This novella was incredibly well written and intriguing. The ending left me absolutely speechless. The only complaint I have is that it became hard to follow at some points, but other than that I really enjoyed this.

This was such a fun and wild ride of a book! It tells the story of our unnamed narrator and his ability to exorcise demons. When he encounters Prosper, the resident genius in the Duchy, a battle of wills for the ages ensues.

The Positives: I loved the tone of the narrator's voice. We spend our time inside his head and he is witty and sarcastic and irreverent and I really enjoyed him. The set up to the action is really well paced and the crux of the story, focusing on the creation of an impossible bronze statue, is fascinating and compelling. I really enjoyed the interactions between our narrator and the various demons he encounters along the way and thought that as a character, he was well rounded with believable motivations.

The Negatives: The world created here is so interesting that I would have appreciated spending some more time exploring it. We are given snippets about the battle against demons, but for me, it just wasn't enough! I really think that this is a world and a character that could definitely be expanded into a full length novel and I for one would pick up that book in a heartbeat.

Overall, this was a great book - I just wish there was more!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I would give this book like a 3.5. I loved the idea behind this book with the demons and the possession but the execution fell a little short for me. I really lived the first half of this book and all of the world building. The plot though...ehh...it didn’t really do it for me. Overall I would suggest people read it though! It’s very interesting!

I enjoyed this a lot! Interesting take on the demon possession without as much saying demon possession. Really enjoyable story.

Prosper's Demon by K.J. Parker is a somehow delightful novella about a man who has the special "gift" of detecting and removing demons that have taken residence in other humans. This man has found himself in a constant stuggle with one particular demon that can't seem to leave him alone.

Told in first person, the narrator's sarcastic and self-deprecating tone really worked for me. The narrator is a deeply flawed human, which made for an interesting exploration of the nature of so-called heroes and villains. I also enjoyed the setting of the novella, where the idea of demons is just beginning to go out of style in favor of scientific explanations for possession, which gives the reader just enough pause to wonder what is really going on.

Overall, Prosper's Demon is a nice short read to spend an afternoon with.

“I woke to find her lying next to me, quite dead, with her throat torn out.”

I read that first line in Prosper’s Demon, by K.J. Parker, and knew right away that I was in for a wild ride. Horror stories aren’t for everyone, but if you’re in the market for a creepy book, be sure to grab a copy of this little novella as soon as you can.

Prosper’s Demon is another gem from Tor.com that can easily be read in one sitting. It’s only 112 pages long, but packs in a lot in so few pages. In this story, we follow an unnamed (and very unreliable narrator), who is a demon hunter of sorts.

The setting made me think of an almost Enlightenment-era Europe, where people are starting to question everything about the world. I honestly felt like I was reading something for one of my university classes (I majored in history, and early modern Europe was my jam). Many characters in the story are beginning to philosophize why and how certain things happen, and put their time and energy into new discoveries. To us readers, this makes sense. To our narrator, it’s a waste of time because he already understands the way of things: demons are real, and they are possessing people, and it’s a problem.

Of course, we don’t necessarily realize just how influential these demons are, which is fleshed out throughout the story in detail (I won’t give away any spoilers!). As a result, our narrator is forced into his own sort of philosophical debate along the lines of “should I act for the greater good?”

This book is unlike anything I’ve read before. Yes, it follows the age-old trope of demon possession and exorcism, but puts a new spin on it. I’m not quite sure who I felt for at the end: the humans or the monsters. You’d expect to feel for your fellow humans, but the ones in this story aren’t exactly nice, so the whole narrative throws you for a loop. The writing was beautiful and grotesque, and I can’t quite understand why I’ve been craving more of the story.

I’ve loved everything I’ve read from Tor.com, and this new novella lived up to my expectations. Prosper’s Demon is strange and unusual, but in the best way possible.

Thank you to the publisher for an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. Prosper’s Demon comes out on January 28, 2020, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.

