The Devil’s Music

Full disclosure: this review is being written based only on the second volume of “The Montague Twins” series as I had not read the first book in the series. After reading the review for The Witch’s Hand, I was excited to dive into this weighty graphic novel. After the first read, some of the characters were still slightly confusing, and, as mentioned in Pam Withers’ review, the relationship dynamics were a little bit hazy. In order to give this novel a genuine review, I reread the text to simulate knowing who the characters are and how they interact with one another. That being said, I am not sure this novel reads well as a standalone, but the second read was far more enjoyable than the first once I knew more about the characters and plot, though!

The Devil’s Music, an engaging graphic novel that is beautifully illustrated and coloured, will grab the attention of many readers. The novel continues the story of the Montague Twins Peter and Alastair, and a few of their friends as they navigate learning to harness their magical powers. This novel seemed to focus less on the mystery-solving theme alluded to in the text and more on different elements of magic: those who support it, those who oppose it, and a hex leading to suicide coming from a specific record. After a string of suicides, mothers band together to protest rock music, believing that to be the cause of the deaths. When a classmate of the twins begins acting strangely and has to be stopped from jumping off a cliff, more information about the hex is revealed. As it turns out, the musician behind the recording poured his feelings so deeply into this one recording that anyone who listens to it uncovers their own grief and desperation, a situation which typically ends in suicide. Pete and Al get caught up in the music in very different ways, and the hex hits close to home.

The content is heavy—the language use is not uncommon for teenagers but may be uncomfortable for younger readers, and a theme of the text is depression and suicide. For those reasons, I would not recommend this novel to anyone below high school age. The end of the novel includes a list of mental health resources for the U.S. and Canada, which is necessary for the heaviness of the plot, but the list is worth noting in this review as some readers may be triggered by the content.

Overall, The Devil’s Music was quite enjoyable to read. There were tender moments between brothers and frank discussions about depression and mental health. As a reader, I was fully invested in the story even though parts of it were still a little unclear on the second read (Who is this long-lost uncle? Is he going to be a good guy or a bad guy? What is actually happening with the teens’ magic?). The text makes you feel involved as an audience (“In a manner of speaking, just about everyone has come into contact with magic. Even if only peripherally. That said, the mind has a way of explaining away the unexplainable. It rationalizes things to the point of sterilization, so that someone who is a nonpractitioner doesn’t necessarily forget magic, it’s just not what they remember.”) even as a magic outsider. The Devil’s Music was worth the reread, and I will be looking for Volume 1 while waiting for Volume 3 to be released!