Book Review: The Demonologist

I received The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper in advance for a first read from Good Reads and Simon & Schuster Canada and devoured it in two days. The easy read may have been because it held some similar elements to other familiar literature, but despite that, it was an interesting and entertaining story of possession with an academic focus on John Milton's Paradise Lost. 


One afternoon, Professor David Ullman receives a visitor at his campus office. The mysterious woman offers him an invitation to travel to Venice, Italy, to witness a “phenomenon,” and offer his professional opinion, in return for an extravagant sum of money. What happens in Venice will change David's perspective on reality entirely.

Pyper sets a dissonant, melancholy tone that often unleashes a certain creepiness that crawls down your spine and settles in your core. The way Milton's work is dissected and applied to the story and to mankind as a whole made for a clever story foundation.

Unfortunately, the ending seems rather rushed and anti-climactic, which was kind of disappointing. Even so, there was enough substance throughout the book to make it a worthwhile read.

Look for The Demonologist in stores March 2013.

CityGirls Rating: 4 demons out of 5.