This novella is a clever, sharp toothed little beast. It’s violent and wicked but not without some very black humour. From the first sentence I was drawn into this world, so very like our own but not quite the same. A resemblance to the Renaissance period with Prosper as a Da Vinci figure is unmistakable but with the alarming and often amusing addition of demon possession. From the unnamed demon hunter/exorcist main character, to Prosper and the demons themselves, the characters are vibrant and so very genuine in their terribleness. The ending was surprising and it made me shake my head and chuckle a little guiltily at the same time. I would love to see more stories with these characters and to delve deeper into this strangely familiar world. As it stands with just this one story I am satisfied by how it concluded but I would really love further adventures and mayhem. I can only hope for a novel or two in the future. Heck, I'd read a whole series!

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

Creo que ya ha quedado claro que en esta casa nos gusta mucho KJ Parker así que cada publicación suya es un pequeño acontecimiento y más si viene seleccionada por Jonathan Strahan.

Prosper’s Demon es una novela corta que trata sobre los temas habituales en la obra del autor, tales como la redención y la culpa con su carga moral con algunas gotas de ingeniería que es lo que se ve que le apasiona. Existen referencias a sus sospechosos habituales como Saloninus y el Sol Invencible, pero se puede leer perfectamente de forma independiente, como gran parte de su obra.
Usando la figura del narrador no confiable en primera persona, Parker nos muestra un mundo donde las posesiones demoníacas están a la orden del día, pero como cada acción tiene su reacción, también hay humanos que se especializan en expulsar a estos demonios, que tendrán que buscar un nuevo inquilino. Con un humor bastante negro y sin dejar de lado los detalles más suculentos, el autor nos va contando cómo el narrador conoció su don, cómo lo utiliza y a qué problemas se ve expuesto. El comienzo es demoledor, y aunque pierde algo de fuelle hacia la mitad de la lectura, se recupera con un gran final.
El demonio al que hace referencia el título es el que ha poseído a Prosper de Schanz genio polifacético que ha decidido dedicarse a la crianza del heredero del reino desde su concepción, para conseguir el regente perfecto. ¿Permitirá nuestro protagonista esta labor o impedirá de alguna forma los planes de los demonios? Pero si lo hace, ¿no estará arruinando el futuro del reino?
Se puede leer tan rápido que puede que nos perdamos detalles de la excelencia en la técnica de escritura de Parker, que no hace si no volver a demostrarnos cómo controla las distancias cortas , a mi entender más que las novelas propiamente dichas, en las que se pierde un poco de la fuerza de su prosa y sus ideas.

That was one of the strangest but captivating stories I've read. I don't really know what to think.

It felt like a modern classic sounding reminiscent of both Edgar Allen Poe and Lewis Carroll with equal parts devilish darkness and rambling whimsy.

As a quick read this is great fun and has warped, dark humor to enjoy. For a longer novel I don't know if I'd be able to handle it but I did love the storyline.

Instagram and facebook review will be live within a week.

My biggest problem with Prosper’s Demon, the new novella from KJ Parker, was that I wanted more of it. It’s a slim volume, which means it moves by quickly, and it’s packed from beginning to end with just plain fun.
Our unnamed protagonist hunts and exorcises demons. That’s basically all the information given in the book. There’s world building involved, of course- we hear the name of countries in passing, we get to know what the demons are like a little of the cosmology. Through a general unfolding of the text, we learn more about the general technology level (Renaissance, approximately) and culture of the particular country it’s set in, but nothing is obvious or doled out in lavish amounts. If this were a longer work, it would feel unsatisfyingly vague, but for a novella it just works. Too much time dedicated to creating a world would have been time spent away from the meat of the story, and the fact that this can be read in just an hour or two is part of what I enjoyed so much about it.
Demons and exorcism may not be a particularly new topic, but Parker’s approach to them felt fresh and interesting. These aren’t your standard Biblical demons who speak in tongues and writhe around spouting nonsense about God and the Devil. Not the cosmology, not the book if you’re looking for that. Instead, Parker’s demons speak intelligently. They have a grand plan, but it’s far in the future, and all the demons work together for it. But mostly, they want to get the hell away from the priests who can force them out of human bodies, especially the main character. They’re somewhat of a pest, you see, well-known for their ability to cast demons out. They have a reputation, and it’s one the demons would rather not meet first hand.
I can’t say too much more without spoiling the book, but I’d also like to give a special shout out to the titural Prosper, a DaVinci like genius who just might be an idiot piloted by an especially artistic demon. Now THAT’S creativity.

