I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Calamities by Chuck Wendig Series: The Fiends #1
Published by Del Rey on August 18 2026
Genres: Adult, Horror, Urban fantasy
Pages: 592
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Weird, complex and bloody, The Calamities brings big mob energy to a supernatural tale about demons and those that worship them.
Chuck Wendig never fails to deliver epic, emotionally charged stories, and The Calamities is no exception. This is a big, sprawling, multi-character story that I’m calling “Game of Thrones meets The Dark Tower with a bit of The Godfather thrown in, but make it with demons.” Oh, and a bit of Buffy Season 5. In its almost six-hundred pages, we have multiple plot threads, a fascinating family saga, and some very detailed world building that deserves its own user’s guide. I enjoyed some characters more than others and some side plots more than others, so I can’t say this is my favorite of the author’s books, but at no time while I was reading did I get bored or want to stop—it was very entertaining! It was also…a lot. I was exhausted when I finished, lol.
Mourning Mayne has demon in his blood. In fact, his whole family does. Mourning’s father Hadrian Mayne banished Mourning because he refused to take the soul of Sophie, the woman he loved. Now five years later, Hadrian has requested his presence at the family estate. Hadrian suggests something big is about to happen, and he wants his son back in the fold. But the next day, Hadrian is gone, and even worse, the family fount in the basement—the receptacle filled with the elixir made up of all the taken souls—has been drained dry.
Mourning sets out to find his father and restore the missing elixir—all the other families who draw from it are upset to say the least—and he’s joined by a few old friends, including the aforementioned Sophie and a woman from his past named Key. Mourning is also having nightmares about a weird towering building in a cornfield, and he later discovers his visions are connected to an artist named Quinn K. As the many puzzles pieces begin to come together, Mourning and his companions are drawn closer and closer to a terrible truth.
That quick summary is barely the tip of the iceberg, but you get the idea. This is a world filled with powerful families who keep their secrets to success in the basement. Mourning and the others are called fiends, and they are able to make bargains with humans in exchange for their souls. These souls become part of a family’s power, and when they drink the “soul elixir,” which is like a powerful drug, they experience all sorts of cool stuff, including the ability to heal themselves (and even pull themselves back from the brink of death.) Wendig spent quite a bit of time creating this world, with many different families who are descended from specific demons, and the most powerful of those families have founts on their properties. In fact, it was so intricately detailed, that I wish the author had included a family tree or a list of characters and how they’re related in the book, it would have been very helpful!
The chapters alternate among several POV characters, each with their own agenda. Key was one of my favorites. She’s tied to a family based in Portugal, the Dantalions, and wow they were scary. It doesn’t help that she’s been hiding secrets from them, and she only takes souls because she doesn’t know how to get out. Key has a relationship with a tattoo artist named Lucinda, and something happens between them early in the story that was such a fun idea that it could have been its own book. Quinn was an interesting character, another innocent caught up in someone else’s terrible schemes. And of course there’s no shortage of awful characters, all driven by greed.
The Calamities is very dark, which shouldn’t surprise anyone given the subject matter, and Wendig’s stellar prose sets an almost cloying, claustrophobic tone. This is a story full of blood, walls made of flesh, and humans bleeding on a napkin to make a deal with a demon. Speaking of the writing, I love Chuck Wendig’s literary style and I think it works really well here. Yes, he’s verbose at times and honestly, some things could have easily been cut (one character goes on for two paragraphs describing his beloved gun, lol). And yes, there are story tangents that felt a bit indulgent. But for me, it was all part of the mood.
Ultimately, this isn’t a happy story. Things are sort of resolved at the end, but I wasn’t left with a feeling of relief or any sort of joy. But that’s sort of what I expected from a Chuck Wendig book, and for me, everything worked more than it didn’t. The second book in the series, Chaos Reigns, has already been announced, and I am very curious to see how everything plays out.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Great review! I’m really looking forward to it!
Thank you! Enjoy:-)
I haven’t read this author before but this sounds like a good family drama with paranormal elements. I love GOT!
There is a LOT of drama!
Glad to hear you enjoyed this one. It sounds like it has a lot going on for sure. I’m not sure if this is for me or not personally. I like the idea of demons and powerful families although fleshy walls sound majorly disturbing lol. I hope you enjoy the second one even more. Some sequels seem to be releasing surprisingly quickly lately I’ve found.
There was a lot of disturbing content, lol. Yes, I hope the sequel isn’t too far away.
Whoa… Game of Thrones and Buffy season 5? Sounds powerful, even without getting into further details!
It was crazy!
I’ve never read anything by this author and I’ve seen this one floating around but didn’t really have an idea of what it was about. Your review now made me want to read it. I like that it kind of feels like Buffy a bit and I’m always intrigued by anything with demons. I may just have to be in the right frame of mind but I’m extremely intrigued.
It’s a very different take on demons, and I always love seeing new ideas in well used tropes:-)
You know I gasped at “Oh, and a bit of Buffy Season 5.” That always gets my attention!!
I love finding Buffy influences in books! This probably wasn’t deliberate, but I enjoyed it:-)
Your last sentence answers a question I was going to ask, whether you thought there would be a sequel. Sounds like a resounding yes. I’m a somewhat late comer to Wendig’s work but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed what I’ve read so far. I suspect I’ll try this one, and I also want to go back and read some of his older works, like his Miriam Black series.
I still need to read the Miriam Black series as well:-)
I’ve read some of his books but I think this one isn’t for me. Glad it worked mostly for you.
It’s very dark, probably not your thing!
““Game of Thrones meets The Dark Tower with a bit of The Godfather thrown in, but make it with demons.” Oh, and a bit of Buffy Season 5”
LOL! Talk about ambitious! Not specifically my jam (especially since it’s 600 pages – I mean, I’m not averse to reading very long books, but this one sounds like a lot to digest), but I love the novelty it brings on the table. Fun review!
Thanks Roberta! It was sort of overstuffed but I love his writing so for me it worked.
This is an author I keep saying I’m going to try! And I love all the things you compared it to at the beginning, a little Buffy thrown in! lol. Great review! Oh, and it has great cover too.
“Game of Thrones meets The Dark Tower with a bit of The Godfather thrown in, but make it with demons” and a pinch of Buffy? Wow that’s a whole program Tammy! No wonder you loved it.
I just started it last night, and I won’t lie, I came here to find out if it was worth 600 pages (I am so desperately behind with my review books, I had to check heh). I love the author’s books, but this one is the one that I find most outside my comfort zone, so I am glad to hear that it is at least worth it, if not your favorite. My review books list is less glad, but that’s okay!
I’ve been so curious about The Calamities. Glad to see you enjoyed it, though I must admit the verbosity and length of the book have me slightly hesitant! This might be a good one to read right before the next book releases!
Happy to see you enjoyed this and it worked so well for you. I do like the sound of this one and especially the multiple POVs – I like this style when done well and I imagine this author uses it really well.
And the second book already announced. Wow.
Lynn 😀
I’m glad to see you enjoyed this! I loved the concept of the fiends but gave the booka lower rating, because it was mostly the meandering and tangents you mentioned that really did me in.