Demon Spawn

Hey

I know I’ve been totally flaky lately. I’ve been busy with fun Things likes meetups, and sad things like overall family health decline, and exciting things like starting a container garden on my apartment patio. So I’ve been busy. But I’ve also been reading.

First, earlier this month I read Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat, and its one currently extant sequel. It looks like book three will be out this year, or otherwise very soon, and I can hardly wait. Its a really good series. But, of course, I knew that because a) it’s been out forever and a day and b) before that I read the beginning when she posted it on FictionPress. Pretty sure I read a chapter or two aloud to my pet stegosaurus, but there you go. I will say that I slightly crossed this story in memory with another that is not dissimilar in brief summary, and which also did the on-FP-then-published thing–and that crossbred memory is why it’s taken me this long to read the book, but I’m really glad I got over this. Also, if there are any other homo slashapiens like me out there, that this is somewhat different and far better than what was posted on FP, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, then there’s no hope for you. No redemption. No solace. Unless you go read it right now.

And then, as you might guess from the title, I read a story called Demon Spawn (well, either that or I’m posting about the kids I work with…). Demon Spawn is a WIP posted on FictionPress by the author lostogg. I heard of it through The Slash Pile, which is full of wonderful things.

Demon Spawn begins with the end of a battle, with a demon-possessed kid on one side, and a healer on the other side who had been training to be…I think a paladin would be the easiest explanation of what he would have been, if his brother hadn’t pulled him out of school after their father’s death.

The story is pretty good–I can’t say too much more without spoiling bits, but it’s overall good. And the writing is stylistically nice; easy to read, but not too simple. It has good tone, good imagery, decent world-building (if a bit confusing due to slow-coming new facts).

But. The characters. The Main Characters are both (all? a third MC has just been introduced) fairly solid, possessing of depths, flaws, and bonuses, but nothing in excess…well, okay the demon-kid might be a bit over-powered, but it doesn’t stand out as the author doting impossibly on him, as such things sometimes do.

No, the real problem is the secondary characters, who seem to react to things in very contrived manners. Actually, so do the MCs at times, but it’s less distinct. For example, the Bother of the Healer made it very clear at first introduction that while he thought it was odd Healer was gay, he didn’t mind a whole lot. But when Healer started to hook up with someone Brother was suddenly angry and demanded they pretend they weren’t. He also did that “oh, so now you have to marry so you aren’t seen as gay” thing– mostly so that a different secondary character could arrive at their location. Who also acts one way and then another based on what reactions the author needed to shift the plot along, rather than based on the character she displayed during the first few chapters of meeting her.

There’s also something confusing about timing in the book. Partly it was a geography issue (three hours to the boarder of the kingdom?), and partly one of awkward mini-flash-backs and tiny forward jumps, but it confused me at times.

But, like I said at the start, this is a pretty good read. I’ve been laughing with it a lot, and generally the events are appealing– especially when taken individually, whatever that might mean. I plan to continue to read this as more is posted (sounds like the author has slowed down a lot), and I think that will help with the issues that bother me (I won’t remember if he’s Supportive Brother or Disgusted Brother from one month to the next anyway).