Christopher Moore

In Christopher Moore's ingenious debut novel, we meet one of the most memorably mismatched pairs in the annals of literature. The good-looking one is one-hundred-year-old ex-seminarian and 'roads' scholar Travis O'Hearn. The green one is Catch, a demon with a nasty habit of eating most of the people he meets. Behind the fake Tudor façade of Pine Cove, California, Catch sees a four-star buffet. Travis, on the other hand, thinks he sees a way of ridding himself of his toothy travelling companion. The winos, neo-pagans, and deadbeat Lotharios of Pine Cove, meanwhile, have other ideas. And none of them is quite prepared when all hell breaks loose.

Book 1: Pine Cove Series

Practical Demonkeeping

Traci Wilbanks

Read this after reading "Lamb" in which Catch makes an appearance. Already having some info from "Lamb" about that character made it even better. Having read "Lamb" first also gave me the unique experience of witnessing the evolution of the author's style in reverse. I'm sure Moore would appreciate that his progress as an author would be experienced like many a Vonnegut tale.

Wynter

Did you know that only cops and vampires need official invitation to enter a house? Well, now you do.

In Christopher Moore's ingenious debut novel, we meet one of the most memorably mismatched pairs in the annals of literature. The good-looking one is one-hundred-year-old ex-seminarian and "roads" scholar Travis O'Hearn. The green one is Catch, a demon with a nasty habit of eating most of the people he meets. Behind the fake Tudor façade of Pine Cove, California, Catch sees a four-star buffet. Travis, on the other hand, thinks he sees a way of ridding himself of his toothy traveling companion. The winos, neo-pagans, and deadbeat Lotharios of Pine Cove, meanwhile, have other ideas. And none of them is quite prepared when all hell breaks loose.

Colleen

3 Stars

Christopher Moore has been highly recommended to me. This is the second of his books that I’ve read. Unfortunately, both of those haven fallen in the middle of the road. They’re entertaining but only on a surface level. I guess absurdist fiction just isn’t my thing. 

Practical Demonkeeping was Christopher Moore’s debut book. I can see why it caught people’s attention, but it got off to a rough start. I really did not like the first chapter. It got better later on, but it was an off-putting start. A lot of characters and different plot lines were introduced in rapid succession, and everything seemed too random. 

The middle of the story got much better as the plot lines converged. For a moment I thought it might even inch up to four stars. But the ending was rushed and chaotic. Things were too conveniently wrapped up and anticlimactic. It just didn’t quite do it for me. It’s a quirky story but a little too weird for my tastes.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Ben Nathan

Definitely not his funniest book, but I found it very enjoyable. The characters were all interesting and the way it was told was great. I think as it got weirder, it got better. I definitely wanted to read the next immediately after finishing (so I did)

Practical Demonkeeping Book 1: Pine Cove Series

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