The Demonologist - Hardcover

Pyper, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1451697414 ISBN 13: 9781451697414

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2013

Synopsis

**WINNER OF THE 2014 THRILLER AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL**

Fans of The Historian won’t be able to put down this spellbinding literary horror story in which a Columbia professor must use his knowledge of demonic mythology to rescue his daughter from the Underworld.

Professor David Ullman is among the world’s leading authorities on demonic literature, with special expertise in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Not that David is a believer—he sees what he teaches as a branch of the imagination and nothing more. So when the mysterious Thin Woman arrives at his office and invites him to travel to Venice and witness a “phenomenon,” he turns her down. She leaves plane tickets and an address on his desk, advising David that her employer is not often disappointed.

That evening, David’s wife announces she is leaving him. With his life suddenly in shambles, he impulsively whisks his beloved twelve-year-old daughter, Tess, off to Venice after all. The girl has recently been stricken by the same melancholy moods David knows so well, and he hopes to cheer her up and distract them both from the troubles at home.

But what happens in Venice will change everything.

First, in a tiny attic room at the address provided by the Thin Woman, David sees a man restrained in a chair, muttering, clearly insane… but could he truly be possessed? Then the man speaks clearly, in the voice of David’s dead father, repeating the last words he ever spoke to his son. Words that have left scars—and a mystery—behind.

When David rushes back to the hotel, he discovers Tess perched on the roof’s edge, high above the waters of the Grand Canal. Before she falls, she manages to utter a final plea: Find me.

What follows is an unimaginable journey for David Ullman from skeptic to true believer. In a terrifying quest guided by symbols and riddles from the pages of Paradise Lost, David must track the demon that has captured his daughter and discover its name. If he fails, he will lose Tess forever.

About this title

Review

A stunningly crafted, intelligent and moving horror story ... this is a subtle, revealing exposition of the power of the devil. There is an elegance to the storytelling, and a command of what evil may mean, that lingers with you long after the end (DAILY MAIL)

Effective, literate, nightmarish (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)

A thrilling exploration of how we all have to do battle with our own demons (MAIL ON SUNDAY)

A smart, thrilling, utterly unnerving novel. Pyper's gift is that he deeply respects his readers, yet still insists on reducing them to quivering children. I like that in a writer (Gillian Flynn)

'The Demonologist is that rare thing - a novel that is both genuinely terrifying and erudite. The research is excellent and lightly worn, the pace and cleverness of the plot thrilling, one of the most exciting works of fiction I've read for some time' (Kate Mosse)

Genuinely terrifying, don't-read-late-at-night stuff. Thrilling, compelling and beautifully written (SJ Watson)

'The Demonologist is a smart psychological thriller. Carefully crafted, claustrophobic and deeply, deeply creepy' (Simon Toyne)

Richly crafted, deliriously scary and compulsively page-turning from beginning to end. Imagine The Exorcist and The Da Vinci Code as penned by Daphne du Maurier. Don't miss this one! (Jeffery Deaver)

As compelling and smoothly chilling a tale as you'll find this year. The Demonologist shows an enormously gifted writer at the top of his game, producing a novel of eerie menace and unique depth. Those of us who write supernatural stories do not throw the names Ira Levin, William Peter Blatty, and Peter Straub around lightly. You'll be hearing all three associated with Mr Pyper soon, and all such comparisons are warranted, the highest praise I can offer (Michael Koryta, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of THE PROPHET)

Pyper is an intelligent writer, steeped in Miltonian symbolism, gifted with language . . . This artful literary exploration of evil's manifestation makes for a sophisticated horror tale (KIRKUS)

Book Description

Winner of the 2014 International Thriller Writers Award for Best Novel.

The unsettling, unique and utterly compelling new novel from the bestselling author of LOST GIRLS.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1451697414
• ISBN 13: 9781451697414
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 285