Prosper's Demon

by K. J. Parker

Overview

"As if Deadpool had slipped into the body of the Witcher Geralt." —The New York Times

In the pitch dark, witty fantasy novella Prosper's Demon, K. J. Parker deftly creates a world with vivid, unbending rules, seething with demons, broken faith, and worse men.

In a botched demonic extraction, they say the demon feels it ten times worse than the man. But they don’t die, and we do. Equilibrium.

The unnamed and morally questionable narrator is an exorcist with great follow-through and few doubts. His methods aren’t delicate but they’re undeniably effective: he’ll get the demon out—he just doesn’t particularly care what happens to the person.

Prosper of Schanz is a man of science, determined to raise the world’s first philosopher-king, reared according to the purest principles. Too bad he’s demonically possessed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250260512
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/28/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	479,048
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Having worked in journalism, numismatics and the law, K. J. Parker now writes for a precarious living. He is the author of Devices and Desires, Evil for Evil, The Devil You Know, and other novels. K J Parker also writes under the name Tom Holt, and has won the World Fantasy Award twice.

Editorial Reviews

While this story has a fairy-tale setting, and is as far from our present reality as you can get, the exorcist's humor, and his blasé approach to battling evil spirits, give the story a jokey, modern tone, as if Deadpool had slipped into the body of the Witcher Geralt. Now that is escapism at its best.

The New York Times Book Review - Danielle Trussoni

11/25/2019

Set in a demon-haunted, Renaissance Europe–inspired world, this dark fantasy novella from Holt (An Orc on the Wild Side) is a captivating character study. The unnamed, morally ambiguous narrator is able to perceive and communicate with demons, and has been authorized by the church to evict them from their human hosts, but his ruthless approach to exorcisms makes him unpopular with demons and humans alike. When a princess’s pregnancy attracts the attention of a demon the narrator has known all his life, the narrator follows the demon to the palace. There he meets the princess’s tutor, Prosper of Schanz, a philosopher and artist in the mold of da Vinci. When the narrator realizes that Prosper is inhabited by a demon who is likely responsible for Prosper’s artistic genius, the narrator faces a challenging moral decision about whether to expel the demon and deprive the world of more masterworks. The engrossing narrative voice and assured worldbuilding compensate for a slight plot and rushed conclusion. Readers will be pleasantly surprised by this new direction for Holt. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"As if Deadpool had slipped into the body of the Witcher Geralt." —The New York Times

"Rich with spiky ideas and with Parker’s inimitable and always entertaining voice." —Locus

From the Publisher

01/01/2020

An unnamed and morally ambiguous narrator begins this eerie and darkly humorous novella by explaining his prowess as an exorcist. Providing multiple, successful exorcisms a week, he does not care if the human client lives or dies. His job is to banish the demon from their bodies, no matter the cost or the mess. Elsewhere in this medieval world, life is harsh, dark, and violent, but Prosper of Schanz, one of the era's greatest thinkers, knows that science can be the antidote. To prove his point, he will raise the baby Prince to be a pure and perfect example of humanity. And while Prosper may not believe in demons, our narrator knows that both he and the baby are possessed. Readers will be surprised by how much fun they have while reading such an unsettling story and how they will continue to ponder the themes and their implications in our modern world. VERDICT With a fresh take on the well-trod demonic possession trope, solid worldbuilding, high-court politics, and an engaging narrator, this short tale will draw in fans of dark speculative fiction, especially admirers of Martha Wells and Grady Hendrix.

Library Journal