BOOK REVIEW: Red Demon by Sill Bihagia

RED DEMON is a Sci-Fi Romantasy Blend debut author by Sill Bihagia. It is phenomnal!

Published: September 16th, 2025

Genre: Science Fantasy / LGBTQ+

Features
Spicy romantic subplot

Morally gray characters

Emotional depth

SYNOPSIS

A century ago, two human lines nearly wiped each other out rather than acknowledge their shared humanity. But when Jesse’s mining town is slaughtered under mysterious circumstances, it’s clear ancient bigotries are still alive, and rebels have access to some magic or tech capable of wide-scale genocide.

The Red Demon bloodied her swords in that massacre   , a bioengineered immortal left over from that century old war. Jesse expected her to be upholding his empire’s fragile peace, not killing her own. But Jesse is too optimistic and stubborn to break. Better days are coming-and he’s willing to take on an immortal to protect the life he’s rebuilt among the ashes. 

Faruhar, the so-called Red Demon, is not the mastermind Jesse expects. Her fragmented mind is ravaged by guilt over crimes she cannot remember committing, and a code impressed on her by a few kind people she cannot forget.

REVIEW                                                                                                                                                     

Debut author Sill Bihagia knows what she is doing in her powerful debut, RED DEMON. I don’t get moved by books at all, but this book tore at my soul. Red Demon is epic and viscerally written with deep, integrated world-building with fleshed-out, rounded characters. It gave me “Game of Thrones” with a dash of “Fifth Element” vibes. However, some have compared it to Red Rising, The Poppy War, or Gideon the Ninth .  We are introduced to Jesse, who was out with his brother hunting. Upon returning to their quaint mining town, he finds everyone is dead. Hope, though, shines when he sees that one of his older brothers is alive. The hope does not last for long as a figure appears with bright red hair. She murders his brothers right before him, leaving Jesse alive. Why?    

Orphaned Jesses comes upon another town where he states his tragedy. Other towns have been wiped out, too. There is a rumor, talk of a disease used by rebels and a mysterious figure with red hair. “The Red Demon.”  A blacksmith and his family take Jesse in, adopting him, teaching Jesse the way of the sword as Jesse vows to find The Red Demon and kill her.  When the Red Demon strikes again in his new home with his new family and friends, Jesse is prepared, but only discovers that she actually saved his life. He learns that Red Demon is more than she seems.

That is only the gist of it. Red Demon has so many delicious layers that do not disappoint you as a reader. As a writer, it brings joy that the craft of wordsmithing is not dead. There are writers and then there are storytellers. Bihagia is a storyteller, fitting in nicely with the other sci-fi fantasy writing greats. Bihagia says about her book:

“It reads like fantasy, “but it’s grounded in science—CRISPR, neuroscience of memory, and mycological bionetworks. That’s there under the surface for the hard SFF readers, and those who are here for the emotional stakes find a villain who remembers who she loves… even if she forgets why she kills.”    

 Like I said, this book has layers. I also loved the action fight scenes. Best cleanly written fight scenes with sharp, precise cuts, making the words visualize and dance like a ballet in my head. I usually skim fight scenes in books. Bihagia kept me reading blow for blow. 

While I like Sci-fi, I have quite lost interest in the genre and have been more into mystery thrillers. Red Demon brought me back, making me remember how good sci-fi fantasy can be when written well.

RED DEMON gets 5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5 stars.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sill Bihagia is a data analyst, sword collector, and suburban chicken farmer with a background in evolutionary and behavioral neuroscience. They live in Severna Park, Maryland with their husband and two children. Sill writes speculative fiction with mature, approachable prose, emotional wreckage, and sharp wit. Red Demon is their debut novel and second published title. Their new imprint, Oria Press, champions inclusive, human-written speculative fiction with traditional-quality polish, seeking to lift up other indie writers with similar values.

Follow Sill at @sillauthor on Instagram. Get signed, sprayed-edge editions available at Sillauthor.com