The Demon Left Behind

Marie Jakober

Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)

"I’m a demon. My name is Melusine. My comrades are Bashemath, who is female like myself, and Geminian, who is male. And, just in case you are wondering, we didn’t come from hell - if such a place exists at all... "

As the global crisis develops in the Twenty-first Century, a group of special 'demon' researchers are sent from a parallel universe to embody themselves as humans and study the situation. However, in the midst of the operation, Wye Wye, the youngest member of their team is lost. As she and her comrades do everything demonly possible to find him, Melusine, the team lead, is forced to do the unthinkable - employ the assistance of a 'visie' (demon slang for human) - freelance journalist Paige Ballantine. The human Paige, however, gives demon Melusine a lot more to consider than just the mystery at hand as she becomes intrigued by the benefits of a 'visie' life. Together the team must race the clock to find and bring back young Wye Wye before he can no longer regenerate. In an all-out cross-continent search, the team turns up much more than they bargain for in this urban fantasy mystery adventure.

About the Author:
Award winning author Marie Jakober graduated with honours from Ottawa’s Carleton University. She has written nine novels, including The Demon Left Behind.

EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing also released Marie’s Even the Stones (2004) and The Black Chalice (2000), in a beautiful hard cover edition which won the Alberta Independent Publisher’s Best Novel Book Award. Marie Jakober lives in Calgary, Alberta.

'This complex chronicle does much the same thing for medieval Germany that Marion Zimmer Bradley did for Arthurian England...captures the chaotic sense of medieval German politics, and the ultimate irony of waging war in the name of a god of peace.'

Review by Paul Lappen (311013) Rating (9/10)

Review by Paul Lappen
Rating 9/10
Melusine is a female demon. No, she doesn't have horns and carry a pitchfork. She is an otherworldly being who lives on a different plane of existence. As leader of a group of demons who have come to present-day Earth (in human form) to investigate the 21st century, she realizes that one member of the group is gone.

Wye-Wye is the youngest member of the group, and insatiably curious, so it is very easy for him to follow his own path to satisfy that curiosity. After much diligent searching, and several broadcast summons (respond immediately or else), the group concludes that Wye-Wye is not just hiding or has lost track of time, he is Seriously Missing.

Melusine takes a big chance, and calls in Paige Ballantyne, human investigative reporter, to help in the search. She tells him all about their origin, and why they're on Earth. As a professional cynic, it takes him a while to accept it. Their search takes them to several different cities. In Toronto, Melusine meets Cyprian, an old friend and fellow demon. He has spent too many years in human form, so he is now ‘stuck’; he can't change back to demon form. Meantime, the relationship between Melusine and Ballantyne turns serious.

The search moves to Austin, Texas, and has to do with an academic conference on the ‘Left behind’ series of novels. It's a place where the residents take their religion (specifically, the End Times) very seriously. Stand-up comedy jokes about it are not acceptable. The group of demons gets involved with the leader of a small local militia group. He has a very well-stocked underground bunker, and is not going to just wait for the End Times to come.

This is a gem of a book. It is an easy to read love story, and a search-for-missing-person story, with just enough weird in it. This is recommended for everyone, even those who think that they won't like fantasy or paranormal books.
Paul Lappen (31st October 2013)