Fever House was one of my top five releases for 2023, so I was ecstatic when I was able to secure the e-arc from NetGalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.

In the tradition of Fever House, The Devil by Name picks up five years later and continues the zany insanity through the trenches of Portland, Oregon. Buckle in; this is an experience that will stay with you long after you finish this blood-splatter tale that could only come from the brilliant mind of Keith Rosson, the king of Punk Rock Horror!

Once you board this rollercoaster, you will be hooked until the very last page. Then, you will be devastated that this is the end of the Fever House series. If you still need another reason to put this on your must-buy list, let it be that The Devil by Name has some of the most fleshed-out, fully-developed, exciting characters you will get to know in 2024.

The Devil by Name hits your favorite bookstore on September 10th, 2024—a solid five stars out of five stars.

Keith Rosson has masterfully woven together all of the threads from Fever House and some fantastic new ones in The Devil by Name. This is an incredible sequel to Fever House taking place 5 years after The Message induces an apocalyptic event via telephone call turning a large portion of the world's population into fevered (zombies). Fever House and The Devil by Name are some of my absolute favorite horror novels. These stories have stuck with me and are absolutely some of the most gruesome novels I've ever read and I will keep coming back for more of his writing.

The careful world building makes everything feel tangible and Rosson's use of multiple narratives results in a well-rounded view of the entire catastrophe. We see the world through everyone from a ragman, an itinerant salesman, to the co-founder of the megacorporation that is attempting to bring civilization back to America. We of course also revisit our main characters from Fever House, Katherine Moriarty and John Bonner. In one particularly memorable scene, John is dropped into a giant mess of fevered in Portland in a bag, and I won't go into more detail but my palms were sweating all the way through that.

I highly recommend this book to any horror lover and could not have dreamed of a better follow up to Fever House. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC.

I enjoyed this more than I enjoyed Fever House. There was a ton going on throughout the entirety of the book which helped keep my interest. I liked the carry over of certain characters from the first book and I really like the new characters. I thought the transition between different points of view flowed very well and helped keep the story exciting. Naomi was my favorite character.

Zombie / apocalypse genres are not my favorite, but this one is special. I loved the points of view from the heads of the government and the dimension that added to the story. I think it helped not just make the story about surviving zombies but showed that they were up against bigger powers at play.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley. Thank you! Keith Rosson’s vision of a nightmarish Portland was what brought me to Fever House and made me rush to get my hands on a copy pre-release. Here’s the good: Without getting into too many spoilers, a world post-Message is brutal beyond belief and evokes imagery I haven’t revisited since reading The Road many years ago. Set 5 years post-Message, the book picks up with a familiar cast of characters. We have Katherine Moriarty, my favorite of the bunch, rebuilding her life on the east coast. A new character, Naomi, also brings an interesting dynamic and a little bit of hope to what the world could be like without the Fever. Matthew Coffin comes back, in the form of a revenant and in his post-Message diaries. Matthew’s drug and madness-induced diary entries were some of Rosson’s most compelling bits of writing. It filled in many of my questions about how and why he got involved with the devil who brought about the end of the world.

The not so good: This book takes a couple hundred pages to build up the excitement due to following the POVs of so many characters. This led to a slower read than the first. I feel confident that Rosson will find his footing in the third book of the series. It just took some time to do additional world and character building, which often happens in second books. I’m really looking forward to the next one and hope the trilogy goes out with a bang!

I couldn’t get past the writing style for this book. It made engaging with the characters very difficult.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC. I feel so honored to have had early access. The sequel to Fever House is pedal to the metal horror. The continuation of the story crafted in book one is a testament to Mr. Rosson’s ability as an author. Absolutely pick this up when it publishes September 9, 2024!

A brilliant and scary and creepy follow-up to Fever House, which I raved about in April 2023. The grit and bleakness of a world overcome by "the fevered"--zombies-- and run by monolithic corporations working both with and against a weak government rings true, and the characters are fascinating and well-rounded and pull you along. It's fast=paced and is very much in tune with our world at present, with fascism rising everywhere. The body horror, too, functions as commentary on anti-vaxxers and the rising rates of death from preventable causes. But even if you don't read it as allegorical, this book is a standout work of horror.

