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9th out of 17 books
—
42 voters
Pandemonium
by
Daryl Gregory (Goodreads Author)
It is a world like our own in every respect . . . save one. In the 1950s, random acts of possession begin to occur. Ordinary men, women, and children are the targets of entities that seem to spring from the depths of the collective unconscious, pop-cultural avatars some call demons. There’s the Truth, implacable avenger of falsehood. The Captain, brave and self-sacrificing...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
August 26th 2008
by Del Rey
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FANTERRIFIC STORY ALERT. I love finding original, diamonds like this cuz it makes my brain go...
As other astute people have chimed, this story turned out to be much deeper and a lot different than I originally expected (in a yippie, yippie good way). This book was such an enjoyable experience and made me want get a serious preach on sermonizing its greatness. While containing elements of science fiction, fantasy and horror, I don’t think the novel neatly fits into any of those containers and s...more
As other astute people have chimed, this story turned out to be much deeper and a lot different than I originally expected (in a yippie, yippie good way). This book was such an enjoyable experience and made me want get a serious preach on sermonizing its greatness. While containing elements of science fiction, fantasy and horror, I don’t think the novel neatly fits into any of those containers and s...more
43 likes · like · see review
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Despite the title, this is science fiction not horror. More precisely it is alternative history, The setting is our world but with significant changes. Eisenhower was killed, The American armed forces are stuck in Kashmir and, most important, around 1944 there is a rash of demonic possessions that continues into the present. The actual reason for these demons are unknown but they are called by names like The Captain, The Painter, and The little Angel. From this premise arises a intriguing take o...more
Oct 31, 2008
vladimir
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of unconventional fantasy; Jungian psychology; Joseph Campbell
Ok, what won me over at first was the cover--by Greg Ruth, an artist whose work I greatly admire. But once I started reading I was hooked.
Pandemonium isn't quite fantasy (it quickly reveals itself to have elements of Alternate History & SF). Gregory creates a world where demonic possession is normal, sort of, at least society's learned to deal with it when it happens; but the story of Del, who was once Possessed as a boy is the heart of the narrative. It has a personal, intimate tone. The st...more
Pandemonium isn't quite fantasy (it quickly reveals itself to have elements of Alternate History & SF). Gregory creates a world where demonic possession is normal, sort of, at least society's learned to deal with it when it happens; but the story of Del, who was once Possessed as a boy is the heart of the narrative. It has a personal, intimate tone. The st...more
As a comic book and Philip K. Dick fan, the premise of this book had me hooked. Pop culture archetypes have spawned demons that possess human hosts, temporarily transferring their supernatural, albeit one-dimensional, abilities to the host, who is left with no memory of their possessed behavior. The host may also be missing body parts and more, depending on the demon. The narrator is Del, a man whose life was left in shambles by his childhood possession by a demon named The Hellion. One of the l...more
I was thoroughly drawn in by the concept of this book, that of people in modern times being possessed by archetypes from the collective unconscious. Society has no consensus on the reason for this phenomenon, and people debate both the cause and the cure. But a good concept will only take you so far. The author overindulged in pop culture references. And as more specifics of the plot were revealed, I found the book holding my attention less and less. It was a fun read nonetheless.
Del Pierce lives in a world that differs from our own in just one respect: since the 1950s, people have been randomly possessed by entities that may be demons, Jungian archetypes from the collective subconscious, a new form of mental illness, or something else entirely. These entities—whom the news media have given names like The Truth, The Captain, or The Little Angel—typically inhabit a person, do their archetypal thing, and then disappear back to wherever they come from. When he was a boy, De...more
"At this moment, some teenage Japanese girl is pouring over a manga, a Hindu boy is praying Shiva to life. These sensitives are a little closer to the boundaries. Their grip on the consensual world is a little tenuous.”
“You mean they’re crazy.”
“Let’s not debate cause and effect. All we know is that when death comes for them, when the darkness calls, some of them do not go gentle. They refuse to be pulled in, and so they pull something back out.”
- Del and VALIS
Identity is a weird thing. I can...more
“You mean they’re crazy.”
“Let’s not debate cause and effect. All we know is that when death comes for them, when the darkness calls, some of them do not go gentle. They refuse to be pulled in, and so they pull something back out.”
- Del and VALIS
Identity is a weird thing. I can...more
The blurb captures the fundamentals of this book: an alternate-reality United States in which folks are sporadically possessed by “demons”. Not the demons you might associate with the Bible or (more likely) Hollywood horror flicks, but archetypes such as “Truth” or “Captain America”.
