As if it weren't unsettling enough being an alcoholic slacker whose girlfriend has just announced she's pregnant, Michigan undergrad Spencer Welles has a still bigger problem: He lives with a giant demon named Thoth. Moreover, in Climer's (Demonesque) incongruously plodding novel, Thoth is the worst roommate ever. He dresses in a samurai outfit that's frequently spattered with rotting human flesh; he wantonly butchers people and animals; and, despite numerous pleas by Spence, he simply refuses to get out of the young man's life. In fact, Thoth is downright insistent that Spence take up the same wayward lifestyle. Fortunately, after a while Spence learns he has a guardian angel—literally—a delightful woman named Helen, to help him overcome Thoth and find Spence's own inner angel, which happens to be a "war angel." Like Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars
movies, Spence is pulled by cosmic representatives of the forces of good and evil, in a plot peppered with dated pop psychology clichés. And just as the Star Wars
series provided comic relief via funny robots and furry creatures, Spence finds himself assisted by adorable "Pucks" and "sprites." Despite the occasional feeble narrative quip ("Loose beer in our apartment was about as safe as a deer in Ted Nugent's front yard"), this is not a comedic novel. It's meant to be scary, and spiritual and, ultimately, heartwarming. And that's what's really scary about it. (Aug.)
