Hadders guest review: The Logic of Demons by Hal Goodman

Today at The Overflowing Library I have something a little different for you. The review you will read below is done by my lovely husband Hadley. I am hoping it is something I can persuade him to do on a semi regular basis as it will mean I won't have so much pressure on when work is busy.

For those of you who haven't heard me chatter on about him Hadley is at least if not more responsible for the fact that we are rapidly running out of shelf space in our library (although he doesn't always read the quantity I do). While he will read the odd young adult novel (usually at my insistence) he usually reads adult Sci-Fi, fantasy, Gothic horror or thriller novels and a variety of graphic novels (he is currently in the middle of a Judge Dredd Marathon). He is patiently tolerant of my book obssession and generally a bit of wonderful chappy

I was offered this book by the author late last year. While I was interested it wasn't the type of book I usually read and I wasn't sure if I would have time to read it with all the January review titles I knew I needed to get through. Hadley read the description over my shoulder and expressed a real interest in it so I accepted it on his behalf for review at The Overflowing Library

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The Logic of Demons - the quest for Nadine's soul by Hal Goodman
Published by Author House
Challenge: None
Source: Review copy (paperback)

What would you do if the love of your life was murdered by a deranged killer? Would you become a vigilante and seek retribution? And would this revenge affect those you care for in the afterlife? LOGIC OF DEMONS The Quest for Nadine's Soul takes you on a journey inside the psyches of men and women forced to deal with the spiritual consequences of their decisions. Through the lives of a demon, two Angels, and a mysterious teenage girl, a plethora of politically and socially relevant issues ranging from the roots of genocide and sex trafficking to child conscription and religious fundamentalism are addressed in this fantasy thriller. Life as well as the afterlife converge in this novel to explain certain peculiarities of the human condition. Whether you are God fearing individual or an atheist, LOGIC OF DEMONS The Quest for Nadine's Soul addresses moral and theological issues of interest for people of all backgrounds

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A complex book that examines the nature of good and evil by addressing the issues of faith, revenge and justice.  The basic idea is that following the murder of his wife and child, the book’s protagonist Devin seeks revenge against the killer - becoming himself a murderer.  Upon death he finds himself transported to “The Office” where he is employed to sell a formula to the living that will help them to stand up for themselves and to seek justice – as he himself did.

Impressively (and also unusually for a book with theological overtones) this was not preachy, it did not try to convert you to a particular belief system but rather broadly analysed the concept of what it means to believe in something and whether it can be right do a wrong thing for a greater good (i.e. kill someone to prevent them from killing ten others).  Equally it didn’t pull its punches in its depictions of many of the less pleasant aspects of reality such as rape, genocide, radical fanaticism and child conscription.

Interestingly good and evil were not simply black and white but instead blurred into one another somewhat – the forces of light being composed of many zealots willing to do anything to realise their plans, while many in the evil camp had been manipulated or pressured on to that side.  My personal favourite was the depiction of hell as a corporate entity complete with board meetings, productivity assessments and sales divisions.  Anyone who has ever worked in an office environment will be amused by the corporate stereotypes transferred into demonic personalities.

This book was quite unlike anything I’ve read in some time.  Best of all was the radical change in direction towards the end of the tale that I really did not see coming.  All in all an entertaining read that left me pondering “What would I do if….”