I was very surprised to discover after finishing that this was Daryl Gregory’s first novel. His writing is much more polished than I would expect, with fully-fleshed characters and a strong first-person narrative. I...more
I was very surprised to discover after finishing that this was Daryl Gregory’s first novel. His writing is much more polished than I would expect, with fully-fleshed characters and a strong first-person narrative. I...more
Wow. An unexpected gem.
The premise is simple: A world just like ours except that possession by demons is real. It happens infrequently and is usually brief, leaving the victim shaken, but unharmed. Except for a few. You see, there are different demons that have been identified. The Little Angel, who possesses only girls between 10 and 12 with long curly dark hair and whose kiss can kill. The Painter, who uses materials at hand to paint specific pictures without saying a word, and then departs. T...more
The premise is simple: A world just like ours except that possession by demons is real. It happens infrequently and is usually brief, leaving the victim shaken, but unharmed. Except for a few. You see, there are different demons that have been identified. The Little Angel, who possesses only girls between 10 and 12 with long curly dark hair and whose kiss can kill. The Painter, who uses materials at hand to paint specific pictures without saying a word, and then departs. T...more
I don't really know what to say about this book, except that I found myself very involved in a very short time. It seems to be one thing when you start, and then you get an inkling that things are not as they seem, and then you figure it out - and yet, you still keep reading, mostly due to the fact that you're heavily invested in the lead character, Del.
I thought it was an interesting take on what could possibly be some sort of mental illness, the idea that these people are actually possessed b...more
I thought it was an interesting take on what could possibly be some sort of mental illness, the idea that these people are actually possessed b...more
I really enjoyed this book, even though it just about broke my heart at the end. That is actually praise, because any book that makes me care about the characters enough to hurt for them is a win as far as I am concerned.
Honestly, I think it helps a lot in appreciating this book if you have a background in classic science fiction. At the very least, it enables you to appreciate both the ironic and the humorous elements in the book. But in general, the book is a riveting read. It moves fast, has...more
Honestly, I think it helps a lot in appreciating this book if you have a background in classic science fiction. At the very least, it enables you to appreciate both the ironic and the humorous elements in the book. But in general, the book is a riveting read. It moves fast, has...more
Daryl Gregory’s debut novel, Pandemonium is a captivating and thought-provoking example of science fiction literature. I will definitely be picking up The Devil’s Alphabet at some point in the near future.
What drew me in initially (besides the amazing synopsis) was Daryl Gregory’s writing style. His writing is beautifully descriptive and draws you into the story and lives of the characters. I was never bored and often had to drag myself away. The main character, Del, goes through such a trip dur...more
What drew me in initially (besides the amazing synopsis) was Daryl Gregory’s writing style. His writing is beautifully descriptive and draws you into the story and lives of the characters. I was never bored and often had to drag myself away. The main character, Del, goes through such a trip dur...more
The thing about books: Much of the time, the book you decide to read has no marketing push, no clear indication of its target audience until you've invested, at the least, a few dozen pages. Books simply have no trailers. Books often have no (or very few) reviews. Even the blurbs that coat the back and front matter are often misleading, coming from no-names and friends of the author, or second and third tier publications.
Movies don't. With movies, you get all of the above in abundance. And they...more
Movies don't. With movies, you get all of the above in abundance. And they...more
Besides the striking cover, what first drew me into this book was its unique premise. In the author’s version of our own world, strange forces have begun possessing humans for short periods of time. Each force or demon has a personality - of sorts- and a set of tasks it makes the possessed perform, regardless of the well being of their host. One such demon, The Little Angel, possesses little girls with long, curly blond hair and takes them to hospitals where they kill the terminally ill with a k...more
Random demonic possession is a problem in the slightly altered reality in which "Pandemonium" is set. Various archetypical demons (Truth, Captain Valiant, the Angel of Death*, to name a few) are showing up, hijacking the bodies of randomly chosen hosts and disrupting public order by behaving demonically. Collateral damage to the unlucky host can be anything from mild trauma to death. Nobody really understands what is causing this epidemic of demonic possession which has spawned a plethora of "de...more
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Pandemonium is a book that's been coming up in my Amazon recommendations fairly regularly. It sounded a bit intriguing, but a bit silly too. It was one of those books that I thought could turn out to be truly awful. When I saw a copy at the library, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try it.
