In Demons by John Shirley, sheer terror develops as varied sorts of demons invade the world and begin to devour humanity like a hungry teenage boy attacking a bag of potato chips. The fact that they cannot be killed seems to lull much of the populace into a catatonic numbness as they continue their daily routines with death lurking around every corner. The Gnashers were almost comically interesting—talking their victims' ears off like a Chatty Cathy with a long, rambling monologue, before consuming them. The story continues as Shirley leads the reader down a slow, winding path towards the explanation for the appearance of the demons and the beginning of the next invasion. That section (Book Two: Undercurrent) felt a little like wading through molasses in comparison to the horrific invasion in the earlier part of the story, but I was more satisfied by the time I got to the ending. Shirley's theme of mass sacrifice as a vector to bring more evil into the world by a power-hungry few is food for thought in our post 9/11 world that doesn't seem to be able to halt the advance of chemical and GMO suicide.
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