Demons (Cemetery Dance Novella Series #9) [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

John Shirley (Author), Erik Wilson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000

Writers from Clive Barker to Bruce Sterling and Roger Zelazny have praised John Shirley’s searing, apocalyptic visions of postmodern hell on earth. Now this perversely brilliant author, one of the seminal representatives on the cyberpunk movement, unleashes his newest masterpiece.

DEMONS

In a future uncomfortably close to the present day, the apocalypse has surpassed all expectations. Hideous demons roam the streets in an orgy of terror, drawing pleasure from torturing humans as sadistically as possible. Divided into seven clans, these grisly invaders–gnashing, writhing, bloodthirsty monsters–seem horrifically to belong in our world.

Ira, a young San Francisco artist, becomes involved with a strange group of scientists and philosophers desperately trying to end the bloody siege. Yet through it all, Ira continues to paint–for in his canvasses lie crucial clues to the demons’ origins.

Yet the demons draw their strength from an all-too-familiar evil–a deadly malevolence supported by some of the greatest powers on earth, concealed beneath the trappings of status, success, and abused power. Ira and his allies– including a compelling young seeress–come to believe these demons didn’t just appear. They were summoned. But the most shocking revelation is yet to come . . .

EXCLUSIVE TO THIS EDITION: The original novella Demons was published as an acclaimed, limited edition hardcover which Publishers Weekly called a “mini-masterpiece.” Now the terror continues, as the sequel story, “Undercurrents,” takes the reader on a macabre journey into the center of the conspiracy that may lay waste to the Earth.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Nightmarish demons terrorize the world in this sharp-edged tale of horror and humanity from award-winner John Shirley. A young artist from San Francisco witnesses the demons' arrival and the world's response--panic, denial, and even cooperation in the slaughter. He joins a group of people who believe that human action brought the demons into the world and that the power of human consciousness--awareness of one's true self--is the only defense against them. Then nine years later, in the face of a new threat, the group must overcome conspiracy and the world's disbelief to battle demons once again.

Themes of wakefulness and sleep--the struggle for self-awareness against the deliberate denial of what's happening around us--form the counterpoint for the terrifying and often brutal events of the story. This is a fast-paced, finely told horror tale combined with a pointed examination of the ways in which people so often conspire in their own destruction. --Roz Genessee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Horror fiction that traffics in the supernatural perforce sometimes deals with matters of psycho-spiritual import. Rarely does it tackle them as directly as in this exciting, vigorously original novella from Shirley (Black Butterflies, etc.). The book is brief, but Shirley packs into it an epic's worth of imagination and ideas. As the story opens, Earth is under siege by marauding demonsDseven "Clans" or types of "supernatural creatures" that take pleasure in killing, often with maximum pain. In flashback, the narrator, Ira, a young artist/art director, details the coming of the demons and humanity's response to their mass slaughterDdenial, terror, appeasement, habituation; in the present day, he helps uncover the decades of intentional human depredation that led to their arrival. At this level, the novella works well as a brisk, sophisticated action yarn with echos of classic horror tales, particularly those dealing with alien invasion; especially effective is a rooftop scene that has Ira facing off against a Bugsy, an extremely nasty sort of demon that mimics human form and talks like a drunk. But Shirley ups the ante considerably by doubling the story as a parable about awakening, as Buddha, Jesus and others might have used the termDabout awakening from the mind's incessant chatter and dreams to see the world as it really is. Humanity's hope to defeat the demons rests in a mysterious Conscious Circle of Humanity made up of those who have achieved wakefulness; one man connected to the Circle has an exotic daughter whom Ira loves and who turns out to be harboring within her psyche the "Gold in the Urn," a blazing wheel of energy that contains the "being force" of history's awakened ones and that, ultimately, proves the demons' match. With its potent underlying philosophy, serious theme, fresh vision and taut storytelling, this little novel makes a big impact. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 148 pages
• Publisher: Cemetery Dance Publications; 1st edition (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158767002X
• ISBN-13: 978-1587670022
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,488,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Shirley won the Bram Stoker Award for his story collection Black Butterflies, and is the author of numerous novels, including the best-seller DEMONS, the cyberpunk classics CITY COME A-WALKIN', ECLIPSE, and BLACK GLASS, and his latest, new from Simon & Schuster, the urban fantasy novel BLEAK HISTORY. He is a screenwriter, having written for television and movies; he was co-screenwriter of THE CROW. He will be in Prime Books' THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR anthology, this year, and his story collection IN EXTREMIS: THE MOST EXTREME SHORT STORIES OF JOHN SHIRLEY from Underland Press has been getting rave advance reviews. His novel BIOSHOCK: RAPTURE , telling the story of the creation and undoing of Rapture, from the hit videogame BIOSHOCK is about to come out from TOR books.

