The Fallible Fiend

L Sprague De Camp will never go down in history as a literary great, but he's never written a boring novel either, and hardly ever one that wasn't damn good fun. The Fallible Fiend is one of his best standalone works, a satirical swashbuckler with a plane-walking demon as the main character. De Camp's on top form here; the plot flies along, the laughs come thick and fast. The characters, a rumbustious procession of rogues and grotesques, never fail to entertain. De Camp also has room to squeeze in a couple of astute Swiftian observations about the nature our species itself, though the book never falls into the trap of becoming a serious piece of work. It's frivolity all the way through.

L Sprague De Camp will never go down in history as a literary great, but he's never written a boring novel either, and hardly ever one that wasn't damn good fun. The Fallible Fiend is one of his best standalone works, a satirical swashbuckler with a plane-walking demon as the main character. De Camp's on top form here; the plot flies along, the laughs come thick and fast. The characters, a rumbustious procession of rogues and grotesques, never fail to entertain. De Camp also has room to squeeze in a couple of astute Swiftian observations about the nature our species itself, though the book never falls into the trap of becoming a serious piece of work. It's frivolity all the way through.

An amusing romp with a very literal-minded demon being drafted to serve a human wizard, and the hijinks that ensue. Not a great book, but a fair read.

Zdim, a logical, scholarly demon from the Twelfth Plane, is forced into a year of indentured servitude in the human Prime Plane. Misinterpreting human customs and commands, Zdim faces comedic trouble: selling his services to various masters and saving a city from invasion.

Zdim is summoned by Dr. Maldivius, but due to his overly literal, logical nature, he constantly causes problems: eating a wizard's apprentice when instructed to protect a room. He is subsequently sold and transferred to other owners, including a circus owner and a rich widow.

Zdim is a demon with a problem. He's being drafted into summoning corps, sold into indentured servitude in exchange for iron. His adventures in the "Prime Plane" are definitely a fish out of water tale, but are entertaining at least.

A quick, quirky read that endeavors to please.

Competent, like all DeCamp. Mildly funny.

a demon's exploits; very poor humor, no plot, no characterization, first person narrative by demon, boring