Thaxson Patterson II is the author of Devils Maintenance, a psychological thriller based on a very interesting concept. It’s an all-out war of the minds with the trickiest creature in all creation, namely the Devil. The most attractive element of the book has to be the original plot. It gets the reader thinking and inspires many hypothetical scenarios of what could happen if this story held any truth.
Ray Peterson is an Assurance Technical Director who works for the American government. He is called to a remote base inside an abandoned submarine, which is where he comes face to face with the Devil. Unable to fathom the truth, Ray fights against all the information provided by his superior, who is also the only person the Devil has agreed to work with.
The Devil is a willing prisoner and he has vowed to help the American government with highly important information. However, his help comes with a heavy price. Ignorant and still very skeptical about the whole situation, Ray discovers that it is his turn to pay the price in order to save millions of people. The only question is, will Ray give the Devil what he wants?
As mentioned in the introduction, the most appealing part of the book for me is the Devil and the “help” he is willing to give to the American government. I haven’t come across any plots with the same foundation and it builds a great amount of excitement in terms of seeing how it ends. However, I was a little surprised at the execution Patterson used, because this is a “one-scene” book. Everything takes place inside the Devil’s cell, apart from Ray getting to the base and discussing the situation with Greg, his superior. It should also be noted that the focus only surrounds these three characters.
The author has a good grip on the subject, especially the technical parts concerning internet security, and he uses very realistic scenarios to ground the plot. For example, if the Devil doesn’t get what he wants he won’t reveal the location of nuclear bombs that are on their way to exploding. But the real kick comes in when Ray has to make the ultimate sacrifice and how he handles it. It makes you wonder if it’s possible to trick the master of deception.
In terms of style, Peterson sticks with the psychological aspect of horror. Instead of body parts flying around and blood splattering against the walls, it’s a mental challenge that systematically breaks the reader down. However, I did find the technical information and political references a little forced. Keeping in mind that the book is mainly based on these elements, all the information can get a little confusing for readers who don’t understand internet security lingo.
Overall it’s an interesting read, but instead of leaving you scared, or paranoid for that matter, it is more for the reader who likes challenging mind games with the Devil.