I can't believe that this is Daryl Gregory's first book. It's absolutely amazing. Don't go by the blurb, it doesn't even come close to describing it. The characters and the situation are so well done, it all seeme...more
I can't believe that this is Daryl Gregory's first book. It's absolutely amazing. Don't go by the blurb, it doesn't even come close to describing it. The characters and the situation are so well done, it all seeme...more
9 likes · like · see review
В 1944 году США поразила волна одержимостей. Неизвестные науке существа вселялись в простых людей и заставляли их делать необычные для них вещи: рисовать картины, петь песни, убивать, взрывать, насиловать. Никто не знал точной причины происходящего. Церковь была уверена, что это происки демонов; уфологи – коварных инопланетян, безумные конспирологи называли виновниками мутантов-слэнов, а юнгианцы- ожившие архетипы, порожденные коллективным бессознательным. Никто не знал причины, но все были в ку...more
If I were forced to vote on what author will, one day, write my favorite book of all time, my vote would probably go to Daryl Gregory. He's relatively new to the world of writing, I read Raising Stoney Mayhall last fall, and I picked up this book (and another of his) late last week. What I've gathered from these two books is that the author knows exactly how to push my buttons as a reader. Damn he's good.
That said, despite finding his prose riveting, I felt like the story lost itself for just a...more
That said, despite finding his prose riveting, I felt like the story lost itself for just a...more
That was quite wonderful, actually. There were a few moments in the middle where I thought about abandoning the book altogether because I thought I knew how Gregory would end it, or at least wasn't interested in finding out. I underestimated him a lot, because the ending of this novel is amazing, utterly different than what you might expect from this sort of thing. It's thoughtful, original, moving, and just amazingly well-done. Obviously Gregory is a thoughtful writer; the premise is clever, an...more
This book was a quick, easy read, littered with pop-culture references (a couple of which are good enough I won't spoil 'em), and reminded me, more than anything else, of the old Wild Cards series edited by a then-far-less-famous George R. R. Martin (Find those in Ppb if you can, they're worth it!). In the world's internal mythology I found echoes of Wild Cards' Aces and Jokers, although Pandemonium is a different sort of book, a bit more angsty. Basic premise: in the 1950s, like the book blurb...more
Feb 05, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
added it
Reviewers were happy to see a fresh take on a well-worn subject of sci-fi and horror stories: demonic possession. They suggested that by creating a world where demons are commonplace, Gregory has in fact found a way of making the subject novel. Critics were even more impressed by Pandemonium's well-developed characters. As one reviewer noted, the possessions of the story affect the trajectories of the characters' lives in the same way as mental illness, without transforming this novel into an al
...more
I learned recently that the word pandemonium was first coined by John Milton in Paradise Lost. It was originially rendered Pandæmonium and, yes, Pan and Daemon are references to demon or demons. Pandemonium is the abode of all the demons, specifically in Milton it was the capital of Hell. And what is hell but a wild uproar or unrestrained disorder; tumult or chaos?
Trivia aside this was a great first novel. I was attracted to it originally by the references to the writings of Phillip K. Dick, esp...more
Trivia aside this was a great first novel. I was attracted to it originally by the references to the writings of Phillip K. Dick, esp...more
I've managed to read Gregory's books in reverse order starting with the amazing Raising Stony Mayhall, so this book, the sheer greatnest of this book, wasn't as much of a surprise as it would have been if I'd just picked it up out of the blue. But nevertheless...what an awesome book. And of course how could one expect any less originality in this take on possession from the man who's written the most original zombie story to have come out in ages possible ever. From the excellent storytelling to...more
Gregory's short fiction displays certain central obsessions--a keen understanding of cognitive sciences an interest in families and questions of relationships and maturity and an obsession with popular culture, in the form of science fiction, superhero comics, pulp novels, etc.
All of these factor into Pandemonium, to great effect. To give much more than a broad summary of the plot threatens to spoil too many of the surprises, so I won't bother. (Should I admit that the ending was so affecting t...more
All of these factor into Pandemonium, to great effect. To give much more than a broad summary of the plot threatens to spoil too many of the surprises, so I won't bother. (Should I admit that the ending was so affecting t...more
May 13, 2011
J.
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
urban fantasy fans with a geeky, academic bent
Recommended to J. by:
someone on a message board
In Pandemonium, demonic possession is a natural menace of everyday life--it doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it causes chaos and a confusion and quite a bit of paperwork. Our intrepid hero was possessed as a child, and it's certainly made a mess of his life. Of course, as with every good book, things can always get worse. As demons begin encroached upon his life more and more, he's got to find a way to stop the pandemonium.
