A Fig For All The Devils follows young Sonny after his father's death, which left him lost and angry at his mother, who seemed to have moved on too quickly by getting a new boyfriend, Eugene, who abuses Sonny and sees him as a nuisance. But then, by chance (or not...), Sonny catches the eye of the Grim Reaper who is looking for a successor after being Death for a thousand years.

There's a lot of charm (through the aid of some drawings that perfectly go along with this version of Death) and nuance in this book. I love the focus on Sonny and his mother's relationship, cementing how crucial it is to take note of the people affected by death and grief and to reach out and be there for each other. The old-soul-with-a-young-heart approach to the Grim Reaper makes him very approachable and fun to read. As for the horror elements, they do come at you and slap you in the face for how quickly things go from zero to a hundred. However, it makes the story very engaging!

Thanks to Netgalley and Albatross Book Co. for providing me with the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Fig For All the Devils is a philosophical horror with a lot of thorny, vivid side stories but it's mostly about Sonny, a pre-teen struggling to cope with his father's tragic suicide and his grief-stricken mother's new abusive, sociopath boyfriend when he's approached by the Grim Reaper to be his successor for the next millennium. It's fast, introspective read and a poetic, touching story about grief and death with quite possibly one of my favorite literary depictions of the Grim Reaper.

Okay, now here's where I'm conflicted: it gets lost in its poetry at times and crosses into pretentious territory, and the cracks in the author's writing starts to show. It doesn't feel fully formed, it feels rather clunky when the story deviates from the main storyline, which happens frequently. A lot of conflict is overly orchestrated and resolved quickly, some dialogue is flat and awkward, quite a small chapters are repetitive and could be cut altogether.

Most of the horror is added for shock value (there's a small chapter involving animal abuse that's unnecessary - we get that the mother's boyfriend is a massive piece of shit, there's no need to pile on more scenes for the fun of it) plus the side stories and constantly hopping POVs drag the pace and add to the unpolished vibe. The author is trying to accomplish a lot when he should've stuck to the core story, which is inherently compelling and the reason why I picked this book up.

I can understand how the chaos is intentional and how other readers won't be as frustrated with the narrative as I am. Regardless, this is a fascinating read and will surely help readers who are struggling with grief of their own to find peace.

What a book! Spooky, poignant, funny, heart-wrenching…all wrapped up in a really strange & unique package.

A Fig For All the Devils follows a teenage boy named Sonny who somehow becomes the would-be replacement for the current Grim Reaper. While it’s billed as a horror novel, I’d argue it is so much more. Surprisingly sunny, deeply thoughtful, and an honest reflection on death and grief…I will honestly hold this story in my heart for a long time.

The writing itself is truly beautiful; I found myself highlighting many lines that really just wowed me (and I’m usually not much of an annotater.) The author has a really impressive way of writing about otherwise grotesque or upsetting things in a lovely way. There is also artwork throughout the book, plus character portraits at the end - I really liked these extra touches.

I highly recommend checking this one out!

13 years old Sonny lives alone with his emotional abusive mother after his father committed suicide. They move to a little village in Oregon where Sonny befriends the pastor‘s daughter and has to live with his mother‘s new boyfriend who is a horrible person.

When his father died and Sonny says his goodbyes, he sees a strange smoking figure in the hospital room which visits him again later on. It’s the reaper who searches for an successor for the next 1000 years and he thinks he found this successor in Sonny.

While the reaper prepares Sonny to die in order to become the new reaper, Sonny starts to see more and more reason for him to stay alive.


“A Fig for All The Devils“ is a novel about loss and misunderstandings, but also about hope and reconciliation.

I found the story very interesting to read, because it contains horror elements here and there were you do not expect them. I also liked how short the chapters were. It helps me to stay motivated to continue reading, while long chapters might appear repellent.

At the beginning some of the inserted chapters about horrific facts about death (e.g. how it would exactly feel like if you fell in the deepest whole on earth, how long you would fall and how hot it would be) were disturbing and unnecessary for me, but they grew on me and I started to enjoy them as part of the story.

