Pandemonium - BoundCovers

No cover — Daryl Gregory: Pandemonium (EBook, 2008, Random House Publishing Group)

eBook

English language

Published 2008 by Random House Publishing Group.

ISBN:: 978-0-345-50969-7
OCLC Number:: 496116272

(1 review)

It is a world like our own in every respect . . . save one. In the 1950s, random acts of possession begin to occur. Ordinary men, women, and children are the targets of entities that seem to spring from the depths of the collective unconscious, pop-cultural avatars some call demons. There's the Truth, implacable avenger of falsehood. The Captain, brave and self-sacrificing soldier. The Little Angel, whose kiss brings death, whether desired or not. And a string of others, ranging from the bizarre to the benign to the horrific.As a boy, Del Pierce is possessed by the Hellion, an entity whose mischief-making can be deadly. With the help of Del's family and a caring psychiatrist, the demon is exorcised . . . or is it? Years later, following a car accident, the Hellion is back, trapped inside Del's head and clamoring to get out.Del's quest for help leads him …

It is a world like our own in every respect . . . save one. In the 1950s, random acts of possession begin to occur. Ordinary men, women, and children are the targets of entities that seem to spring from the depths of the collective unconscious, pop-cultural avatars some call demons. There's the Truth, implacable avenger of falsehood. The Captain, brave and self-sacrificing soldier. The Little Angel, whose kiss brings death, whether desired or not. And a string of others, ranging from the bizarre to the benign to the horrific.As a boy, Del Pierce is possessed by the Hellion, an entity whose mischief-making can be deadly. With the help of Del's family and a caring psychiatrist, the demon is exorcised . . . or is it? Years later, following a car accident, the Hellion is back, trapped inside Del's head and clamoring to get out.Del's quest for help leads him to Valis, an entity possessing the science fiction writer formerly known as Philip K. Dick; to Mother Mariette, a nun who inspires decidedly unchaste feelings; and to the Human League, a secret society devoted to the extermination of demons. All believe that Del holds the key to the plague of possession--and its solution. But for Del, the cure may be worse than the disease."Look out, Lethem! Daryl Gregory mixes pop culture and pathos, flavoring it with Philip K. Dick. Pandemonium possesses every quality you want in a great novel, and the good news is it's only his debut." --Charles Coleman Finlay, Hugo and Nebula Award-nominated author of The Prodigal TrollFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

2 editions

Will Sargent reviewed Pandemonium by Daryl Gregory

Review of 'Pandemonium' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

Good. This is a story about "demons" and "possession" but more in the voodoo sense of the word -- only not quite, because American archetypes like Captain America possess people instead. And the book starts off with someone being possessed in Airport Security.

It's well written. Daryl Gregory has much in common with Matt Ruff in his overall balancing of viewpoint, action and misdirection. More than that, the book is well edited -- it doesn't waste time inflating the plot, and instead goes right for the essence of the book. Everyone is always doing what is most important to them, and no-one's doing anything that's against their nature (although to be fair, some of them are doing some pretty stupid things sometimes).

It is clearly written by someone who loves science fiction (Philip K. Dick shows up as a character!) and as such, people who don't read SF probably won't …

Good. This is a story about "demons" and "possession" but more in the voodoo sense of the word -- only not quite, because American archetypes like Captain America possess people instead. And the book starts off with someone being possessed in Airport Security.

It's well written. Daryl Gregory has much in common with Matt Ruff in his overall balancing of viewpoint, action and misdirection. More than that, the book is well edited -- it doesn't waste time inflating the plot, and instead goes right for the essence of the book. Everyone is always doing what is most important to them, and no-one's doing anything that's against their nature (although to be fair, some of them are doing some pretty stupid things sometimes).

It is clearly written by someone who loves science fiction (Philip K. Dick shows up as a character!) and as such, people who don't read SF probably won't get a number of references. That being said, it's good, not too long, and you should read it.