The Devil By Name starts five years after the events at the end of Fever House, and it is a wild ride right from the start. Like Fever House, Devil is told from multiple character POVs, across the now post apocalyptic United States and beyond.
I really liked Fever House, but I think The Devil By Name was even better, it was an excellent follow up to the first book. This was fast paced and gritty, it’s a satisfyingly violent and gory horror novel, with shady politicians and criminals trying to take advantage of the new post-apocalyptic world.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of The Devil By Name in exchange for my honest review.

This book had me at the edge of my seat the entire time.
I didn't actually know that it was a sequel to Fever House until I read the Author Acknowledgements at the end. That said, I will definitely be reading Fever House immediately, but I still enjoyed the book thoroughly without having read the first one.
This book had EVERYTHING. It was violent and heartfelt. Gory and heart wrenching. Such a clever read.
The way the author developed every character and how they all intersected plus the ongoing panic and sense of dread paced throughout the story made me really imagine the whole thing vividly. I could see this being a TV show or movie easily.
10/10 no notes.

I would not have predicted that the lightning of Fever House could be captured again, and yet Rosson has succeeded wildly. This sequel, set five years after the end of the first novel, is somehow more intense, bloodier, more cynical, and yet has more heart, too. The chapters move around through numerous POVs, some characters from the first novel and some new characters. It is the perfect narrative style for this story, and it works just as well here as last time. The action is propulsive, bloody, and unexpected. Every chapter leaves you wanting to know what happens next only to have you distracted to some other part of this dystopian hellscape when perspective shifts, and instead of being frustrated you’re instantly transported into that character’s struggles. The characters do kind of fit into some of the paradigms or archetypes you expect from a horrific post-apocalyptic story, but the character-building doesn’t stop there, they have more depth and are far more interesting and genuine than they need to be, frankly.

This story has no problem unexpectedly bodying characters that seemed destined to make it to the end. It is surprising and doesn’t always travel where you expect, and yet manages to tie up all the loose threads from the previous novel without ever feeling disjointed. To be fair there is a trajectory that becomes clear somewhat quickly, we know these characters are going to be crossing paths and in so doing create the conditions for the action (and narrative) to erupt into something even bloodier, more epic. Yet even with this telegraphed early on, it doesn’t feel like chess pieces all being moved around just to wait for the final ten pages of the story, this novel is chock full of action and consequences and welcome narrative arcs. There is less of a crime/noir aspect this time around, but that makes sense—five years after an apocalyptic event is going to find a whole lot of social/paradigm changes. The novel is still pulpy and brash, heartfelt and metal AF. There is some cult activity that is touched upon, and I would have loved it if the earlier part of the story gave us more depth into that part of this new world, the story is ripe for it, and so only getting passing mention was a little disappointing. But the novel didn’t let me stay disappointed for long, being filled with horrific transformations, both emotional and physical, that captivate and keep you on edge.

Not only was this novel a lot of fun—I didn’t want to put it down once I started—it was a great and worthy follow-up to the previous novel. People—some good people, some bad people, and some people who don’t know where fall in that spectrum—are forced to make choices, and as a reader we have to wonder at every step what we would do. How do you react to the end of the world, to the fascistic power of a capitalist state co-run by a private weapons manufacturer, to choices that put your survival and your humanity at seeming odds every day? There is no waxing philosophic in this novel, but there are complicated and engaging characters problems that, while they are extreme, boil down to extremely relatable decisions. This book is a blast, and if you liked the first then you’ll love this one.

I want to thank the author, the publisher Random House, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Let me say this right up front, I loved this book as much, or more, than Fever House. That is pretty high praise, considering Fever House was one of my favorite books for 2023. In case you were wondering, Fever House should definitely be read first.

