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: Bad Demon! Bad! No Biscuit!
Review: Every now and then, those of us who indulge in the most gruesome of the horror and science fiction genre must kick back, take a load off, and curl up with a well written and light hearted book that will allow us a chuckle or two.This is the book for that moment. Relatively short (238 pages) and a very fast read, Moore's tale is not only captivating but will leave you chuckling in morbid humor. Travis O'Hearn is over ninety years old, but doesn't look a day over twenty five. This is because of his demon, Catch. Many years ago Travis unsuspectingly summoned the demon and became his Master, with one of the benefits being perpetual youth and an inability to die. Of course, the bad part is, Catch is not a nice demon, and Travis is stuck with him. Catch likes to watch TV, read comic books, and ride on the hood of the car; but most of all he likes to eat, and people are his favorite food. All Travis wants to do is find a way to send Catch back to hell, but he doesn't have a clue as to how to go about it. The one person who holds the objects that may help him get rid of Catch is a young girl on a train, who Travis lost track seventy years ago without ever learning her name. Which is what brings Travis and Catch to Pine Cove, a sleepy seaside tourist town. Here in Pine Cove, Moore introduces us to the townspeople; fleshing them out into fully developed personalities that you will either like or dislike, but will certainly not leave you with that dry feeling of a hastily sketched character. Moore's ability to bring all these different people to life is what makes this book such a fast and fun read; how he manages to bring these characters to life in only a few short paragraphs is the sign of a gifted writer. There is Rachel, the benign witch; Howard, who runs the HP Café; Robert the drunken loser; Mavis, the gnarly tavern owner; Rivera the police sergeant; and a host of others that all add to the flavor of the story. Topping it all off is the arrival of the King of the Djinn, Gian Hen Gian, who looks like a tiny wrinkled old man and spouts the most hilarious of insults to those who peeve him. The townspeople, Travis, Catch, and the Djinn all collide to bring us a most entertaining and humorous story. The ending is a flurry of activity, with fantasy and imagination that borders on silly but fits tightly in with the rest of the book. Truly, 'Practical Demon Keeping' is a frivolous and light-hearted romp that is well worth the money spent. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A Treat of a Tale Told with Impish Glee
Review: Every year around Hallowe'en, I look for a book that deals with the darker side of occult phenomena. This year, I didn't want to give myself a major case of the creeps...but I still wanted something which touched on that area. 'Practical Demonkeeping' was just the book for me. The story deals primarily with Catch -- the demon -- and Travis -- Catch's deceptively young keeper. Catch and Travis -- in the midst of an interesting love-hate relationship (Travis hates Catch and Catch loves to be hated) -- arrive in the tourist town of Pine Cove where significant mayhem ensues! It is all related in an enjoyable manner. And the various occupants of the town are portrayed deftly without mean-spiritedness. The author, Christopher Moore writes with the same type of wit which admirers of Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut and Tom Robbins will appreciate. And, this novel -- his debut -- is admirable for giving us a wide variety of characters, dealing humorously with their particular quirks, and engineering a clever plot in which their paths cross. Although the ending seems a bit rushed, I enjoyed just about every aspect of this novel. I won't give anything away. But, in the novel's last chapters, I would have enjoyed a more complete depiction of the characters' reactions. Not because I expect every detail to be spelled out...but because so many unique, interesting and amusing characters are involved at this point. It would have required significant authorial skill to relate all of that without bogging down the narrative but I think Moore could have managed it. Without being macabre or morbid, this novel gives plenty of surprises. There are a few scenes which provoke a squirm or two but Moore never indulges in excessive depictions of violence or gore. This kind of book works by keeping us intrigued about what will happen next -- not by dragging us deep down into depictions of cruelty and savageness.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as much fun as I'd hoped...
Review: Having read "Bloodsucking Fiends" by Moore, I figured this book would be just as hilarious with a great story and interesting, memorable characters. OOPS--not so with this book. Travis is a very old man who looks about 25 thanks to his constantly hungry companion, a demon named Catch. Through a very complex and amazing line of circumstances, the pair find themselves in the oddball town of Pine Cove, California. It's here in Pine Cove that the town witch, an elderly couple, a bait store owner, a waitress, a drunk husband, and a cafe owner with a remarkable resemblance to H.P. Lovecraft all meet up in one situation that could mean the preservation or loss of many lives. Sounds interesting, right? As mentioned in the Kirkus Review featured at the opening screen, Moore has too many characters jumping through too many mystical hoops unnecessarily. Every single character in the book is of major importance to the overall outcome, right down to Mavis, the long-suffering barmaid from the Head of the Slug. There are no true minor characters (not even The Breeze, who vanishes almost as soon as the story begins), and this makes for a big headache. And as much as these characters interact and overlap one another, you won't be able to really feel much about any of them. I enjoy characters that make me miss them at the end of the book, and that didn't happen with this novel. I've since learned that this was Moore's first book, but the complexity of the plot and the details don't demonstrate an author's first effort. The ending will leave you flat and asking "HUH?", but there are some truly funny moments in the book that aren't to be missed. I especially enjoyed Jenny's preparation for her date with Travis, and Robert's assessment of The Breeze's trailer. Moore's description of Mavis and Rachel are vivid and highly visual, and the story of how Travis became bound to Catch is very well-constructed. It's worth reading, but consider checking it out from the library and save your money.
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: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Devilishly disappointing
Review: I love the clever idea underlying Practical Demonkeeping: a nice guy accidentally conjures up a wise-cracking (and people-eating) demon and the two are each trying to find ways to break the spell that binds them together. There's great comic potential in the idea, and there's a few very clever insights in Chris Moore's book. Unfortunately, there's also way too much stilted dialogue, a plot that feels forced and clumsy, and caricatures instead of characters. I'm all for a fun summer read, but an idea this good deserves better writing. I'd chalk it up to this being Moore's first book, but I found the same problems with Bloodsucking Fiends. From the short plot descriptions, Moore has brilliant ideas for his books. I would love to love them as some other reviewers here clearly do, but based on the two I've read, I won't be reading any more (no pun intended) and can't recommend these.
Rating:
Summary: A great debut
Review: I read an interview where Christopher Moore said that, with this novel, he wanted "to do for horror what Douglas Adams did for science-fiction." He hasn't come far off the mark, although the Hitchhiker series was palpably science-fiction whereas this is hardly horror. It has all of the trappings but never produces a real scare. That is my only complaint. The other author I kept thinking of while reading this was Terry Pratchett, whose work I prefer over Adams'. In Adams' work, you could always see the joke coming, where Pratchett often sneaks up on you. Moore's humor is similarly situational. I especially like the description of the contents of Jenny's bathwater and its comparison to the contents of a lab experiment going on across town. It's a light, quick read, but well worth it. This is my first Moore book, and I will definitely be searching out the others.
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.
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