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Author: Andrew Pyper
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Length: 304 pages
Published: 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Professor David Ullman’s expertise in the literature of the demonic—notably Milton’s Paradise Lost—has won him wide acclaim. But David is not a believer.
One afternoon he receives a visitor at his campus office, a strikingly thin woman who offers him an invitation: travel to Venice, Italy, witness a “phenomenon,” and offer his professional opinion, in return for an extravagant sum of money. Needing a fresh start, David accepts and heads to Italy with his beloved twelve-year-old daughter Tess.
What happens in Venice will send David on an unimaginable journey from skeptic to true believer, as he opens himself up to the possibility that demons really do exist. In a terrifying quest guided by symbols and riddles from the pages of Paradise Lost, David attempts to rescue his daughter from the Unnamed—a demonic entity that has chosen him as its messenger.
One afternoon he receives a visitor at his campus office, a strikingly thin woman who offers him an invitation: travel to Venice, Italy, witness a “phenomenon,” and offer his professional opinion, in return for an extravagant sum of money. Needing a fresh start, David accepts and heads to Italy with his beloved twelve-year-old daughter Tess.
What happens in Venice will send David on an unimaginable journey from skeptic to true believer, as he opens himself up to the possibility that demons really do exist. In a terrifying quest guided by symbols and riddles from the pages of Paradise Lost, David attempts to rescue his daughter from the Unnamed—a demonic entity that has chosen him as its messenger.
My Review:
I give this book a 5 out of 5.
Wow. Brilliant. Hard to put down. Riveting.
This caught my attention from the moment I opened the book and read the first page. David Ullman is an atheist who spends his days lecturing about Milton's Paradise Lost, the epic poem about Satan and the Fall of Man. He's always had a melancholy about him that he also sees in his daughter, Tess. Tess has always had a very close relationship with her father.
When his wife tells him she's moving out, he takes Tess to Venice, to go and witness a phenomenon that he's been invited to view by a woman he calls "the Thin Woman". That trip to Venice propels him on a journey to save his daughter from the hands of demons, as well as himself.
This is truly one of the more riveting stories I've read recently. I could barely put it down. I have not read Paradise Lost, but you don't need to have read it to understand what is going on throughout the novel. The author does a good enough job explaining different passages and their meanings that you can get the general idea of what the poem is about and what it means in reference to David and his daughter. The Demonologist is vaguely reminiscent of some of the theological themed horror movies where possession is a key part of the plot. David's wanderings throughout the U.S. and Canada are even loosely reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code where Robert Langdon follows obscure clues to unravel the mystery.
But all combined, it makes for an excellent tale that leads David not only to his daughter but the truth about himself. Andrew Pyper has a writing style that I really like. I definitely plan on checking out more of his books.
You can purchase The Demonologist through Amazon in either hard copy or Kindle format.
Have you read The Demonologist? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.
Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.
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