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It’s a voyage of the Damned. The blessing of the fishing fleet is more than a ritual. It’s God’s protection from the demons of the sea. Captain John Boston has no time for God and blessings anymore. The church has betrayed him with the local priest refusing to protect his sister from a violent husband, and Boston’s wife is seriously ill. His boat the Cormorant hasn’t had much luck this season and some people are whispering that God has turned his gaze from John Boston too, because he wouldn’t accept the priest’s traditional blessing. Now the Cormorant is sailing one last time to try and fill its holds with fish. There’s more than bad weather and empty nets waiting for them. The devil has a boat of his own and he’s out on the cold ocean, trawling for dead men and their souls.
Introduction
It occurred to me one day that as computers “crunch” numbers faster and faster, maybe we’re coming nearer to opening hidden doors that are best left closed? Creating cracks in our dimension and time by making calculations that should never be figured out and solving puzzles that should never be answered? This is the basic idea behind The Devil’s Numbers – new technology creating an opportunity for ancient evil to step through a gap into the present day. Added to this, I’ve adapted an old, true story about a haunted German U-boat during the First World War. I came across it when I was younger and it scared the hell out of me because it rang as so genuine – so undoubtedly true in the real sense of the word.
I had a lot of fun bringing The Devil’s Numbers all together. There’s witchcraft from hundreds of years ago, ghosts from the beginning of the twentieth century and a whole, new kind of evil born in the world today.
Just got home from a weeks holidays in Noosa, read this for the second (maybe third?) time. Love this book! Always gives me the heebie jeebies and I can never put it down until the last page. One of my faves!
Hi Jenny, glad it’s one of your favourites! It’s a funny thing… although I never really think of any of my books as my “best” or my “worst”, I guess TDN wouldn’t be at the top of my list. However my brother always said it was by far the best of my horror books. Each to his own… thanks for commenting! Cheers, Graeme.
Just reading The Devil’s Numbers- I must admit I was attracted by the use of Clive Barker’s name on the corner. I am always sceptical about comparisons, but I am really enjoying this one and got about half way in one sitting on a trip to Auckland from Melbourne, so it gets my vote! 🙂
Thanks Steve, yes – authors and publishers (in this case Pan Macmillan) are always quick to capitalise on any mention of a “big name” in reviews! We’re a mercenary lot. Hope you read the rest of the book…
I enjoyed the rest of the book immensely and posted a You tube review here…
https://youtu.be/j58ZNfR-bKI?list=PLrd6z9dB8ncdXMZmZ2SPUzE-fOzW665Ke&t=3
Huh? This is the correct URL (I hope, otherwise YouTube is playing games with my head!)
https://youtu.be/j58ZNfR-bKI?list=PLrd6z9dB8ncdXMZmZ2SPUzE-fOzW665Ke&t=2
The Devils Numbers was bought by me whilst combing thru op shops ( a hobby)…and not only was I blown away by the awesomeness of the novel (I love horror and scary Nazi tales)…but I was excited that the author was Australian like me!!
Cant wait to read some more of your novels so I have joined your newsletter!!
It is simply inexplicable that I have never seen your books on the best seller lists!!
Thanks a heap for the kind words. It’s a funny thing… I never thought of The Devil’s Numbers as my best horror book, but a lot of readers reckon it is. If you had a look around my website, you’ll see I’m still writing horror and all kinds of other books, but some are only available in ebook form. You can still find some of my original horror in Oz libraries, but because they’re paperbacks they do eventually fall apart and get delisted. Otherwise, Momentum Books has them available in ebook form.
And also thanks for joining the mailing list. I’ve been a bit slack with that (again) and your email gave me a kick up the arse to blog something new.
Op shops, libraries… it’s all good. Finding new readers and hopefully them spreading the word about my books are way more important to me than selling copies. Cheers.
Hello I really liked the devil’s number. Will there be a sequel to it or an origins story about the Math teacher or the cult leader? I am reading voices of evil and so far I like it. Good job mate.
Hi Dean, thanks for the thumbs-up! I’m actually republishing all my horror novels, slowly but surely after a quick edit and spit-and-polish, and I’ll be working on The Devil’s Numbers pretty soon. I’ve never thought of a sequel, but now you’ve got me thinking… While I’m editing TDN I’ll bear that in mind, especially as someone else can see some potential. Please let me know what you think of Voices of Evil. It had several “lives” before that final version. Cheers, and again, thanks for the kind words. They keep people like me motivated!