Demons

Scary book. A normal day dissolves into what seems tantamount to judgement day and "Jesus was a no-show." Demons materialize and sweep across the planet. But these aren't the 20 story mantises of 50's B movies (although the requisite attacks with firearms are attempted with the usual results). These are like Blue Meanies with extreme makeovers by H R Giger that chat it up with their eventual victims like a psychotic David Spade. It seems they know a thing or two about mankind. Things we don't even tell each other. Shirley can write scary stories. After years of being a confident adult who chuckled all the way through The Exorcist, completely unafraid of the dark and its attendant strange noises, I read In Darkness Waiting and ever since have looked over my shoulder - constantly - whenever I'm up in the attic. Demons has a good helping of that creepy fear combined with the hopelessness of a deluge and on that level it's a great read, with enough twists to give its scifi/horror blend a fresh Lovecraftian edge. There are really two books here. The first launches with the adrenaline rush of demonic invasion while the second spreads out, weaving character and plot threads into an increasingly overlapping tapestry that builds to a phantasmagoric climax. But there's more. At the opening of the book, one of the characters, an eccentric professor steeped in mystical knowledge, is writing a book called The Hidden Reality, and in a way, that's what we have here. On a deeper level Demons addresses the spiritual and moral issues we all face as imperfect humans. The unfolding of the story largely hinges on individual moral failures and the subsequent collective hell that results. And although there are plenty of pulp heroic moments, it really boils down to redemption as the ultimate weapon against the forces of darkness. Not surprising for someone who wrote a book on Gurdjieff. Either way, or both, it's a great read, one that makes my list of fav Shirley novels.

"I like my apocalypse tales to have giant insects" Clive Barker told Fangoria in a late 80's interview so it's no wonder that Clive has blurb on the back of this book. Indeed the blurb respect of not only Clive barker but the equally discerning taste of Poppy Z.Brite and William Gibson were enough to hook my interest in John Shirley. What I did not know about the man is that he was a former punk rock front man who was writing about cyperpunk in the 80's so yeah even Gibson knows Shirley did it first. Beyond that reading interviews and bouncing around his site I discovered he actually went toe to with Harlan Ellison, to take on sci-fi's crown prince of grumpiness with wit well it takes chutzpah. Demons is a novel that has chutzpah, if you were not lucky enough to be exposed to the Jewish phrase lets put it this way Demons packs a punch after punch. While my first introduction John Shirley was in his most recent novel Crawlers which was great, followed by one of his recent short story collections Black Butterflies. So far everything I have read by Shirley has been first rate. Demons however I consider to be the best of all three. The first sentence of the prologue is `It is amazing what you get used to' from there you are instantly launched into an apocalypse populated by monsters. I am not going to name all the variety of demons but Shirley has put handy guide to them in the front of the book, which includes important facts about there physical make-up, intelligence levels and there social structure. This guide is handy because these beasts are launched out of hell and into the novel so quick and powerfully you will be right beside the characters in astonishment. The book is two interdependent short novels about the same characters but written in different tones. The first half is a savage brutal end of the world tale that is what I imagine fifties monster and bug invasion movies would have felt like with George Lucas's CGI team working on it. While the second slows down it was something Shirley could not avoid in his attempt to take demons to the level that makes it special as horror novel because it doesn't just have hordes of invading demonic beasts but it has an intelligent and important message. However corny that may sound it isn't. Demons does have it's share of monsters and humor but it is so outrageous at times that it shows a superior level of artistic skill when Shirley pulls the story back in with a poignant message. Not unlike Richard Matheson's classic I Am Legend Shirley questions who are the real monsters, where are the roots of this apocalypse? The lagging the story does in the middle is quickly forgotten when you get to the end. The finale is a welcome pay-off. For me it was Shirley's desires to break the unwritten rules in the way he describes things and where the plot twists. Demons is one of the most fun books I have read in years and made a devoted fan out of me. John Shirley's latest projects were novelization of the C

In the midst of the turbulent modern age comes ancient evil with horrifying results for man: Earth is attacked by seven clans of Demons; unleashed upon us via a sinister corporate conspiracy... in blackly humourous descriptions and attributes; John Shirley peels back layers of flesh and wonder in equal measure; not for the faint hearted or fanatically religious.... intelligent and engrossing

A fascinating study of a certain type of occult phenomenon - how, to use Goya's words, _el sueño de la razon produce muenstros_ - the sleep of reason produces monsters.Shirley's book tells about a demonic invasion that threatens to engulf planet Earth. The demons come in various types; my own personal favorites are the Bugsys - sleazy characters who somehow manage to get human beings to be their pets. And as Shirley fans will know, he has a great capacity for melding the hyperreal elements of fantasy with the gritty reality of the urban.Would discuss the implications of this powerful book further, but I don't want to give away too much of the plot. Highly recommended.