The Devil by Name is much bigger in scope than it's predecessor, but I enjoyed it in much the same way and for the some of the same reasons. I loved the large cast of characters and the mostly short, snappy chapters that propel things along. One thing that was different about this book was the backstory that was given.

The story picks up a few years after the first and the world has really gone to crap. Many questions from Fever House get answered and we learn so much more and meet new characters along the way. The last quarter of the book really hums along with the climax hitting hard, fast and scary as hell. The horrors at the end of this book were intense and I really appreciated that epic conclusion. If I had one little gripe, it would be that I wish there was more, that the epilogue gave me a bit more, but I can appreciate Rosson allowing readers to imagine how things play out...after!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eArc. All opinions are my own.

Thanks again to NetGalley for the early copy. Really liked this one. It took a bit to get into, because I had to remember who all the characters were. But once I got up to speed, things really took off. Old characters continued to develop throughout this book, and the new ones were easy to like. It was a dark, violent, and sometimes scary, adventure through the world created in "Fever House," and while I don't really see a way for a third book to happen, I'd revisit these characters again.

After reading Fever House I wasn't sure if this would be as great as the first part, but I enjoyed as much or more. I read this in a few days and wish there was more. It was interesting too read about the history of Matt and the angel or Michael whatever he was. Also loved the music the characters listen too. Look forward to reading more by Keith Rosson. Thanks a lot to Kieth Rosson and Netgalley and publisher for giving me the chance to read this.

This past summer, I devoured Fever House in two days. That story begins like a gritty crime novel that just happens to have a cursed hand in it. A hand that makes anyone near it crazy and violent.

But there’s a greater scope to Fever House, too, as the story takes in shady government black ops, washed up punk rockers, low level criminals, fallen angels, and shamed cops. It’s both sprawling and propulsive, simultaneously gnarly and sentimental, and it easily made it onto the short list of favorite books of 2023.

Fever House also ends with about a half dozen balls in the air, not least of which is an apparent zombie apocalypse, so I’ve been eagerly awaiting the sequel, while also wondering if Rosson could possibly match the first book’s balls-out propulsive drive.

The answer is no, and that appears to be very much by design.

The Devil By Name almost immediately sets itself a very different tone and pace. Its scope is wider, its palette broader, and it jumps genres at least twice. In short, while Fever House was a hopped-up demonic crime freak out, The Devil By Name is much more controlled. It’s also a much sadder book.

It’s been five years since the events of Fever House, and the world is in shambles, even as the US’s corporate-sponsored, theocratic government attempts to assert some sort of normalcy. This is genuine post-apocalyptic end-times stuff, and no one is having a good time. Drifts of fevered zombies wander the coutryside, while others are rounded up into “Fever Houses,” giant warehouses where they simply shuffle about, ageless and unthinking.

Despite all of this, the powerful are still doing their thing, trying to scrape more power out of a near-hopeless situation, trying to figure out how to maneuver the end of the world into yet another play for domination.

Katherine Moriarty, a woman inescapably bound to the origins of this whole crisis, is living under the radar with an assumed name and a mindless, soul-numbing bureaucratic job. She’s also keeping her fevered son chained up in the shed out back. When that situation comes to a head, Katherine and a new ally set off on a cross country road trip.

Meanwhile, a young woman in France is being shuttled from one place to another as first one violent man and then another attempt to exploit what appears to be her supernatural power. Before long, she is caught up in the various government machinations and is drawn into the web as well.

The result is a book that sprawls, that involves cross-country treks reminiscent of The Stand and tense trial-by-fire relationships that reminded me of The Girl With All the Gifts.

The latter third of the book cranks up the pace again, and hurtles us toward a genuine cosmic showdown, bringing everything full circle in a way that feel smuch more complete, but still leaves the door open for the next chapter.

Once again, we are treated to myriad set pieces that are by turns horrific, lovely, and terrifying. And under all of the horror, this book, more than Fever House, seems to insist that when put to the test, humanity might just find a certain level of care and decency, that love might win the day. At least every once in a while.

The Devil by Name is a game-changing book and will have you on the edge of your seats!!

