Rating: 
Summary: Demon Attack
Review: 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
Rating:
Summary: Demons and the Conscious Circle
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Low key
Review: Demons' back cover is somewhat misleading, though that doesn't mean that the two books(Demon 1 & 2) are not a good read. Shirley's style pulls the story in an unexpected direction. Instead of falling into a routine of voilence and heroic dashing back and forth, he writes his characters as real world people afraid and determined. His use of language at times is stunning "... the Gnasher, who struck an elegant pose and swung his genitals like a zoot-suit chain," and funny at the same time. The first book is much shorter and perhaps a little more interesting. As with all sequals the second is not quite as good, though some of the OBE (Out of Body Experence) scenes remind of Lovecraft's cosmic dream cycle. The quick snap end of Demons 2 makes up for the slow plot building in it's first half. And while the story itself is inventive and unexpected it dose from time to time, most often in the second book, fall a little short of expectations. In those times however Shirley's skillful writing holds the reader's intrerest.
Both books make excellent reading similar to Sean Stewart's "Resurrection Man" and "Galveston
Rating:
Summary: Low key
Review: Demons' back cover is somewhat misleading, though that doesn't mean that the two books(Demon 1 & 2) are not a good read. Shirley's style pulls the story in an unexpected direction. Instead of falling into a routine of voilence and heroic dashing back and forth, he writes his characters as real world people afraid and determined. His use of language at times is stunning "... the Gnasher, who struck an elegant pose and swung his genitals like a zoot-suit chain," and funny at the same time. The first book is much shorter and perhaps a little more interesting. As with all sequals the second is not quite as good, though some of the OBE (Out of Body Experence) scenes remind of Lovecraft's cosmic dream cycle. The quick snap end of Demons 2 makes up for the slow plot building in it's first half. And while the story itself is inventive and unexpected it dose from time to time, most often in the second book, fall a little short of expectations. In those times however Shirley's skillful writing holds the reader's intrerest.
Both books make excellent reading similar to Sean Stewart's "Resurrection Man" and "Galveston
Rating:
Summary: Low key
Review: Demons' back cover is somewhat misleading, though that doesn't mean that the two books(Demon 1 & 2) are not a good read. Shirley's style pulls the story in an unexpected direction. Instead of falling into a routine of voilence and heroic dashing back and forth, he writes his characters as real world people afraid and determined. His use of language at times is stunning "... the Gnasher, who struck an elegant pose and swung his genitals like a zoot-suit chain," and funny at the same time. The first book is much shorter and perhaps a little more interesting. As with all sequals the second is not quite as good, though some of the OBE (Out of Body Experence) scenes remind of Lovecraft's cosmic dream cycle. The quick snap end of Demons 2 makes up for the slow plot building in it's first half. And while the story itself is inventive and unexpected it dose from time to time, most often in the second book, fall a little short of expectations. In those times however Shirley's skillful writing holds the reader's intrerest.
Both books make excellent reading similar to Sean Stewart's "Resurrection Man" and "Galveston
Rating: 
Summary: A weak book by an author I thought better of
Review: How much you like a work of art depends on what you bring to
it. I'm sure that there are people who would find John
Shirley's Demons a profound and wonderful book.
If you believe in astral projection, groups of hidden illuminati,
reincarnation, occult forces acting in this world and you're
a teenager you might think that this is a great book.
The "profound" part of Shirley's book Demons comes from his
commentary on the apparently limitless evil and greed that
the human race is capable of. However, this evil and greed
is offset by "the forces of good". This particular plot
outline is not enough to doom a book in the hands of a good
writer. For example, Tim Power's book "Declare" deals with
similar topics and is a much better book than "Demons".
What dooms Shirley's book is that this basic plot theme is
shallowly filled out and populated by wooden characters.
Perhaps Shirley has been writing for television for too
long.
I got the feeling that Shirley had either become a "new age"
convert or was writing for those who were. I imagine the
fans of "Demons" as being teenagers into New Age occultism
and black clothing. "It's so profounds they way he comments
on the evil in the world...".
John Shirley was part of a wave of science fiction writers
who seemed to follow in the wake of William Gibson (author
of the classic work Neuromancer). I remember his Eclipse
trilogy as being much better than Demons. Perhaps I remember
the Eclipse books as being much better than they are. Or
perhaps John Shirley's sojurn in Hollywood has damaged him
as a writer.
Rating:
Summary: Illuminati Redux?
Review: I like John Shirley as a writer, I really do. I will emphasize that I prefer his horror writing, as I am not much of a science fiction fan. So, reading the back of the book, I was expecting something that managed to be nasty and thought-provoking at the same time. But to me this book smacked of Robert Anton Wilson's Illuminati books, which meant it definitely was not to my taste. It even had a bit of Wilson's slapdash quality to it, although for the most part I considered it well-written.
Rating:
Summary: Illuminati Redux?
Review: I like John Shirley as a writer, I really do. I will emphasize that I prefer his horror writing, as I am not much of a science fiction fan. So, reading the back of the book, I was expecting something that managed to be nasty and thought-provoking at the same time. But to me this book smacked of Robert Anton Wilson's Illuminati books, which meant it definitely was not to my taste. It even had a bit of Wilson's slapdash quality to it, although for the most part I considered it well-written.
Rating:
Summary: Just fair to middlin'
Review: I'd like to say this was terrific, cause the story itself sounded great. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish it. The story didn't keep my attention and there was just not a lot there. If you really want to get this, I'd recommend the book, not the audio tape. Its entirely possible that I was annoyed at the reader's voice more than the story.
Rating:
Summary: Just fair to middlin'
Review: I'd like to say this was terrific, cause the story itself sounded great. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish it. The story didn't keep my attention and there was just not a lot there. If you really want to get this, I'd recommend the book, not the audio tape. Its entirely possible that I was annoyed at the reader's voice more than the story.
| 
