Many moons ago, someone recommended John Shirley to me, because they shared the same book interests as I. As it goes, I picked up a few of Shirley’s books, and I just finally gotten around to reading one — Demons.
Originally written as a novella by the same name, the book I read also contained Demons‘ sequel, Undercurrents. While they are one big story, it’s easy to tell where Demons ended and Undercurrents began.
Taking place sometime in the near future, the first half of Demons (which, I imagine, would be the novella) involves seven types of demons coming to Earth and raising a ruckus. Note, not seven demons, seven types of demons. There’s a whole bunch of these beasts raising muckity muck on the planet. And using some smarts and some white magic, Ira — the main character — works to rid the world of these monsters. It’s no big secret that they do.
The second half of the book (which would be Undercurrents) concentrates on Stephen — a dude with a very nice power — being wooed by some shady people to do some shady work for them. It looks like some people want the demons to come back. Once again, it’s up to Ira and co. to stop them.
While I enjoyed the book, it seemed to take forever to read. Not because I didn’t have a chance, but more so that I always seemed to be putting it off for some reason or another. As I said, it’s not bad by any means. I did enjoy it. But, sadly, it’s not really gripping.
One of the problems I had with it was the first part of the book, when they got rid of the demons, it just seemed so anticlimatic. The second part felt a little underwhelming, as well, but not nearly as much as the first. I think I would have much rather read a fleshed out novel of the first half, rather than a sequel, as the first half was a much more enjoyable story overall (although the second half certainly had its moments).
But that’s certainly not going to stop me from reading more of Shirley, because there is something about his style that I dig. Something I can’t quite put my finger on. I’m thinking that I should have started with another of his books for my first train ride with him. I also have Wetbones and Spider Moon on my shelf, so I will definitely be checking those out.
But not just yet, as Clickers II recently hit my doorstep. Yeah, Brian Keene and J.F. Gonzales team up for this little shindig. Gore, grief and madness will certainly ensue.
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