Recommendations for Demon Sub-Genre?

I've been reading Elric of Melniboné and I find the setting of the story very fascinating, and most fascinating the notion that Elric interacts with, fights, and travels in the plane of demons. This got me wondering, are there other novels in which demons figure significantly, either as enemies, or protagonists, or helpers, etc? I've read Demons Don't Dream, and the Illuminatus Trilogy as well, and enjoyed them. So, do you know of any other stories involving demons? Either benign, indifferent, or evil?

Michael Moorcock's von Bek deals a lot with Satan as a main character,

White wolf publishing has a trilogy Demon the fallen by Greg Stolze which is about demons breaking out of hell back into the world. and there was an anthology Lucifer's Shadow: Tales of Fallen Angels which covers the same thing.

Good Omens has a demon as a main character though this one is more humorous (quit a bit).

Declare by Tim Powers deals with dijin - along the line of demons.

I'm sure I can come up with some more given a little time. you can also check out the tags "demon" and "demons" for a long list.

Kim Harrison has a series that starts with Dead Witch Walking that has demons in it. They aren't the main focus but are somewhat prominent.

3 > I keep meaning to look at some of those, are they really worth it?

In the paranormal romance type books there will be heaps, and even in Charmed.

Terry Brooks Running With the Demon and others in that series.

Red Sonja in Demon Night.

Clark Ashton Smith
H. P. Lovecraft
Clive Barker
Robert E. Howard
David Gemmell

The Exorcist of course as a classic.

Probably going to depend on what sort of demons you are after?

>3 Morphidae: The first one is a little slow. The second one gets better. She's now up to the fourth or fifth one, and she keeps on improving.

Kim Harrison's latest, For a Few Demons More is pretty much focused on demons and is a good read. However, you'll miss some of the nuances and references if you don't read the earlier novels, especially regarding her relationship to Al.

6: Five. With the sixth due out in March 08. ^^ And honestly, I didn't find the first one slow at all.

Demons figure very prominently in The Outstretched Shadow, To Light a Candle, and When Darkness Falls all by Mercedes Lackey. Just a note, but the beginning on the first book was a bit slow in my opinion. It gets better quickly though!

9: bitter_suite

Thanks, this was right along the lines of what I was looking for!

There is another sub-genre that deals with the war in the heavens between Lucifer and God. Some before humans came on the scene and others that mix these forces with humans. One of the best known is To Reign in Hell by Steven Brust. Hal Duncan tried this sub-genre in Vellum and Ink but I don't think he quite pulled it off.

11: And Good Omens. Don't forget Good Omens.

and Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore

11&12: I forgot about Good Omens. I read that one already and it was very good.

Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming if you want to go the comedy route. Roger Zelazny.

and the Robert Asprin Mything Persons series of books.

Not novels, but Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling edited an anthology (possibly two) with demonic themes. See Demons and dreams.

I've not read it but noticed it on LT.

>3 Morphidae: : I love Kim Harrison's series, but I can see why they may only appeal to a certain type of reader. They're not really chick lit, but definitely appeal to the same part of my reading brain that loves chick lit. Lots of girl power, quite a lot of romantic sub-plots.

One other suggestion (although these really are very romantic, so bear that in mind) is Jane Routley. Mage Heart is the first in a series where a young mage starts dabbling with demons. A few years since I read them so I can't recall all the details other than that they were quite lovely, but very romantic. VoyagerOnline has an extract if you're interested: http://www.voyageronline.com.au/books/extract.cfm?ISBN=0732268826

Tanya Huff Keeper series has some demon activity (after all, what does the keeper keep but gates to hell:-) and in her Blood Price a demon is summoned
Katie MacAlister Guardian series has a demon sidekick - but it is very chicklit
Esther Friesner Here be Demons and Demon Blues has demon main characters

4 > I wouldn't say the Kim Harrison series is worth it, but that is mainly because the main character is so stupid in book 2 that it made me mad...

botmind: Glad I was able to help. I hope you enjoy the books!

I'm thinking about reading Offspring by Liam Jackson which is the first book in a trilogy, I think, that looks like it fits into the War in the Heavens theme. I might also wait until the series is finished though. Not sure yet. Used copies are fairly cheap at the moment.

If you are into YA at all, The Bartimaeus Trilogy (The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, and Ptolemy's Gate) is very good and has a lot to do with demons.

I just read Sebastian by Anne Bishop in which the main character is an incubus and lives in a place populated by demons. I originally thought the book was a romance, but it is actually a fantasy with a romantic subplot. It was really pretty good and not at all as risque as you might think it would be with an incubus character.

does R.A. Salvatore's DemonWars series (The Demon Awakens, The Demon Spirit, The Demon Apostle, Mortalis, Ascendance, Transcendence, Immortalis) count? The title suggests there are Demons in them somewhere :)

(I have the full series though I've not started reading them yet)

There are a few Hellblazer novels now too, not to mention the ton of the graphic variety. Demons galore.

