Pandemonium: Reviews
Daryl Gregory
is going to be a familiar name to those who subscribe to The Magazine of
Fantasy and Science Fiction or Asimov's. He's published short
stories in both and won a reader's award from Asimov's. But apparently
while he was beavering away in the fiscally unrewarding world of short stories,
he was also working on a novel that I suspect may earn him a lot of instant
recognition. 'Pandemonium' (Del Rey / Random House ; September 2008 ; $13) is
going to come out as a trade paperback, which I think is sort of a shame; I hope
that it doesn't hurt the sales for this book, which looks to me like a contender
for awards from the horror, science fiction or fantasy camps, depending on who
stakes their claim first.
Del Pierce is hanging about in a place familiar to many – the United Terminal at
O'Hare airport, when there's a disturbance. Not the guy who doesn't want to be
searched, or the woman with the underwire who sets off a metal detector, no,
it's just another demonic possession.
And you quickly suss that you'll not be arriving in this O'Hare airport via any
method of transport other than reading.
In Del Pierce's world, turns out that round about the 1950's, demonic
possessions began to occur, but not, I hasten to add, the sort that involve
Father Merrin and projectile vomiting. No, in Gregory's intriguing vision, "just
folks" are possessed by entities that seem to spring from the Jungian collective
unconscious; so the scene in the terminal turns into an art studio session
because the being that possesses the man covered in gray dust, as it were, is
the Painter – at least that what Del surmises when the possessed sits down and
starts painting. Del should have a pretty good sense of these things. He was
once possessed by the Hellion. But therapy and a loving family have made him all
better. Gregory's premise is certainly clever, but he backs it up with good
writing. The prose, pacing, plotting and characterization are all top notch;
careful, quiet and sleekly powerful when necessary. Gregory supplies the sort of
grit and details to make this surreal world seem as real as long wait at the
airport, but a whole lot more exciting.
Yes, you'll get a lot more in this novel than just a good premise, but the
quality is high enough that I think readers are best advised to pick it up with
as little information as possible – I'd even suggest avoiding the back cover.
The surprises in this superbly crafted novel are worth preserving and
encountering on their own terms. Call up your local independent bookstore now
and advance order a copy. Make them call you when it arrives. I suspect that
when the possessions finally do begin, there will be a number of happily
incapacitated individuals. After all, you are a monster from your own id – the
Reader.