Sometimes the plot seemed confusing to me and I’m not sure if it is because it was intended (to gain more “horror vibe” as I would call it, or because the protagonist is only 13 years old) or if it was by accident. It might fit to the novel, what makes it not too disruptive.

Besides the horror there are many passages in this book which were quite funny, especially when it involves the reaper. It is a humorous character which smokes, loves playing video games and talks like it is a teenager itself. Here are some of my favourite quotes depicting the humour of this book:

“The Reaper then reached into itself, pulling out a yellow package of…Peanut M&M’s. ‘Want some?’”

“‘Gee, first my therapist and now you?’ Reaper said, laughing to himself And pretending to adjust his necktie.”

“Sonny ripped upon the door to find the gregarious Reaper, rubbing its boned ass against the handle as if to scratch an eternal itch while engorging himself with McDonald’s.”

The combination of humour, fantasy and horror elements is something I haven’t read before and which I quite like. I would recommend this book to everyone, who is up for a surprise and doesn’t mind a bit horror.

A Fig For All The Devils, by C.S. Fritz, very well may be my favorite book of 2022! The novel explores the life of Sunny, after the suicide of his father. He and his neglectful mother try and start over in Tillamook, Oregon, where we are introduced to Abraham, the local pastor, and his daughter Jess when Sunny and his mother move into a double wide trailer on the edge of town. Sunny's life continues in a downward spiral, as he try's to navigates his grief, being new to town, and his mothers new boyfriend; Eugene, a mean, and violent mechanic, who has plans to get Sunny out of the picture.

And then Sunny meets the Reaper, or Death, who explains that every century the bringer of death must replace itself from its purgatory to have its soul released, the reaper believes that Sunny is the perfect candidate! Now, this is not your ordinary Reaper; it is a junk food loving, poetry reading, cigarette smoking, video game playing entity. If you have watched or heard of Rick and Morty; rich and sarcastic dialogue, that is what this Reaper brought to mind; and I was here for ALL of it!

Every aspect of this novel captured my attention, from the interesting way the author numbered his chapters, to the images of The Reaper from history, and the poetry, all interspersed with a dark and twisted plot, that had you glued to each page. It is original, and thought provoking.

Wow. What a fantastic little book. Yes it’s a horror but it’s also a fairytale, a book about grief and loss, a book about life! And despite its heavy subject matter and extreme violence at times, it’s also incredibly funny.

Read the spiel for it to get a rough idea what it’s about and then enter the book with an open mind as the author puts you on a thrill ride of frights, grief, loss, loneliness, hope and love.

I just loved loved loved this book. Some beautiful writing, some huge subjects covered in the 200 odd pages all wrapped up in a horror/fairytale format that plays with your perceptions and makes reading a book about death and loss(and the grim reaper) a hell of a lot of fun and a hell of a ride.

5 easy stars from me.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy through Netgalley.

I loved the idea of this novel and the cover looked amazing too.
It was an okay read, but there were a few things I didn't like. I enjoy some good quotes in books, but I felt it overdone here and it made for a very stop and go reading experience. The book is really dark and blunt and the characterization believable.
The ending though wasn't really what I wanted from the story.

*Spoilers*
I really wanted Sonny to become the new reaper and in the end the motives of the characters just flipped in a disappointing way. *Spoilers*

I can recommend this to readers who enjoy modern fairy tales and magical realism with a dash of darkness.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks for a Read Now copy, Netgalley.

While I enjoyed the questions this book asked of the reader, and it had some great lines, the delivery of its content was often...too much for me. Very blunt lines, no shyness concerning the grittt details of a dying body and its fluids, and often no capitalization so that the whole thing read like a fever dream diary entry for me.

I enjoy death and afterlife and reaper content, but this was...an approach I didn't care for.

Beyond amazing! This book was an incredible read and I can't recommend it enough. This is a book you'll want on your shelf and to give as a gift. Everyone needs to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley for instant access to A Fig For All The Devils which was published on 10/31/2021.

