Practical Demonkeeping: A Comedy of Horrors

Rating:
Summary: Snarky demonic fun
Review: This is a quirky book about a young priest-in-training who unwittingly commands a demon into existence that gives him immortality but follows him around eating folks for, well, forever unless he can find a way to send the demon back to hell. Its snarky and I enjoyed it oh-so-much! Moore has a very twisted sense of humor and I hear his books only get better after this one (and I thought this one was pretty nifty so I'm excited!).

Rating:
Summary: Pine Cove here I come!
Review: I have read about half of C.M.'s books and I finally realized why I did not like some of the others more. I have been reading them in the wrong order. You see, although it doesn't really matter what order you read them in, if you read them in order you will have an opportunity to meet allot of the same characters at different times in their lives. For example, about fifty pages into Practical DemonKeeping it hit me that Catch, the main antagonist of the book, was also in Lamb, a book that I had read almost a year ago. If I had read the books in order it would have made Lamb that much more interesting. In addition, his last book The Stupidest Angel is like a coming home party for many of his characters.

Here's the order: 1.Practical Demonkeeping (1992) 2.Coyote Blue (1994) 3.Blood sucking Fiends (1995) 4.Island of the Sequined Love Nun (1997) 5.Lamb (2002) 6.Fluke (2003) 7.The stupidest angel (2004) his last book as of this review.

Fans of Tom Robbins or Kurt Vonnegut may like these, but don't get me wrong, the writing is not similar. However, the interesting ideas (of Tom Robbins) and the black humor (Vonnegut) may captivate you.


Rating:
Summary: review from a student
Review: "Practical Demonkeeping" by Christopher Moore is a wonderfully funny book. It tells the stories of many wacky Pine Cove residents as they try to send a demon back to Hell. The demon is incredibly cruel, considering he eats people every few days, and he toys with each victim. Along the way, Moore writes about tales of drug dealers, relationships, police, and out-of-this-world pool playing. This book is a great read for anyone who won't be offended by a few swear words, and for most adults. Finally, to quote the book;

""Who are you?" "Ooooooooooo, I am the ghost of Christmas past." Rachel poked herself in the leg with her thumbnail to make sure she was not dreaming. She wasn't. She found herself speaking to the disembodied voice in spite of herself. "Christmas is months away." "I know. I lied. I'm not the ghost of Christmas past. I saw that in a movie once.""


As you can see from this sample of the book, it is very funny. It may not be suitable for younger kids, but most junior high/high school kids would love it.


Rating:
Summary: If you like Douglas Adams, you'll want Moore
Review: Christopher Moore's style of humor and story telling is akin to that of Douglad Adams. Like thie Hitchhiker to the Galaxy series Moore keeps his scenes short and he jumps from place to place rather than following one character.

There's also the added bonus to anyone who knows California of his perfect description of the Big Sur tourist trap communities. The city that he's describing is probably actually Cambria (at least it fits the description in terms of local and personality), I couldn't help but also think of the real Pine Cove (also in California but south east of Riverside).

As this book was published originally in 1992 there are pieces of the book that are clearly dated, namely the WWI vets still being somewhat plausible and two the pre internet chat rooms. In that regard, this book reminded me of the Sue Grafton mysteries (if Santa Teressa were being rampaged by a hungry demon).

Rating:
Summary: Catch This One
Review: Pine Cove, California is a strange place, full of strange people with a whole slew of problems without the seemingly young man and his demon, Catch, entering the picture. In this book, we are introduced to a host of characters that defy proper description. You need to read the book to truly grasps the absurdity and humor.

Catch is truly the star. This is a demon full of personality. The scene with the hotel clerk is probably one of the funniest I have ever read, and I will forever associate "magic fingers" with this crazy scene. Despite his being a completely evil being, the reader has no choice but to fall in love with this Cookie Monster loving beast.

If you want to laugh, Moore is the author for you, and "Practical Demonkeeping" is a book you will read over and over again.



Rating:
Summary: A hoot!
Review: So, mayhem and madness have descended upon Pine Cove, a thinly-disguised Cambria, California, which, if you've ever been there, is more than amusing in and of itself.

Moore's first novel, while not as laugh-out-loud funny as his later work (LAMB, for example -- and the only one I can use for comparison at this point), is a hoot. I especially enjoyed the Djinn who curses in visible blue swirls. And at least one critic has compared Moore to Vonnegut, which may actually lead me to read that copy of SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5 that's floating about the house somewhere.

Fun stuff. Recommended.


Rating:
Summary: big disappointment
Review: I was so excited when I found this book. Comparisons to Kurt Vonnegut and Dave Barry? Praise as the "new cult writer" of our times? Great, sign me up!

Unfortunately, while the storyline is entertaining enough that I finished it, the book just failed to deliver on the promise.

The characters are summed up in a few sentences, and have these kind of desperately zany quirks that are more annoying than entertaining. Some of them are no more than stereotypes: the power-hungry, man-hating witch; the cop hungry for his big bust and haunted by the images of being busted out of the force. Very two-dimensional.

The plot is endlessly complicated, and several of the plotlines go absolutely nowhere (example: the crossdressing night-clerk having cyber-sex as "Roxanne"), and there are even some sex scenes that read as totally obligatory on the author's part, not organic to the story.

And in the end, everyone who is left is neatly wrapped up in a sentence or two. Happy endings for all. I definitely expected something a little more complex, but by the end of the story, I wasn't surprised.

It's not a terrible story, it just doesn't deliver on the hype. Christopher Moore is no Kurt Vonnegut, no Dave Barry. He's trying very very very hard to be funny. Maybe a little too hard.

Rating:
Summary: Devilishly disappointing
Review: With a title like "Practical Demonkeeping" who wouldn't find it interesting? This was my first time reading a Christopher Moore novel, and I found it quite entertaining. He managed to keep me chuckling to myself throughout almost the entire book. Previously I loved in L.A. and know that there are in fact towns which are secluded along the coast, so it was not a problem to get the image of Pine Cove emblazoned upon my brain. I especially liked his multitude of characters and how they all eventually intertwined due to circumstances and ended up at the same place. I confess that I believe the ending was a little rushed in their overly complicated plan at the ending, and I found myself a little lost. I found that I had gone through the first 200 pages quite quickly yet when it came down to the last 50 it took the same amount of time to read the first 200. Of couse we can cut him a little slack for it was his first book. I am definitely going to read another with the best hopes. We can only hope that he will develop a Douglas Adam's style.

Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining
Review: I like Christopher Moore. He has a wacky, demented view of the world, which ought to be obvious from this work's title. Don't expect great literature, or philosophical insights, but if you suspend disbelief, this is a very entertaining read, fast paced and humorous.