Demons

Writers from Clive Barker to Bruce Sterling and Roger Zelazny have praised John Shirley's searing, apocalyptic visions of postmodern hell on earth. Now this perversely brilliant author, one of the seminal representatives on the cyberpunk movement, unleashes his newest masterpiece.DEMONSIn a future uncomfortably close to the present day, the apocalypse has surpassed all expectations. Hideous demons roam the streets in an orgy of terror, drawing pleasure from torturing humans as sadistically as possible. Divided into seven clans, these grisly invaders--gnashing, writhing, bloodthirsty monsters--seem horrifically to belong in our world.Ira, a young San Francisco artist, becomes involved with a strange group of scientists and philosophers desperately trying to end the bloody siege. Yet through it all, Ira continues to paint--for in his canvasses lie crucial clues to the demons' origins.Yet the demons draw their strength from an all-too-familiar evil--a deadly malevolence supported by some of the greatest powers on earth, concealed beneath the trappings of status, success, and abused power. Ira and his allies-- including a compelling young seeress--come to believe these demons didn't just appear. They were summoned. But the most shocking revelation is yet to come . . .EXCLUSIVE TO THIS EDITION: The original novella Demons was published as an acclaimed, limited edition hardcover which Publishers Weekly called a "mini-masterpiece." Now the terror continues, as the sequel story, "Undercurrents," takes the reader on a macabre journey into the center of the conspiracy that may lay waste to the Earth. From the Hardcover edition.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Fiction, Nonfiction, Fantasy. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.