A review by bookedbymadeline
Prosper's Demon by K.J. Parker

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

I was really looking forward to this as I’ve enjoyed similar stories (like CS Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters). Sadly it fell short for me and wasn’t what I hoped for. I think the main reason being it’s too short to truly engage with it. There’s not enough time for proper world building and getting to know the characters on a deeper level.

It’s an interesting enough story for a novella but I would’ve loved for it to be longer and go further. The writing style also felt very stream of consciousness which I don’t typically enjoy. We are thrown into the story with no context and there’s a lot of flashbacks that add to the whiplash of not knowing what’s going on most of the time. I was hoping for a darker, more existentialist story of demons and exorcisms. I wouldn’t categorize this as horror at all either.

Overall it was entertaining enough for a quick read. I hoped and wanted more but I’ll have to search for similar novels to get the depth I hoped for I suppose! I don’t plan on reading the sequel simply because the writing style wasn’t to my taste so I’m not intrigued enough to continue the story.


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