Demon Download

Demon Download is total 'cult fiction' (for lack of a better term), sort of cyberpunk meets horror via The Road Warrior (with a lot of Spaghetti Western elements thrown in). An undercover secret agent nun is out to stop a demonic computer virus that is attempting to take over the internet. All this in a world where religious biker cults roam the Southwest, a group of (Satanic? Worshipers of Cthulhu?) 'Mormons' run Utah (now dubbed 'Deseret') and former president Charlton Heston(!) has reformed the cavalry. It's all silly fun that could easily collapse under its own weight, but after a shaky start the book really lives up to its promise. Yeovil (AKA: Kim Newman) is a pop-culture junkie and it really shows here. His narrative is peppered with off handed references to things like Hanson's third farewell tour. These references are usually worth a chuckle and the volume of them really worked to set the tone for the Dark Future this book takes place in.

I had to search for YEARS to find the Yeovil Demon Download-Krokodil Tears-Comeback Tour books from the UK. They were SO worth the endless, semi-obsessive effort. Jack Yeovil aka Kim Newman - check out THE MAN FROM THE DIOGENES CLUB for occult 007-style pop-cultural mayhem and wit - really knows how to pack in the coolness. It's great that the books are back in print and I've read AMERICAN MEAT by Stuart Moore, which is a new book set in the same "world." It's damned good book, but I'd love to see GHOST DANCERS back in print as well as, dare I even hope for it, another books from Newman/Yeovil!

I loved this series when Games Workshop first published them in the late 80s and I'm very happy to see them updated and back in print. Looking forward to the completion of the Route 666/Demon Download saga.

It's the 21st Century and the multi-national corporations control America. The military is set up to protect those corporations from the roving gangs and religious sects that wander the desert that has become America. Fort Apache, Arizona, a military garrison that has been charged with keeping the Interstate highways open for the corporations, is under attack by an unknown enemy. First a cruiser driven by soldiers from Fort Apache, visits a gas station in the desert where a computer bug is inserted through the gas tank, kills all but one of the soldiers riding in it and then continues on its mission of murder, searching for a particular church and a Catholic priest, Father O'Pray. Inside the fort, the men and women turn on each other in a blood fest that leaves many dead and others racing for their lives. Only one person has the key to this mystery, Chantal Juillerat, a nun dispatched from the Vatican. Working with the lone cavalry soldier who escaped the carnage of the demon-possessed cruiser, Chantel searches for the root of the problem. Jack Yeovil has woven a tale of the future in DEMON DOWNLOAD. America, since ignoring global warming and other environmental issues, is a huge desert where whiskey is cheaper and more plentiful than water. The Great Salt Lake and the Colorado River are both dried up. The wall separating church and state has been dismantled and warring religious factions brawl throughout the country. The state of Utah, a vast wasteland of sand that has been renamed Deseret, has been taken over with the permission of the government, by the Josephites, a religious cult. Gaschuggers, a biologically altered group who drink gas for pleasure and sustenance, roam the countryside, terrorizing the inhabitants. It is an interesting story that can strike fear in your heart because of the similarities to what we are witnessing in America today even though it was originally written in 1993. While the religious infighting may have been a bit exaggerated, this nation should take notice of what can happen when the wall of separation of church and state is torn down. Your religion just may not be the main one and others may wish to prey upon you. I had trouble sometimes, keeping up with the plot, as many new factions came into the picture. The story got choppy in some places and I had to reread sections to find out how I got where I was. The entire plot got just a tad bit murky at points but overall it was fascinating as well as funny and frightening. Reviewed by Alice Holman of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

The story is set in America's future. Multi-national corporations control everything, including the media and the government. Even the altars in churches are computerized. Religious cults are growing fast. Elder Nguyen Seth is the titular head of the Josephite Church. His sinister cult is the worst. He is known by many names, such as Seth the Eternal & Seth the Summoner. He has lived several life times already. Now he has summoned a minor demon and turned it into the form of a sub-sentient computer virus. Vatican hitwoman Chantal Juillerat is sent to Fort Apache in America to locate and destroy the demon. However, by the time she reaches Fort Apache, the demon is already inhabiting the central control and weapons system of a US Cavalry-issue road cruiser, equipped with multiple, state-of-the-art weaponry. And by the time Chantal and Trooper Nathan Stack catch up with the vehicle, the demon has taken over the altar of a Catholic Church. But that is all fore play. This living virus plans to take over Fort Apache itself, and then spread out. The personnel of Fort Apache find themselves trapped inside their desert outpost, commanded by an insane US Cavalry captain possessed by the malevolent virus. Time for Sister Chantal to get busy. ***** If you have ever read any comics in the "Magdalena" series (Top Cow Comics), you may very well see a resemblance. Chantal comes across as half Nun and half Valkyrie, but totally deadly. The author gives a brief look at Chantal's history, which makes the character a little more believable. If this series takes off, it could make for a great movie on the big screen someday. Terrific book! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.