Practical Demonkeeping

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: 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.