Review of The Demon of Reginhart

[Shivangi barik]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Demon of Reginhart" by Penn Scripter.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Set in a fantasy world, Penn Scripter’s The Demon of Reginhart revolves around our protagonist, Marcus- a human who holds a mage, Asmara, and a demon, Tiecus, inside him and is the only entity preventing them from tearing each other apart. Given Marcus’ special abilities, he is sent to a village to relieve them of the demons plaguing them, where he meets a young lady, Platt, unlike any he had ever met before. He finds himself a part of something much bigger than himself. Maintaining a delicate balance between the two entities inside him, while simultaneously navigating the politics of a king’s court, and trying to win the heart of the woman he loves, he has to make choices. Choices that will test his loyalty to the king and hold the power to change the world as they know it before it is too late for the village, Platt, and everyone he holds dear.

To begin with, the main theme of the story is an interesting concept of the amalgamation of three completely different personalities in one body, which signifies the coexistence of good and evil- how they balance each other and how two fundamentally different characteristics can coexist. The demon symbolizes the primal side of a human, while the mage symbolizes the civilized side. The human has to keep a balance between the two polar opposites residing inside. Furthermore, we see how helplessness can affect the psyche of a person. Marcus, being the result of an agreement between Tiecus and Asmara, has no control over his existence, which results in him becoming overly violent. Penn Scripter builds this unique world very well, it has no resemblance to other books in this genre. There are a variety of characters, each with multiple layers to them, which adds to the appeal of the book.

However, there are several drawbacks of the book as well. It has a number of grammatical errors scattered across its length. In addition, there are several instances where the words used are grammatically correct but do not fit the context. For instance; the words “clamored”, “sulked” and the phrase “snapped a breath” have been used in places where they do not fit well and can be off-putting for the reader. The story also becomes unnecessarily long, dull, and tedious towards the latter half of the book.

The story being a “The Beauty and the Beast” retelling, will undeniably retain some aspects of the original fairy tale. However, the relationship between Marcus and Platt does not sit well with me. From their first interaction itself, Marcus behaves in a completely unacceptable manner around her. The way he constantly refers to her as “little doe” objectifies her and reduces her value as a human being. Marcus clearly states, “she belongs to me”, which is true to his character but is met with no resistance from Platt, which sends a wrong message. Given the fact that Marcus is part-demon, and is not aware of human etiquette does not justify his behaving in such an appalling manner.

The snags in the narrative and the objectionable relationship between Marcus and Platt cause me to rate The Demon of Reginhart 2 out of 4 stars. The unique storyline is the only saving grace of the book. The errors would have been negligible, but combined with the misogynistic approach to the relationship, it becomes highly difficult for the reader to carry on.

This book is suitable for readers in their late teens and young adults who have vivid imaginations. However, I would not recommend it to anyone as it can present a wrong idea of an acceptable relationship to the highly impressionable minds of its target audience.

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The Demon of Reginhart
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[Lila Randhawa]

The story being a retelling of The Beauty and the Beast would be interesting to read. It's good that it retains certain aspects of the original fairy tale. It is too bad the book is littered with grammatical errors. Thanks for sharing your views. Great review!