Practical Demonkeeping - Christopher Moore

Last year, I enjoyed a couple fun vampire books by Christopher Moore (You Suck and A Dirty Job) - so when I was in the mood for some light-reading about creatures from the underworld, I decided to check out this one - Moore's first novel from about 15 years ago. The reviews on goodsreads.com were not that favorable - and many Moore fans reminded readers that this was his first book - and it was good to see that his writing had evolved over time. So, I came in with low expectations. I wasn't disappointed - there are an overabundance of characters in this novel, so it made it a little difficult to follow at times. But, the basic plot is that many years ago, Travis inadvertantly summoned the demon Catch from hell. Catch feeds on humans and is invisible except when attacking. As Travis searches for the incantation to send Catch back down below, a strange Arab arrives on the scene hunting down Catch with the help of the unsuspecting residents of the small town of Pine Cove, CA. Things get a little absurd, but Moore's characters are certainly colorful and his stories are a fun diversion from serious life.