Hellboy, likewise.

How about the Sun Sword series by Michelle West? It starts with the The Broken Crown and has 5 other books after that. Oh, also read the Hunter's Oath and Hunter's Death first....they introduce you to some key concepts and figures found in the Sun Sword series. Demons are the main antagonists in the Sun Sword series, so perhaps you will enjoy them...not to mention that they're LONG books and will last a while! ; )

In addition to Tanya Huff's "Keeper" and "Blood" series, as Amberwitch mentioned, Smoke and Ashes, book three of her "Smoke" series features a demonic convergence in the city of Vancouver.

I also recommend Patricia Briggs' When Demons Walk and Rachel Caine's "Weather Warden" series.

Hi,

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville has a great scene of negotiation with a demon that is evil but also logical and reasonable.

Cheers,
Val

A few more YA ones are Hellbent by Anthony McGowan, which I believe was a comedy, and The Demonata series by Darren Shan which is Lord Loss, The Demon Thief, Slawter, and I think three more books.

I can't believe no one's mentioned Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained...

Three Liz Williams books spring to mind as well:
Snake Agent, The Demon and the City, & Precious Dragon. All are Detective Inspector Chen Novels.

A quick synopsis of Snake Agent to give you an idea of the stories:
Detective Inspector Chen is the Singapore Three police department's snake agent - the detective in charge of supernatural investigations. Chen has several problems: in addition to colleagues who don't trust him, a patron goddess whom he has offended and a demonic wife who's tired of staying home alone, he's been paired with one of Hell's own vice officers, the demon Seneschal Zhu Irzh, to investigate the illegal trade in souls. Political pressures both Earthly and otherworldly seek to block their investigations at every turn. As a plot involving both the industrial elite and Hell's own Ministry of Epidemics is revealed, it becomes apparent that the stakes are higher than anyone had previously suspected.

Rachel Pollack has two related novels about demons: Unquenchable Fire and Temporary Agency. They're not demons from the abrahamic/judeo-christian mythos; they're Malignant Ones -- but I think stand-out examples of what a world might be in which such things exist.

The Devil You Know by Mike Carey is a pretty good paranormal mystery involving demons and such. Noir combined with ghosts and demons and people who can do remote viewing.

The Demons at Rainbow Bridge by Jack L. Chalker

Edited to enable touchstones.

The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump involves an alternate reality in which magic works, but sometimes leaves nasty residue behind, which is handled by the Environmental Perfection Agency. There are various supernatural entities involved in the story, both helpful and dangerous.

The title story in Convergent Series by Larry Niven is another you might be interested in. Imagine being a college student doing a thesis on magic, and one night you try a demon-summoning ritual, purely as research... and you actually get a demon. Said demon explains the bargain you've made, 1 wish in exchange for your soul. Now what?

The main character in Peter Morwood's The Book of Years series has to fight a powerful enemy who deals with demons (and, if memory serves, partially transforms into a demon).

Mercedes Lackey's Diana Tregarde is a witch and romance author (gotta pay the bills somehow!) who fights various supernatural enemies in Jinx High, Children of the Night, and Burning Water.

Operation Chaos and Operation Luna are 2 more magic-as-technology books that involve fighting demons and a rescue mission into Hell.

Hi, Visible!

Thank you for considering Offspring."
As you mentioned, it's the first in a trilogy. The second book is due out in early '08.

Demons play a signifcant role in the story, as do angelic entities. I used portions of a centuries-old mythos to build the plot line for the demons.

The premise: The universe is actually a "multiverse," or multiple planes connected by passages not unlike cosmic wormholes. Demons inhabit one such plane, and periodcally journey to the Plane of Man in order to "hunt."

A complex physical law prevents the most powerful demons from accessing our world...until a very angry and quite psychotic fallen angel devises a way for the demon horde to invade earth in force.

And as Publisher's Weekly so eloquently stated, "Bloody mayhem ensues."

If you do read the story, I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

Best,

Liam
Liam@LiamJackson.com

I don't think anyone has mentioned Holly Lisle's Sympathy for the Devil or The Devil and Dan Cooley? And what about Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures series -- deevils and pervects and all sorts of odd critters....

If Asprin hasn't been mentioned, it's a shame. Skeeve and Aahz were my constant companions in the during Eighties. Some great humor in the "MythAdventures."

Her books are great. Got hooked on them by my oldest daughter and have read them all. Most have demons in themas well.

A lot of Barbara Hambly's fantasies feature demons, usually malign. Try The Witches of Wenshar or Sisters of the raven.

Carol Berg's Transformation has some really original demons and demon-fighting techniques.