He is also a lyricist, having written lyrics for 18 songs recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on their albums Heaven Forbidden and Curse of the Hidden Mirror), and his own recordings.

John Shirley has written only one nonfiction book, GURDJIEFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND IDEAS, published by Penguin/Jeremy Tarcher.

Other John Shirley story collections include BLACK BUTTERFLIES, IN EXTREMIS, LIVING SHADOWS and REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WEIRD STORIES.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent short novel from Cemetery Dance folks., September 30, 2000

By 

M. Krzmarzick "knyne" (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Demons (Cemetery Dance Novella Series #9) (Hardcover)

When it comes to John Shirley, you have to take your chances. In my humble opinion, I find him a writer of widely varying quality (though one who steadily improves, there is little backsliding in his work). If one goes as far back as CELLARS, there is really not much to recommend; however, Mr. Shirley has produced such excellent work as: IN DARKNESS WAITING; WETBONES; and, most recently, DEMONS. This is a terrific short novel--well-paced, gripping, and solid. Mr. Shirley's mastery of this short form is impressive. A sense of dread is pervasive thoughout, though his prose is lean and to the point.

In this most imaginative premise (though I sense some inspiration from John Ostrander's DEMON WARS arc in the GRIMJACK comics), unstoppable, murderous demons have suddenly appeared on Earth. They can make their presence known anywhere and anytime. With no defenses, humans must make their way through this hell on earth as best they can (this is Shirley's most interesting facet in the book--how John and Mary Sixpack continue about their daily business in this new dystopia).

It was a pleasure to read DEMONS, and I look forward to Mr. Shirley's next work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Horror Novel from John Shirley, August 20, 2004

By 

John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Demons (Paperback)

While "Demons" may lack the intense machine-gun narrative of John Shirley's "A Song Called Youth" cyberpunk trilogy, it nonetheless is a splendid example of his fine literary style which has garnered praise from distinguished writers ranging from William Gibson to Clive Barker. I found "Demons" to be a riveting read, especially Book 1, which is a phantasmagorical trek through San Francisco in the midst of a demonic occupation. Book 2 adds some intriguing touches with regards to cyperpunk and environmental disaster fiction thrown into a plot which shows what happens when big business runs afoul of demons. Melissa, the daughter of an obscure college professor, is the main character - and emotional heart - of both books. Shirley's prose has rarely been better. This is yet another fine book from one of my favorite authors of fiction.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic and Vivid Tale of Demons, December 2, 2002

By 

Elliott Humphrey (Chula Vista CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Demons (Hardcover)

The book Demons is a story of the seven clans of demons and the people who fought against them, or at least tried.... John Shirley describes everything in his book vividly, and at times he does it too well and he does it magnificently at times when you wish he hadn't painted a picture of that particular scene. Each demons has its own often hilrious name, from a bugsy to a tailpipe, but although the names sound cute and all, in 'reality' the demons are far from that description. Overall the book is magnificently written, but I should warn everyone, this book is not for anyone, there should be a level of maturity and readiness in the reader before they should ever read this book.