The Devil You Know by Mike Carey
Jan. 27th, 2007 02:26 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground. At a time when the supernatural world is in upheaval and spilling over into the mundane reality of the living, his skills are in desperate demand. A good exorcist can charge what he likes - and enjoy a hell of a life-style - but there's a risk: sooner or later he's likely to take on a spirit that's too strong for him. Then it's game over.
Castor has been 'retired' for a year or more after a close encounter that he only just survived. But now old debts - of more than one kind - draw him back to the life he rejected, and he accepts a seemingly simply exorcism. Trouble is, the more he discovers about the ghost in the archive, the more things refuse to add up - and the more deeply he's dragged into a world he really doesn't want to know about. What should have been a perfectly straightforward job is rapidly turning into the Who Can Kill Castor First Show, with demons, were-beings and ghosts all lining up to claim the big prize.
But that's OK; Felix Castor knows how to deal with the dead. It's the living who piss him off ...
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
An entertaining read, and whilst it's padded in places, it's padding that adds to an understanding of the narrator's character and world. This is definitely a series to keep an eye on.
Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground. At a time when the supernatural world is in upheaval and spilling over into the mundane reality of the living, his skills are in desperate demand. A good exorcist can charge what he likes - and enjoy a hell of a life-style - but there's a risk: sooner or later he's likely to take on a spirit that's too strong for him. Then it's game over.
Castor has been 'retired' for a year or more after a close encounter that he only just survived. But now old debts - of more than one kind - draw him back to the life he rejected, and he accepts a seemingly simply exorcism. Trouble is, the more he discovers about the ghost in the archive, the more things refuse to add up - and the more deeply he's dragged into a world he really doesn't want to know about. What should have been a perfectly straightforward job is rapidly turning into the Who Can Kill Castor First Show, with demons, were-beings and ghosts all lining up to claim the big prize.
But that's OK; Felix Castor knows how to deal with the dead. It's the living who piss him off ...
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
An entertaining read, and whilst it's padded in places, it's padding that adds to an understanding of the narrator's character and world. This is definitely a series to keep an eye on.