Customer Reviews

The Devil's Day

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The late James Blish was interested in what made humans "go," and he used his position as a writer of paperback science-fiction to examine the underpinnings of human desire. In this one, a man is so greedy for illicit profits that he contracts with a sorcerer to call up EVERY demon he's signed a blood contract with, more than seventy in all, to stir up conflict and violence. Well-researched where it comes to the diabloic material and believable where the human interactions are concerned. Originally written as two novels, which must have been very short indeed -- my combined volume is very slim and wouldn't do to level a wobbly table. Enjoyable both by those with an established interest in the occult and those who are simply interested in a good read.

A criminal who is fascinated by black magic enlists the help of an expert, to attempt to unleash demons upon the Earth for one night. The result is disastrous. The book is composed of two short stories entitled Black Easter and The Day After Judgment, originally written seperately by Blish. Totally absorbing, fascinating and frightening, Blish's unique style and knowledge create a memorable book.

I read this book when it first came out, but forgot the title and the name of the author. It's been bugging me for years, because I often think of the story and characters. Today, I finally hit on the right search keywords, so now I'm going to get a used copy to replace the one that I haven't seen in years.

I was particularly struck by the attention to detail concerning the difficulties of being a sorcerer. Blish started from the premise that the rituals in old grimoires were would actually work, but only if followed accurately. The sorcerer must forge his own knife, for example... And the whole field doesn't lend itself to experimentation, so you can never be sure which unpleasant-to-obtain ingredients are really necessary.

By setting the groundwork so effectively in the first part of the book, he really grabbed my attention for the subsequent rather rather wild story of the aftermath of unleashing a group of demons to do whatever they wish for one night.

The ending is not really what you'd expect, either. I don't want to ruin the plot for anyone, so I won't go into detail, but I definitely would not recommend this book for someone with rigid theological views. Blish's conclusions are a bit reminiscent of Heinlein.

The two books Black Easter and The Day After Judgement are combined to make a whole in this edition. My reviews for each follow:

Black Easter
3 stars
Given the high concept plot, a munitions dealer contracts a black magician to loose all the demons of hell for one night, surprisingly little happens in this short work. That it is actually enjoyable is due to the skill and craft with which Blish writes his prose.

The author states in the foreword he wanted to treat magic as if it were a rigorous discipline in the mold of science or engineering and he succeeds. However this makes the scenes of ritual magic detail heavy and tedious. Nor is their any real build up of tension in the book as you would expect with such a catastrophic event being asked for.

The reason for this is probably the lack of conflict. Though the forces of good appear, and are even represented with an observer, Father Domenico, at the lair of Theron Ware the magician, due to a Covenant between the higher powers he can do nothing but ask Ware not to do it.

The idea is a good one, the execution Blish chose just wasn't that appealing. However the prose is. Blish writes it tightly, and the characters are actually interesting given the little that happens. You'll be left vaguely unsatisfied though as the book doesn't really deliver what it promises. As one reviewer mentions, it really takes place in only two locations and all the demonic carnage happens off page.

Almost as if this was an outline of a longer work, or a novella with a novel screaming to get out.

The Day After Judgement
3 stars
Similar to the earlier Black Easter, this is a slow-paced book where most of the action is left offstage in favor of allowing us to see how the main characters react when they are removed from the action.

There is one good bit of action, the failed attack on Dis by the U.S. Military is described in detail. Despite plot summaries, what this book really is is a question. The question being what happens if/when God is removed, can the vacuum stay, or must something else take the place and fill the vacuum?

This is more Paradise Lost and less end of the world thriller. Reading it knowing that will allow you to enjoy it more than if you were expecting an action filled apocalypse.

As in the first novel, Blish crafts this one well. It is tightly written, though again there is really no tension that builds. Very clinical, very removed observation of catastrophe and the characters. It was an interesting choice he made to do it that way, maybe not the most appealing, but viable and interesting.

On the front page of my edition of James Blish's "Devil's Day," there is a dedication to C.S. Lewis. After doing quick research on Blish himself, I found that Blish, a lifelong agnostic, was buried as an Anglican. Blish was no Lewis, not because of ability, since Blish was a better writer of popular prose, but because he's not very orthodox. For me this makes for better reading, since Blish seems the more ambitious writer, pushing the envelope like a good science fiction writer should. On the other hand, anyone who has read "Devil's Day," would have to believe that such a writer of ideas would never allow himself to be buried in a Christian manner unless that was exactly where he was at as he neared death. It seems Blish went with Pascal's gamble after all.

"Devil's Day" is not really a horror novel (actually two: "Black Easter" and "Day of Judgement," though read back to back, they do seem to be intended as one novel). Oh, you have black magic, demons, sex with succuba, and all Hell breaking loose. But the overall effect, black comedy, is more reminiscent of Richard Condon ("The Manchurian Candidate") than Stephen King. Horror does have its moments however. Early on in "Black Easter," the sheer knowledge of Black Magic displayed by Blish (through his magician Theron Ware) had me feeling uncomfortable - I felt like I was at a Black Mass, or at least hanging out with folks who do. But the humor behind the book(s) is soon enough on display. Particularly fascinating for horror buffs is the parade of demons being called forth. What a crew! And not to be missed is Satan's speech at the end of these two novels. It's a speech worthy of Dante, and that says something right there about the ambition of Blish - and, amazingly, he pulls it off.

Briefly, the first novel, "Black Easter" sets the stage, with military industrialist Baines contracting out deaths from black magician Ware. But this is just to prove - to Baines - that magic works. Baines is bored with the state of the world and wants to shake things up a bit. If magic works, and Hell exists, he would like to let loose the demons of Hell for a night out on the Town. (Such an event should also help business.) Ware, prideful as Faust, likes a challenge. Also into the mix are Father Delmonico, a Catholic monk and white magician, and Jack Ginsberg, a horny factotum for Baines. In the more manic book two,"Day of Judgement," various Pentagon zanies show up for the confrontation with Dis, suddenly discovered by satellite in Death Valley. All of this busy weirdness recalls "Dr. Strangelove" - but with a theological twist. I've probably said too much already, but definitely give this one a try.

This is a philosophical, psychological, and theological treatise written as a dark fantasy novel with the rigor of hard science fiction. Blish likes to tackle big questions, from what would cause a man to choose to unleash Hell on Earth to what would happen if you dropped a nuclear bomb on the city of Dis.

Something that must be noted are the names and personality descriptions of the monks who are called to fight the apocalypse. Here's a hint -- one of them is Brother Anson, and he's more engineer than monk... A delicious in-joke for classic SF/Fantasy fans.

It's a short and to the point book -- another author might take hundreds of pages to tell the same story in gory detail, but it would be a horror novel. This is not a horror novel -- it's a science fiction novel about theology. Classic Blish.

I'll give it one giant upside down 5 Pointed Star