On All Hallows Eve, when the boundary between this world and The Otherworld, John Fogg , his wife Theodora Knight and their team of paranormal investigators and TV crew investigate a haunted house. The only problem was there were no ghosts. They only found a strange container that would change their world forever.
The Demonists by Thomas E. Sniegoski is a book that is root world of demonology. There are other paranormal aspects but, the subject of demons is really at its heart. The book takes us on a journey mainly with John Fogg and the steps he takes to deal with what happened on that fateful Halloween night. We go through his struggles and fights and the war he wages on that which upended his life.
The story itself moved along well. It takes the reader event to event with all the exposition it offers in between the action. It' does not feel overly predictable or contrived The problem I had was, the scenery. Now, this may be a personal preference but, I believe certain types of stories require sufficient description. In this case, I think it would have done much to contrast the demonic from the mundane worlds with a better description of the latter. We get some very good ideas of the way demons appear as well as some of the more grotesque scenes. What we don't get is memorable descriptions of the nicer scenes or even characters. This was a missed opportunity for contrast. Bright colors, beautiful people or inspiring vistas could have create a defining line between worlds. There wasn't even enough confusing grays to create or enhance conflict.
There is some very good exposition for John Fogg and we get an idea for many of his motivations. He and his wife Theodora get the most development throughout the story though we get some resolution for FBI Agent Brenna Isabel. Most other characters seem a little like set pieces. There are two exceptions that I believe will show up in any sequels. Even with the growth these characters show, I still had trouble really connecting with them. Of course, that could be from some of the uninspiring descriptions.
Overall, The Demonists by Thomas Sniegoski is a tale with promise that can be realized in future books. The violence and language get very graphic making me lean toward rating it R.
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