Introducing Outlast With Vampiric Immortals, The Book Eaters Review

The Book Eaters is the debut novel from Sunyi Dean, which became an international & Sunday Times bestseller. Dean was born in Texas, USA, before moving to Hong Kong, where she grew up, and now she lives in the UK with her books and children.

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Think Outlast, but with vampiric immortals.

Is that a mental combination? Yes, but it is exactly what went through my head while reading The Book Eaters. Honestly, I couldn’t shake the Outlast feeling near the end.

The Book Eaters is an Urban Fantasy Horror based in the UK, following Devon as she breaks from the norms of The Family and tries to save herself and her son, Cia. Travelling across England, Scotland and Ireland, Devon attempts to pull off the most dangerous plan anyone in The Family has ever attempted. While she creates alliances along her journey to break free from The Family’s archaic ways, she must learn to deceive and plot; something Female Book Eaters are never taught or permitted to do. All while on the run from the Knights, Book Eaters who are specially trained to keep Book Eaters safe, arrange marriages and tame Dragons–children born of book eaters who consume minds instead of books.

The Book Eaters is currently standalone, but Dean has confirmed on The Book Eaters FAQ on her site that there will be a sequel someday. Considering there is so much lore left unexplained, and the ending set up perfectly for a sequel, a sequel to expand on the universe will be well received.

EVALUATION 

The concept of the story is a unique take on the vampire storyline—immortal-like beings with fangs and superior abilities (strength, stamina, memory). Instead of lusting for blood, these lust for books and knowledge. Well, most of them do. The more vampiric beings are the Mind Eaters.

Genre

The Book Eaters snuggles quite nicely into the Gothic Horror Fantasy genre. For me, The Book Eaters was hyped up more of a horror than I found it to be. I was expecting more fear-inducing moments with “oh, my god, I can’t turn the lights off” moments. However, it still had the taste of horror in it. It slides nicely into gothic more than horror, in my opinion. 

I considered it a low fantasy story, which makes it perfect for people who don’t enjoy fanciful worlds full of castles, faeries and flying dragons. The book fills the desire for fantasy while firmly rooting itself in a version of this reality, creating a different universe. 

So, it wasn’t as fanciful or horror-filled as I expected, but that never took anything away from it. It added to the experience. It felt like reading the third-person diary of someone whose life is a living conspiracy theory. Plus, I’m a little biased since part of the story ended up in Scotland. 

Characters

The characters themselves were very well written. Devon is the main character who is followed throughout the story. The occasional chapter is dedicated to characters like Ramsey, but for the most part, the narration follows Devon. She is the catalyst for everything, so it is only natural.

Devon is a well-thought-out and complex character. There were points in the story where her actions and decisions removed her from being completely agreeable, but this gave her much more depth, which I loved. 

Cai is such a complex character to build and work with, to begin with, but Dean pulled it off very well. Trying to get the nuances of his age, what he goes through and how that changes him is challenging, but it is pulled off brilliantly. Especially in the end, when Cai’s situation is much more complicated and personal. Dean manages to merge and adapt the characters so that it still feels like him, but trauma and experiences bleed through.

As for Ramsey, Killock, Mately and many others, I can only say perfection. The number of times I had to take a walk or a breather to remind myself that they are just characters and I can’t say or do anything to them was astounding. And it didn’t work. I vividly remember driving to Uni and having conversations about them with myself. 

Killock and his storyline ooze Outlast feels. If you’ve ever played the first game, you’ll get what I mean when you get to a certain part with him. The Outlast Vibes are so strong, but it is something that made it more entertaining. It was like a supernatural take on Outlast, with a strong protagonist. Don’t get me wrong, some Journalists are strong, but Devon is subjectively strong.

Oh, and there was a Journalist there! I just realised that. Proper Outlast Vibes.

All the characters were so well written that they felt real, which allowed me to feel fully invested in the success–and downfall.

Plot & Theme

The plot was intriguing and kept me wishing I could devour the book. 

The story’s dynamic was different, so the desire to see where it would lead is what held my attention, to begin with, but I was soon swept off my feet and pulled deeper into the world. The premise of a world ruled by men with women acting as second-class citizens is known all too well, so stories like this, in which a female lead breaks down and destroys the social norms, always take my fancy. Devon’s story, however, shows how her world was turned upside down, from her life as a blessed princess to a fugitive on the run and playing multiple people at their own games.

Allowing the reader to experience Devon’s life at various key points from childhood through to her early to mid-twenty years gave the reader an amazing perspective on how the rambunctious little girl, who was filled with questions, went on to challenge the core values and rules of ancient family traditions.

The ending was good. It wrapped up the book’s main story while leaving various questions floating for a squeal. There is potential for exploring other countries and maybe having the next book focus on Cai’s POV going forward. Especially since he was with Devon for the book’s present storyline, he’s seen and experienced everything Devon went through while evading the Family. He was raised like that; he doesn’t know the Family Life like Devon. He has a specifically unique perspective on them. It would be interesting to see how that impact how he treats them as he grows with everything that has happened.

Pacing

The pace had a good tempo to it. There was never a point where I found I had to force myself through a chapter. Since each chapter dealt with a different point in time until the main storyline picked up, it always felt interesting. Each chapter was like completing a quest and getting another piece to the Devon puzzle piece. Simple bits of information that were overlooked suddenly come together from memory. I like time hops in stories, and Dean makes it work for the story very well.

Prose

I enjoy the third-person omniscient narration, so this story was no different. The story was told very well from Devon’s (and the occasional others) point of view, allowing more puzzle pieces to be found.

The writing was fun in the way it was unique at points showing how the inner working of how someone who consumes books interacts with the world.

The Impact of the Story

My primary emotion upon finishing the book was I needed more. There were things mentioned, other countries discussed, and more Families around the world that I needed to know about. 

As soon as I closed the book, I wanted to be like Devon, release my Book Eater teeth and consume the pages, tasting every detail in hopes of discovering more to a story already lodged in my mind. There is so much more lore and stories wrapped up in this universe. I know that any squeals will be on an automatic buy list. 

RECOMMENDATION

Conclusion

I 100% recommend this book if you enjoy gothic fantasy and time hopping. The Book Eaters is a fantastic book with a new take I’ve never heard of before. Even describing the book to people has them interested; People who eat books and some eat minds? What? Exactly! It’s such an interesting concept that doesn’t even cover the crazy story that wraps you in while you battle between morals and the patriarchy of The Family.

Information & Rating

Rating: 6/7

Book: The Book Eaters

Author(s): Sunyi Dean

Series Name: Standalone

Age Range*: 16 (A few dark parts in it containing blood and death)

Pages:  304

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Horror, Fantasy, Adult, Gothic, Low Fantasy,

Format: Hardback 

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0-00-847944-2

Publication Date: August 2, 2022

Publisher: HarperCollins | Harper Voyager

*The age range is based on the youngest age I could have read this book. Everyone should do their own thorough research to determine if the media they or someone in their care will be okay with the topics and themes covered in them, including the speech and manner they are mentioned.

Reading Speeds

(Based on Kindle/How Long To Read)

Average Estimated Reading Speed: 6 hours and 51 minutes

Based on the average of 300WPM

My Estimated Reading Speed: 11 hours and 15 minutes

Based on my calculated speed of 183WPM

Calculated by How Long To Read’s test

Goodreads Blurb

Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book’s content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries.

Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon—like all other book eater women—is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairy tales and cautionary stories.

But real life doesn’t always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger—not for books, but for human minds.

Rating Per Section

Score: 92/100