For people who have read both: Devil in the White City, or Demon Copperhead?
It's time for a new book ('North Woods' is getting a little boring/long winded). Both DitWC and DC have been at the top of my reading list for a while.
For people who have read both, which one should I go with?
Do the Devil first but don’t skip Copperhead. They are two of my favorite authors.
FraughtOverwrought on
Devil in White City was incredibly boring interspersed with silly made up nonsense about a serial killer. Hated it.
Demon Copperhead is a masterpiece, couldn’t put it down and didn’t stop thinking about it for ages afterwards.
secret_identity_too on
Demon Copperhead is the better book, IMO. I’d go with that first.
mauvebelize on
Just finished Devil. It was not as incredible as Reddit would have you believe, though I was quite fascinated with the expo. It had me pining for the days (long before I was born) where new invention such as zippers, the ferris wheel, shredded wheat, and mind blowing amounts of electric lights were things only a few could dream up. Yes, these all made their debut in Chicago 1893. I thought the murderer stuff was simply stuffed into the story, even though it really had nothing to do with the expo.
teachbirds2fly on
Couldn’t get into Devil, found it over descriptive and boring. Copperhead is a sprawling modern masterpiece that sucks you in from chapter 1
Indifferent_Jackdaw on
Demon Copperhead would be my preference.
I didn’t enjoy Devil in the White City as much as some of Erik Larson’s other books. Other people clearly love it, but I found the balance of the two stories uneven.
SpecialKnits4855 on
I would choose Devil, especially if you are finding North Woods longwinded. Definitely read DC eventually, but I found in dragged a bit and this may not be the time for you.
SparklyBell on
I tried multiple times to get invested in Devil in the White City and I just couldn’t do it. Demon Copperhead is arguably one of the best works of fiction in the last century—for sure one of the best of the 21st century. I’d go with that, but you should do both eventually! I think it’s interesting you’re deciding between these two as I found them incredibly different works.
cobblergobbler69420 on
If you don’t like boring and long winded, you won’t like either of those books
9 Comments
Do the Devil first but don’t skip Copperhead. They are two of my favorite authors.
Devil in White City was incredibly boring interspersed with silly made up nonsense about a serial killer. Hated it.
Demon Copperhead is a masterpiece, couldn’t put it down and didn’t stop thinking about it for ages afterwards.
Demon Copperhead is the better book, IMO. I’d go with that first.
Just finished Devil. It was not as incredible as Reddit would have you believe, though I was quite fascinated with the expo. It had me pining for the days (long before I was born) where new invention such as zippers, the ferris wheel, shredded wheat, and mind blowing amounts of electric lights were things only a few could dream up. Yes, these all made their debut in Chicago 1893. I thought the murderer stuff was simply stuffed into the story, even though it really had nothing to do with the expo.
Couldn’t get into Devil, found it over descriptive and boring. Copperhead is a sprawling modern masterpiece that sucks you in from chapter 1
Demon Copperhead would be my preference.
I didn’t enjoy Devil in the White City as much as some of Erik Larson’s other books. Other people clearly love it, but I found the balance of the two stories uneven.
I would choose Devil, especially if you are finding North Woods longwinded. Definitely read DC eventually, but I found in dragged a bit and this may not be the time for you.
I tried multiple times to get invested in Devil in the White City and I just couldn’t do it. Demon Copperhead is arguably one of the best works of fiction in the last century—for sure one of the best of the 21st century. I’d go with that, but you should do both eventually! I think it’s interesting you’re deciding between these two as I found them incredibly different works.
If you don’t like boring and long winded, you won’t like either of those books