I am a fan of weird and a fan of horror and this book had both. We open up on a gruesome and stomach churning story surrounding death.

It also had thought provoking, well developed characters that we were introduced to along Sonny's journey. His journey included grief, abandonment, reflection on his family, and feelings about life and himself. While many topics in this adventure were deep and dark, we were given glimpses of hope and a future.

Pick up this story if you are a fan of supernatural, horror and psychological thrillers!

A Fig For All The Devils follows Sonny who is stricken with grief and just trying to survive. Sonny ends up meeting death by the way of the grim reaper. The reaper is looking for someone to replace him and become death so he starts training Sonny. Sonny then discovers a reason to live. This was a perfectly readable novel but it didn’t grip me. It was just fine and I don’t really feel anything towards it. The chapters were short and quick.

A peculiar horror book that would appeal to fans of dark fables with a touch of humour. I loved the creative design on the pages and an accompanying Spotify playlist to get you in the mood! The book reminds me of the Grimm's fairy tales, where the horrors of abuse and poverty are juxtaposed with the otherworldly elements of fantasy. I thought the story is unique and surprisingly humorous. The Grim Reaper's curious, heartwarming relationship with Sonny is my favourite part of the book. I enjoyed the moments when Sonny has to rise to the occasion in order to fulfil the Reaper’s request. The scenes are suspenseful and filled with stunning images.

While the story hits the mark on grief and death, I thought it could have done better in portraying abuse. Sonny’s behaviour is framed as being difficult and what happened to him is brushed aside. I wish the book had explored that angle further, and show that even loved ones can be toxic. So even though I enjoyed the book, I didn’t particularly love the ending.

So, I think I liked the idea of the book a bit more than the execution. The idea of a reaper searching and training a replacement is extremely interesting. I think one of my bigger issues was the behavior of the reaper. I’m not sure I found his word choice believable for a being 1000 years old. It felt like a bit of a fever dream at points, and I was certainly questioning many times whether what I was reading was actually happening or if it was a dream of Sonny’s. But that, I’d say, is more a pro than a con.

There were several instances where I wasn’t quite sure why something was included, or I questioning the absurdity. <spoiler> for instance, the chicken thigh part with Eugene, the many parts with Jess’ mother, and any part with Brownie. I think perhaps it could’ve been streamlined, but maybe I just haven’t picked up on the significance of those parts. </spoiler>

I certainly loved the format of the book. The semi-unconventional layout of chapters was a great choice. I also think Sonny’s experiences with nearly all the adults in his life make for a solid motivation for wanting to become the reaper. Abuse after abuse, it’s hardly a wonder that he’s drawn to the reaper after he’s shown any kindness at all.

4.5/5 ⭐️

I absolutely adored this book. It was a fun, new take on the Grim Reaper. I especially love how nonchalant and sarcastic the reaper was. I didn’t expect for him to be so snarky, and I loved it! Lol.

The topics of death and grief can be very heavy, so I liked that this book didn’t take itself so seriously.

I will also mention that I loved the character development of Sonny— he went from being really stuck in his grief (and a little selfish) to developing empathy for others, even people he hated. This explored the topic of “you can’t control how others behave, but you can control your response to those actions.” Sonny chose kindness and wanted to do what was right (at the end of the book) because he realized he cannot just think about himself.

I even liked the “hallmark” ending, as many people have referenced in other comments. I thought the story was wrapped up nicely.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of A Fig For All The Devils to read and review.

I don’t read a whole lot of horror but the description of Grim Reaper smoking for some reason drew me in.

The book is about the Reaper looking for his replacement since he has served his required 1,000 year sentence. His replacement turns out to be Sonny who is a teenage boy. Sonny is dealing with the loss of his father so Sonny and his mom end up moving. There Sonny’s mom starts dating a guy who is not a good person. During this time Sonny meets the Reaper and agrees to become the next reaper because he’s not happy with his life so in his mind he had nothing to lose.

There are tests that Sonny has to pass. He will either become the Reaper or die. During these tests Sonny’s view on life starts to change.

