Vicious Circle

Mike Carey — 2006

Castor has reluctantly returned to exorcism after the case of the Bonnington Archive ghost convinced him that he really can do some good with his abilities ('good', of course, being a relative term when dealing with the undead). But his friend, Rafi, is still possessed; the succubus, Ajulutsikael (Juliet to her friends), still technically has a contract on him; and he's still - let's not beat around the bush - dirt poor. Doing some consulting for the local constabulary helps pay the bills, but Castor needs a big, private job to really fill the hole in his overdraft. That's what he needs. What he gets, good fortune and Castor not being on speaking terms, is a seemingly insignificant 'missing ghost' case that inexorably drags himself and his loved ones into the middle of a horrific plot to raise one of Hell's fiercest demons. When Satanists, sacrifice farms, stolen spirits and possessed churches all appear on the same police report, the name of Felix Castor can't be too far behind . . .

Reviews

Janice Hopper@archergal

Nov 2, 2022

Decent, noir-ish paranormal fantasy. I read the first book in this series a few years ago. I liked it well enough to remember the author and to think about reading other books by him. This version came up on Scribd, so I listened to it. Felix Castor is an exorcist who doesn't want to kill ghosts anymore. He lives in a world of intelligent (i.e., not brain-eating) zombies, succubuses, demons, lycanthropes, ghosts, and devil worshipers. He gets called on to rescue the ghost of a little girl. At least, that's what he's told. What has happened, and what is planned to happen, is rather more sinister. I do have a liking for the wise-cracking, hardboiled kinds of heroes. Felix Castor makes a pretty good one. The story is a bit grim, with a child's soul in peril, and hungry demons lurking about. The narration was perfectly competent. I thought the accent the narrator has was a bit posh for the characters, and I was continually surprised by the way he pronounced "Castor." It always sounded to me like "Carster." Maybe it's a UK thing, like Maurice? Dunno. A minor point, really, but I noticed it Every. Time.