I have been waiting FEVERISHLY for The Devil by Name. Keith Rosson busted his way into my life last year with Fever House and he left me with many questions. The world that Rosson built not only was dark and disturbing and gritty and great, but it was also full of the faintest glimmers of hope. Those glimmers of hope had me desperate for this novel and it didn't disappoint. I mean truly, this book was everything I could have ever hoped for and more. It had just as much gore and grossness as it did redemption and mystery-solving.

The Devil by Name takes place five years into the future that was left at the end of Fever House. The world has changed irrevocably and humanity is attempting to adapt as best they can. Rosson gives us some new characters to follow (and this was a fake-out) because I was desperate to know where our main characters from the first book were. However, soon we are rewarded with knowing where some of the fan-favorite characters wound up.

I love Keith Rosson's character-building. He can make me instantly love someone or despise them with all of my being. I have never felt more engrossed in character than I did with this book (and Fever House). His characters fight through some of the most dark and depressing events and yet, he gives them all the ability to come through it and have hope for the future. It's just beautiful how he crafts these characters and it is MASTERFUL how he can weave these stories through together. Characters unite on these pages in ways that had me furiously flipping pages to know more. Readers are surely going to delight in this next round of adventures.

Speaking of adventures - this book was set up with a damning prophecy from Fever House. I wasn't sure how exactly Rosson was going to be able to match the scales of these stories, but I was left with The Devil By Name ripping my soul out while reading. The plot itself is fast-paced and keeps you hooked. It takes off at a break-neck pace and doesn't relent until you have read through the Epilogue. Also. the twists and turns that get added to this story along with some powerful revelations..... PREPARE YOURSELF!!! You will never see it coming.

Please check out this duology, because not only is it just amazing literature. Keith Rosson is a masterful writer and you need to experience it for yourself. This story is dark, dangerous, and absolutely devastating - but I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!

This was an adventure. The first book in Rosson's zombie-like world sets the stage and this book just rockets to a whole other level.

It jumps back and forth across several characters, familiar and new, and I was surprised my brain was able to follow with little to no effort. These are distinct voices, interwoven to create a compelling and brutal narrative.

If you've had your fill of zombies or post-apocolyptic worlds, try this. It might reignite your love for the genre.

After reading Fever House I was pleased to hear that a followup was already on the way. Keith Rosson has a way with words that makes these massive times fly by. I devoured this book faster than you can say Remnants and I absolutely cannot wait for the third book. Will definitely be picking up a hard copy later this year when it's released.

A stunning conclusion to Fever House. It was a blessing that I got an early copy of this book. It was an eventful, bloody, creepy ride. Always a surprise around the corner. I think it was better than the first book. There was so much vivid, detailed description in each and every scene, so much character development and personality. Just crazy! Some of these scenes were just so jacked up and disturbing, I had to pause, like dang! The only thing is I found it was a lot to follow and keep track of at times with all the points of view, but hey, I had that same issue with the last book, and I didn’t find it filler at all, I guess it’s just a lot of description. It’s not a bad thing. Overall, still enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC. This book follows up directly from Fever House (well a few years later). Did Fever House need a second book.? No. Were we given one? YES!
Overall this book was okay. There are elements of Fever House. But I think it’s in a completely different ballpark. What I liked about Fever House was the way it was paced and the timing of everything. This book took of the course of a few weeks I would say? But there is no indication of that. However, the vibe of this book hits home in the way you are immersed in this post-apocalyptic environment now.

Everything you want in a sequel. Very satisfying conclusion to this apocalyptic story without leaving you feeling like everything was wrapped up in a nice little bow. I was pretty ecstatic that we got some Matthew Coffin POV as well as devil POV.

I'm not a big fan of "It's not important HOW or WHY the end of the world came to be" stories (I'm looking at you The Walking Dead). I need the details, the nitty gritty, who pulled the trigger, etc, and this gave me all of that and more.

And wouldn't you know it was the hubris of a man that did it all.

A++, 5 stars, 10/10 but couldn't read it in the dark.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me read this in advance.