This was a nice change for me. The book is short but it was a good read from beginning to end.

I don’t think I’m a huge fan of the horror genre after reading this book because I definitely didn’t like any of the gore included in the book. I was unable to really “get into” the book. I didn’t particularly enjoy the writing style or Death’s characterization. In short, it felt like a shallow read to me and it was okay to me in the end.
I liked how short the chapters were though and some of the quotes included throughout the book.

omg i cant even tell you how much i loved this book !!!!
this is so different from what i’ve been reading lately buut
This was creepy, it was gory, but it was SO beautiful and so heart wrenching.
I LOVED the way he made the Grim Reaper, i’m so happy the author chose to not make him so idk how to put it “ancient” and “old timey” if that makes sense, i love that sometimes i’d think he was human, i loved that he felt HUMAN, because that’s exactly what he used to be, human.
The writing?!?!?!?! omg SO SO SO SO beautiful!!!!
I loved everything about it, it felt so real, so honest,
so open when it came to grief and i loved that so much.
Dying to get the paperback for this bc i love the cover sm !!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a digital copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: graphic depictions of death, mentions of suicide, abuse and domestic violence, death

This beautifully written horror novel follows the story of a young boy called Sonny, who has recently lost his father and thus his will to live. He struggles to live with himself, and as he is barely managing to cope, he encounters the Grim Reaper, a poetry and cigarette-loving junkie that has a deep obsession with junk food. Sonny has then been deemed the next successor of death, and together they face the struggles and tasks necessary for Sonny's rise as the new Angel of Death.

Personally, the concept of this novel had me intrigued immediately because I have always loved literature that focuses on the personification of Death. I adored the lyrical feel of this novel, and I think that the author did a magnificent job of exploring the themes of grief and loss. This novel was genuinely so interesting, that it truly did pain me to give it a 3.5 star rating, rounded down. I wasn't a huge fan of the way that the Grim Reaper was characterized, as it felt a bit unnatural at times and his quirky nature was quite jarring to everything that was happening in the novel at the time. Also, sometimes the pacing felt a bit too slow, and when it sped up, I felt some holes in the narrative flow of the plot, but that was just my personal opinion. The end was really heartfelt, and I was flipping the pages back and forth because I could not believe how quickly it was wrapped up, and I was desperate for it to be drawn out just a bit more. These are just my minor complaints, and the reason why I was not able to give this novel the solid 4 stars that I felt it deserved, even though I truly did enjoy it thoroughly.

Overall, this novel felt a lot more philosophical and mature, but that was what I truly enjoyed. Even though my rating is only slightly above average, I would still highly recommend anyone who loves the deeper humanization of Death and the Afterlife, to definitely pick up this novel, as it is a very enjoyable read. I felt chills throughout, so that purpose was definitely fulfilled, and I am so disappointed that I could not enjoy it so much more, but I am still grateful to Netgalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this wonderfully crafted horror story.

I didn't really go into this one with a lot of expectations, merely impressions about what this book was about and how much people seemed to enjoy it. For those that have read it, it seems pretty universally well liked.

I wish I could say that I'm in the majority, but unfortunately, I didn't really get any enjoyment out of this book. The first chapter where you learn how the Grim Reaper becomes Death was really engaging and interesting, but after that, it's hard to care about the characters and their motivations. Everyone in this book (including Death) seems pretty selfish (which I think is directly correlated to their individual grief and traumas) and the book didn't really lead to a compelling resolution in my opinion. It wants to be edgy, it wants to be literary, and I think it fell short of both. This was disjointed and I left the experience feeling worse than I did when I started it. The narrative lacked focus for me and just really missed the mark.

Thanks to NetGalley and Albatross Book Co. for the eBook version of this.

A Fig For All The Devils is a unique, and surprisingly inspiring read which takes on an adventure with Sonny and the grim reaper himself. This novel was equal parts charming and gruesome, with clever writing. You can tell Fritz did very much enjoy telling this story. I recommend A Fig For All The Devils for horror lovers who also seek elements of human experience like the merit of death or whether life is worth living.