Prosper’s Demon was one of my most highly anticipated January releases, in part because of its astonishing cover -- yes, I am shallow. While this horror novella wasn’t necessarily what I expected, I really enjoyed this strange and snarky tale of demonic possession and exorcism.

This novella is a funny one, because while it does everything it says in the blurb it is much more literary than I expected. There were pages of musings on philosophy and art that, although I enjoyed them, didn’t seem to quite fit in with the novella format. I think I expected a more straightforward narrative and while I did like this aspect of the book, I think it will turn off some readers too.

Despite this, Prosper’s Demon is a fun and snarky romp, mostly due to the nameless narrator. He’s an exorcist and self-proclaimed asshole who is incredibly morally dubious -- which means I absolutely loved him. I really think that his voice is the factor that makes the entire story work -- it otherwise might have just been a forgettable tale.

As someone loves dark fantasy and possession stories, this novella was one of my most anticipated releases for 2020. From the premise, I thought it could be a new favourite, but I was disappointed to find that this piece of short fiction did not quite fit my expectations.

This novella was written in a very literary style. While this is common for Tor.com novellas, I was still hoping for a bit more focus on plot, given the synopsis. The narrative voice of the main character was easily the strongest aspect of this story. He was purposely written to be an unlikeable protagonist and was very self aware of his flaws. I found his discussions surrounding demon possessions to be fairly interesting, but eventually I wanted movement in the plot itself.

Eventually the story does pick up, but there was just not enough emphasis on the action for my personal reading. So, overall, this was a dark read that I would recommend to literary fantasy and horror readers.

Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, Tor.com

Prosper's Demon is an intriguing novella that follows our unnamed narrator, an exorcist, and his relations to the demons he exorcises. The content is dark and twisted, but the tone is light and witty -- an interesting juxtaposition. There is also a lot of gray morality here, and it really plays with the idea of who is truly the "demon" in this story.

For me, I wasn't able to fully engage with the story, but it was succinct enough to keep my attention. I think this would have worked better in a novel format with multiple PoVs, as there were some interesting characters and world-building elements that I would have loved to see more of. We only get the perspective of the narrator and no clear "chapter" dividers, so some parts felt clumped together. Still, if you want a quick, unique read that plays with themes of morality, I'd recommend this one.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Prosper’s Demon. This is an enjoyable novella, proving you don’t need 500+ pages to get a rich story. In Prosper’s Demon the narrator has the ability and the church’s approval to exorcise demons from their human hosts. He’s not exactly delicate to his fellow citizens and honestly he doesn’t care. His sole purpose is an ongoing fight with the demons. He does however care about geniuses, even if they happen to be possessed.

There’s a lot going on in this novella - good vs. evil, the importance of art in society and a morally grey main character all wrapped up in the Age of Enlightenment. I’m all here for this. Plus, look at that stunning cover! I highly recommend.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great book with an interesting premise. I really enjoyed diving into Parker's universe and getting to know the characters inside it. I love how the book basically tells you how you will hate the main character and the whole story starts with a murder. You know you are in for a good story when a murder is that close to the beginning!

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to review this title.

