Practical Demonkeeping
 | |
| Author | Christopher Moore |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Humor, Fiction, absurdist, Horror, comic fantasy |
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
Publication date | Original Hardcover: January, 1992 |
| Publication place | United States |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-312-07069-1 (Original Hardcover) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| OCLC | 62912461 |
| Followed by | Coyote Blue |
Practical Demonkeeping, published in 1992, is Christopher Moore's first novel. It deals with a demon from Hell and his master. The novel has been translated and published in German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Russian.
Plot summary
Travis was born in 1900, yet he has not aged since 1919, because he accidentally called up a demon from hell named Catch as his servant, presumably forever. Ever since then, Travis has been trying to get rid of Catch, but he is unable to do so because he has lost the repository of the necessary incantations. He traces their whereabouts to a fictional town called Pine Cove, along Big Sur coast, where he thinks the woman he gave them to may be residing. Interactions with the townspeople and with a djinn, who is pursuing Catch, create considerable complications.
Several characters from this novel continue their lives in later novels by Moore; in addition, the setting of Pine Cove itself is revisited for The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove and The Stupidest Angel. The fictional town of Pine Cove is described as being within easy driving distance of San Luis Obispo, California, and seems to be modeled after the town of Cambria, California.
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (March 2013) |
- Although Disney has bought the film rights to the novel, it has not been made into a motion picture yet.
- This novel includes one of the earliest literary examples of Internet dating.
- The demon in the story, Catch, is also featured in another of Moore's novels, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.
- The character of Mavis Sand also appears in Moore's novels The Stupidest Angel and The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove.
- The character of Alphonse Rivera appears again as a detective in Moore's novel Bloodsucking Fiends, A Dirty Job, You Suck, and Bite Me, and briefly in Coyote Blue.
- The character of Augustus Brine and his house of pleasure 'Kings Lake' are briefly mentioned in Coyote Blue.
External links
- Book Homepage
- Christopher Moore.com
- Practical Demonkeeping title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database