FICTION

The Demonologist

S & S. Mar. 2013. 304p. ISBN 9781451697414. pap. $25; ebk. ISBN 9781451697438. F
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Renowned Columbia University professor David Ullman has focused his life's work on the hellish literary underground and inhabitants of Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost. An academic to the core, he believes the demons he lectures about are simply concepts of the human mind. A marriage in tatters spurs him to accept a mysterious consulting project to Italy accompanied by his young daughter Tess. Supernatural events in Venice cause David to reconsider his position when his daughter is taken from him by the Unnamed one. Armed with his copy of Paradise Lost, his frantic quest to save Tess is both assisted and hindered by the paranormal.
VERDICT In a bit of a departure from his previous suspense novels (The Killing Circle) the Canadian author, an Arthur Ellis Award winner, has written a solid literary horror thriller. Pyper gives just enough Miltonian hints to help guide his personable protagonist without inundating the reader with too much scholarly detail. Fans of Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian and readers who enjoy literary thrillers with bits of Dan Brown and Stephen King mixed in will enjoy. The film version is in development with Universal Studios and director Robert Zemeckis. [See Prepub Alert, 9/24/12.]
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