke de Richleau series series refers to an earlier adventure of the Duke de Richleau and crew.
Different levels of magic mastery include Ipsissimus , Magus , and Magister Templi. The Red Book of Appin. The Talisman of Set is the 14th part that Isis never found. It's also the goal for Mocata, for the fulfillment of his evil plans. A Sabbat is a gathering of those who practice witchcraft and other rites. The Malagasy is the Goat of Mendes , the black magic equivalent of the lamb of God. In those other books, I found that he relied too often on character behaviors that were too unbelievable or melodramatic, and spiked his dialogue with with extensive descriptions that brought the story to a screeching halt.
Not so in this one. The premise of this story is that a Master of the Black Arts, Mocata, is seeking the long lost Talisman of Set that will give him unimaginable power. Blocking his way is the Duke du Richleau reminding me of an elegant Sherlock Holmes and Rex, a stalwart adventurer. It is not written in that same epistle or diary format, but it follows that template of characters representing certain established and expected roles, a villain who is always two steps ahead and very, very dangerous, and a rollicking chase against time in the closing chapters.
The all-out Black Magic assault is nerve-wracking, and a realistic kidnapping of a child has harrowing elements reminiscent of the Lindbergh kidnapping. Suffice it to say that I was always anticipating my next reading session. Wheatley is aware that involvement with the story revolves around convincing the Reader that Black Magic exists and that the strength of Evil comes from people disbelieving in its existence.
That also causes the biggest issue I had with the book. Du Richleau is usually the character selected to convince others that things surpassing our understanding can be real.
This sharply slows down the narrative except for those who are seeking such level of detail. From his actions and physical description, it was well-nigh impossible for me to see Mocata as anyone other than Aleister Crowley.
With apologies to Christopher Lee who was a great Wheatley fan and who portrayed the Duke , the description of du Richleau always called to my mind Peter Cushing. Jan 27, Graham rated it really liked it Shelves: classics , horror.
My awareness of this Dennis Wheatley occult classic comes from repeated viewings of the film version of the story, which as a huge Hammer Horror fan I have seen multiple times.
I'd always wanted to find out how the novel ranked alongside the Christopher Lee starrer, and it turns out to be very nearly as good. I haven't encountered Wheatley previously and his writing style is a little bit dated in the long-winded passages of description every time the character enter a new setting, but other My awareness of this Dennis Wheatley occult classic comes from repeated viewings of the film version of the story, which as a huge Hammer Horror fan I have seen multiple times.
I haven't encountered Wheatley previously and his writing style is a little bit dated in the long-winded passages of description every time the character enter a new setting, but otherwise this is pacy and exciting, with a great deal of research having gone into the descriptions of black magic rituals and the like.
Otherwise, it's a typical early 20th century thriller, with chases, vehicles, a little romance, sinister characters, upper class settings, plenty of suspense, and enough twists to see you through to the end. The whole last quarter of the novel was entirely new to me, given that Hammer didn't have enough money to film it so excised it from the film version entirely.
Apr 22, Mymymble added it. God knows what I'd rate this now As a teen I loved them. Bizarrely the one author my parents refused to let me read in those days - so of course I did. Dec 31, Irene rated it really liked it Shelves: esoteric-occult. Interesting and totally different for me.
Wish I could find the movie now. Yes, I did read this because I like the film version. But the film version has super-suave Christopher Lee an actual aristocrat playing the Duke de Richleau, and the menacing Charles Gray playing the evil Mocata. In the book, both these and all the other characters are flat, unconvincing stereotypes, from the square-jawed action hero Rex through to the beautiful damsel in distress Tanith, and all are made to plod through equally unconvincing dialogue, often in the form of great slabs of explan Yes, I did read this because I like the film version.
In the book, both these and all the other characters are flat, unconvincing stereotypes, from the square-jawed action hero Rex through to the beautiful damsel in distress Tanith, and all are made to plod through equally unconvincing dialogue, often in the form of great slabs of explanation. And, yes, I know we shouldn't necessarily judge a book written in according to the social and political norms of the 21st century I love the originality and imagination in Lovecraft's stories, despite his obvious xenophobia , but let's not forget this was also the time of Orwell, Huxley and Joyce.
I found myself gritting my teeth as the uniformly wealthy, upper-class main characters 'gave orders' to a seemingly endless stream of mostly nameless servants: butlers, footmen, maids, nannies and chaufeurs.
This together with the descriptions of the you guessed it mostly foreign satanists confirm Orwell's assertion that the upper-classes in the '30's really didn't see working people or 'foreigners' as completely human as themselves.
The kind of ignorance that breeds such views is much the same as that which breeds superstition, and we get every kind imaginable here, from palmistry, spiritualism and numerology lots of numerology , right through to devil worship and human sacrifice. Wheatley obviously read up a lot on his subject, there are a few interesting myths and historical details but the way in which he apparently just throws it all in and hopes it hangs together manages to make it unconvincing and dull.
Give yourself a treat and read those instead Very dated book. Not scary, very hokey. Rex, the American, is a stereotype of perhaps how the English viewed Americans - a risk-taking, clean-limbed man of action. Some of my favourite corny Rex lines: "Say, that sounds pretty grim! You are bats or else I am. I don't believe such things. Then we're in a proper jam!
The whole thing is kind of absurd, filled with rich, wide-eyed heroes who are pretty two-dimensional. One of the characters, Richard, has his own private plane parked on his property, so he and Rex, who's apparently a "crack pilot," can fly them first to Paris, and then to Greece at the drop of a hat. There's a little deus ex machina at the end, although I guess you can't complain about that when you're reading a book about Satanists, and everybody gets a happy ending. The other thing is that it commits the cardinal sin of being boring in parts.
I started skimming during the whole numerology discussion. Whenever de Richleau starts lecturing on the Black Arts, it starts to drag. The romantic afternoon between Rex and Tanitha really dragged to.
And it seemed like Tanitha was the only one capable or worth being saved by our heroes because she was beautiful. All the other Satanists were described as being deformed, unfit or unattractive. I always think less of a writer when the only characteristic they can offer a female character is beautiful, and we're supposed to take it as a done deal that they are great people because of it.
This might have been really good in , when it was first published, but it doesn't hold up today. Probably not worth the effort. This book rattles along at a fair old pace.
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Loved each and every part of this book. I will definitely recommend this book to horror, fiction lovers. Your Rating:.
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