I'm being deliberately vague in my synopsis. Suffice to say,...more
I'm being deliberately vague in my synopsis. Suffice to say,...more
You can get away with your novel being as weird as you like as long as you make it readable.
Pandemonium is pretty weird. It features a number of bizarre characters including demons who make their possessed hosts act out elaborate superhero fantasies, a lake monster, Sinead O'Connor re-imagined as a priest of an obscure catholic sect,, a paramilitary force on the watch for (effectively) the aliens from They Live*, and a demon who has taken over the persona of Philip K. Dick.
And it all mostly wo...more
Pandemonium is pretty weird. It features a number of bizarre characters including demons who make their possessed hosts act out elaborate superhero fantasies, a lake monster, Sinead O'Connor re-imagined as a priest of an obscure catholic sect,, a paramilitary force on the watch for (effectively) the aliens from They Live*, and a demon who has taken over the persona of Philip K. Dick.
And it all mostly wo...more
Pandemonium" tiene una de las premisas mas interesantes que yo haya encontrado jamas en la literatura de fantasia urbana.
El mundo de la novela es algo distinto al nuestro, varios acontecimientos han sucedido de otro modo (y nos enteramos a cuentagotas durante el desarrollo de la historia) pero el detalle central es que desde la decada del cuarenta han habido incontables casos de posesiones; gente que ha sido invadida por "demonios". Estos demonios son arquetipos de la cultura popular, al poseer...more
El mundo de la novela es algo distinto al nuestro, varios acontecimientos han sucedido de otro modo (y nos enteramos a cuentagotas durante el desarrollo de la historia) pero el detalle central es que desde la decada del cuarenta han habido incontables casos de posesiones; gente que ha sido invadida por "demonios". Estos demonios son arquetipos de la cultura popular, al poseer...more
Pandemonium is set in a world similar to our own, but it's a world in which demonic possession is a real, scientifically-validated phenomenon. Most demons possess their victims for only a few minutes or hours, after which they move on to their next host, leaving the erstwhile hostage bewildered and frightened. Most.
Del Pierce was possessed as a young boy by a demon known as The Hellion...only as an adult, it now appears that The Hellion never left. This book deals with Del's attempts to rid hims...more
Del Pierce was possessed as a young boy by a demon known as The Hellion...only as an adult, it now appears that The Hellion never left. This book deals with Del's attempts to rid hims...more
This book has a great title, and the cover illustration really drew me in. I'm happy to report that what I found between the covers was just as good as the outside led me to anticipate.
This story moves right along, drawing you in to a world that is very apparently set at an angle to the reality most of us know. Anyone who calls his mother the Cyclops is bound to lead an interesting life. In fact, the characters inhabit a world where the characters from the mind of one man can, at will, take hol...more
This story moves right along, drawing you in to a world that is very apparently set at an angle to the reality most of us know. Anyone who calls his mother the Cyclops is bound to lead an interesting life. In fact, the characters inhabit a world where the characters from the mind of one man can, at will, take hol...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Modern SF: Pandemonium, Daryl Gregory | 1 | 8 | Feb 11, 2013 12:46am |
Award-winning author of Pandemonium, The Devil's Alphabet, and Raising Stony Mayhall.
He is also the writer of comics such as Dracula: The Company of Monsters and Planet of the Apes, both from BOOM! Studios.
His first collection of short stories is Unpossible and Other Stories, by Fairwood Press (October, 2011).
Daryl lives in State College, Pennsylvania.
More about Daryl Gregory...
He is also the writer of comics such as Dracula: The Company of Monsters and Planet of the Apes, both from BOOM! Studios.
His first collection of short stories is Unpossible and Other Stories, by Fairwood Press (October, 2011).
Daryl lives in State College, Pennsylvania.
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“Maybe everyone in the world was this inconsistent, this fragments. All we could see of each other -- all we could see of ourselves -- was a ragged person-shaped outline, a game of connect-the-dots without enough dots.”
—
5 people liked it
“Divine essence?' I said. 'Hey, I'm Fat Boy, I'll possess a guy and make him eat ten pounds of chocolate in one sitting! Yeah, that's divine, that's fucking deep, that's like ...' I couldn't think what that was like. It was like something, though.”
—
3 people liked it
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