Devil's Pocket

Second books in series can be dangerous territory for both the reader and writer. All too often, the writer “blows out” all the creative energy in the first book, leaving the second and following books … well … lacking. Considering the exceptionally strong start provided by Dixon’s “Phoenix Island”, his book two in the young-adult-targeted (Note 1) series titled “Devil’s Pocket” (released August 4, 2015 by Gallery Books) could have easily suffered such an anti-climactic fate.Thankfully, this is not the case.“Phoenix Island” kicked off the series with a brutal and suspenseful action/adventure story populated by fun and engaging characters. A troubled teen orphan, Carl Freeman’s quick temper, quicker fists, and overwhelming need to put bullies in their place (most often the emergency room…) gets him sent to Phoenix Island, a military-style youth rehabilitation camp off the Mexican coast that is actually a breeding ground for fanatical, technologically-enhanced super soldiers serving the commander, Stark, in a plot to rule the world.“Devil’s Pocket” picks up with Carl serving as Stark’s prodigy on Phoenix Island (while secretly plotting to take the “Old Man” down). Between a microchip planted in his brain and nano-bots coursing through his bloodstream, Carl has superhuman strength, stamina, and mental abilities to help him achieve his overt and clandestine goals.As a test, Stark sends Carl to the Funeral Games, the ultimate underground fight match with a purse of $10 million but also the strong potential to get beaten to death. The remotely-located but lavish Funeral Games are put on to entertain The Few, a small cadre of ultra-rich and powerful elitists who regard the champions traveling from around the world as playthings rather than people.But Carl doesn’t care about the money, because if he wins then Stark will make him the official second-in-command at Phoenix Island, giving Carl the access he needs to destroy Stark and his operation. Accompanying Carl to the Funeral Games is his good friend Agbeko, an African heavyweight introduced to readers in “Phoenix Island”, as well as Tex, a pompous lightweight fighter with a vicious streak.Carl’s well-laid plans, though, are complicated by a young trainer/girlfriend named Margarita that accompanies Julio, a Mexican fighter with almost as many secrets and ulterior motives as his girlfriend. Through her interventions, Carl’s ultimate mission grows larger and more difficult by orders of magnitude as he learns more about The Few and their deadly true purpose behind the Funeral Games.“Devil’s Pocket” is a more complex book than “Phoenix Island” with an even larger cast of characters (some better developed than others) as well as more subterfuge nicely mixed in with tons of compelling action and fight scenes. The overall premise remains outlandish in scope but engaging nonetheless. That’s all part of the successful formula that has yielded great results for other YA book series including “The Hunger Games” and “The Maze Runner”.In terms of story comparisons, I’ve seen several references to “Fight Club” in other discussions of “Devil’s Pocket”, which makes no sense to me. Aside from the existence of people punching each other, “Devil’s Pocket” has almost nothing in common with the heady existential and proletarian themes encompassed in “Fight Club” (book or movie). A more apt comparison could be made to the aesthetic of the 1988 martial arts film “Bloodsport” starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. “Bloodsport” was completely hokey crowned with abysmal acting, but it was fun to watch and pitch-perfect for a male audience. Dixon’s “Devil’s Pocket” captures that same spirit of fun and martial-arts appeal while utilizing a more engaging plot and more interesting characters.Like “Phoenix Island”, “Devil’s Pocket” aims pretty squarely at a male audience, but isn’t out of reach for female readers that seek fiction outside their demographic stereotypes. John Dixon’s own Golden Gloves boxing background plays a larger role in “Devil’s Pocket” with fight scene descriptions that are detailed but not overly technical.Given the strength of both “Phoenix Island” and “Devil’s Pocket”, I suspect that this book series has the momentum for several more installments in its future. I’d also like to see Carl Freeman’s story moved to the big screen in much the same way as “The Hunger Games” and “The Maze Runner” (Note 2). Both books are already perfectly plotted for film adaptations.In “Devil’s Pocket”, John Dixon provides an engrossing young-adult thriller with tons of promise for future books. I suspect that the chief complaint leveled at the author is that he’s not writing them fast enough.NOTE 1: I'm told that Dixon's publishers are no longer marketing this series as YA. I can see that. Both “Phoenix Island” and “Devil's Pocket” have strong YA-to-adult crossover appeal. That said, “Devil's Pocket” still has many of the trappings of YA fiction.NOTE 2: “Phoenix Island” loosely inspired the 2014 CBS TV drama “Intelligence” starring Josh Holloway for a single season. By ‘loosely inspired’, I’m saying that the TV series had sweet f*** all to do with Dixon’s novel. A more-faithful adaptation to feature film would be a better fit for this storyline.-- END --

Solid sequel, I can't wait for the next book! As usual, great action scenes, solid sci-fi elements and interesting concepts are uncovered. The pacing was excellent, not a dull moment from cover to cover. I was a little disappointed with the ending, it wasn't as good as the last book, partially because it was so similar. Also, the antagonists weren't as well fleshed out or interesting. In the last book, Stark was a great antagonist that the reader spent some quality time with. He was a three-dimensional character and his motives were clear. This time the bad guys weren't nearly as well described. I did like their abilities and how they were described as making Stark seem like a small fry. The other thing I didn't like was that this one was much more predictable than the first. One of my favorite characters in this was was Davis, I thought his backstory and his character arc really made him like able and interesting. Agbeko was also a good though tragic figure. I thought the southern guy was a weak, flat character. He wasn't a badass at any point, so how was he supposed to be a good bad guy? I never respected him and he wasn't even that funny. I miss Ross! Ross put that guy's attitude and jokes to shame. I hope at some point we get another character like Ross. I know there will never be another Ross, he was one of a kind. But a funny side character would be good. Okay, I'm rambling at this point lol. All minor gripes aside, I gave this book five stars because I love this series and recommend it to anyone who wants a fast paced thriller and loves action, intrigue, and highs concept technology and political theory. Barry easy to read prose, very heady, intellectual themes and ideas. Wonderful characters. Check this series out!

Devil's pocket is a more than a book about a chip-implanted super youth great at boxing, out to save the world, and get his girl. However, if you are just interested in a fast-paced action-packed book with twists and turns and lots of boxing scenes, you'll get that too.But I think what distinguishes the book are the poignant questions it poses without hammering you over the head with them. Questions such as: What defines strength in an individual? How much you are willing to sacrifice for what you believe ("He might surrender his life, but he wouldn’t sell his soul.") How much responsibility do individuals have for actions committed in the name of good vs evil -- does the ends justify the means when you are "parlaying with monsters" ("If you destroyed someone good for a cause you deemed good, what did that make you? An angel or a demon? Or did it make you something else, some unholy hybrid of the two? ") Finally it poses important questions about what it means to be human: "That was the thing. This wasn’t about punishing himself. He needed to feel the world, to understand. He had let the chip run off with him. Where did you go when you reached the end?"All of that combined with tidbits related to Greek Mythology make Devil's Pocket an enjoyable way to take a few hours off and lose yourself in a completely different world with likable characters pursuing laudable goals.

A very good book, which is a sequel to Phoenix Island. Dixon writes well but this book was not quite a gripping as Phoenix Island, but having said this I did read it quite fast, it was definitely good enough to keep my attention.

I don't often leave reviews for books as i think the reader gets more out of it if the find out for themselves, however i really wanted to as this book was very hard to put down. The same can be said for the prequel, both well worth a read. I enjoyed every page.

Fantastic book, overtones of the 100 and Hunger Games but a completely different backdrop. Very absorbing.Warning to those who have seen Intelligence on TV, based on John Dixon's books but all they have taken is some of the tech, the tale is completely different.