When a character tells their reader that the reader will not like them, you can generally take them at their word. This is definitely true of the protagonist of K.J. Parker’s Prosper’s Demon. In fact, I didn’t have to wait for the protagonist to make this declaration. The first page of the book sees him waking up next to the body of a sex worker who has had her throat torn out. He immediately blames a demon for possessing his body and killing the poor woman, as a ploy in the great game that humans and demons have been playing since the beginning of time. From that startling beginning, the plot gallops along without pause to its surprising conclusion.

Its premise is what drew me to Prosper’s Demon. I was curious to know what would happen when the protagonist, an exorcist with a fearsome reputation, starts to talk to the creatures he’d spent his entire life sending back wherever they’d come from. Unfortunately, because of the racing plot, we never really get a chance to figure out what is going on between the humans and the creatures they call demons. All we really see is the protagonist racing to stop a demonic plot he’s worked out and creating his own counterplot on the fly.

I wish that this book had done two things. First, I wished it had slowed down. I wanted to know more about the curious setting and its history. I love a bit of creative world building. Second, I really wish that we had another narrator who could balance out the protagonist’s blunt violence. I think, if one of the demons really had the chance to speak for itself, there would a been a lot more dramatic tension. It would also have created a much-needed ethical dilemma that would have fulfilled the promise of Prosper’s Demon‘s premise.

A book with an intriguing concept which I feel would benefit more from being a fully fleshed out novel. The protagonist was a likeable 'devil' and his nemeses' both had intriguing personalities. I would definitely like to explore this world more.

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

<i>Prosper's Demon</i> is a strange, compelling little tale. Told from the POV of a cleric/ demon hunter (though not in the Winchester way) the reader is taken on a journey through a world like ours or a historical version of ours, but different. Demons exist alongside humans but they are unseen and intangible to all but those with particular aptitude. Demon nature seems to be to cause mischief and harm which they do via possession. The clerical order dedicated to casting them out is hardly about peace and light either - a lot of harm is often done in the 'eviction' process. Our MC has a longstanding animosity with a particular demon and what follows is a sort of cops and robbers journey where the demon, often desperately trying to escape the MC, is pursued by the man he made an eternal enemy of.

It's dark in many ways, but the tone is light. This is a fun read with a tongue in cheek poke at goodness versus evil, and life versus art thrown in. The narrator introduces himself by saying that the reader won't like him. This isn't strictly true. We're not meant to like him because his moral compass is skewed and his actions are often reprehensible, but he is a very compelling character. If you have to like your MC or they need to be 'good' this may not be for you. I really enjoyed this and highly recommend it.

Prosper's Demon by K.J. Parker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There's a lot of great stuff going on in this novella.

My first, I believe reasonable, reaction was one of, "Hey! This is like Bujold's Penric's Demon!"

But very quickly, it went down the rabbit hole, scaring away every mouse, drenching itself in blood, and proving that art really IS mightier than the sword.

I like. A lot.

I doesn't end there. It doesn't even begin there. What I got during the reading was a treatment of the prisoner's dilemma wrapped around a despoiled world much like our own and set in a boiling vat of Enlightenment-era intrigue, authoritarian bullies, and the delightful introduction of widespread institutionalized demon possession.

Nice, right?
So, yeah, I want MORE. A lot more. Novels worth. GIVE ME MORE! :)

I ended up reading this in the space of an evening, which is one of my favorite things about the Tor.com novellas. The premise is that a morally ambiguous exorcist a la John Constantine runs into his old demonic enemy, who’s taken root in the infant son of a local prince. The prince has a tutor, supposedly one of the brightest men of his age, who is also demonically possessed. So now, what’s our dude to do? Throw in a touch of world building and a bit of personal history and you have a quick, fun read. This isn’t exactly groundbreaking material, and it’s a bit trope heavy, but sometimes you need some good old fashioned junk food reading. If you’re looking for a darkly humorous read with a side of moral dilemma and some fun side diversions into casting bronzes, definitely check this out when it comes out.