Bookworm's Lair - Christopher Moore

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"Practical Demonkeeping" (Perennial, Paperback, 1st edition, 2004, read: October 04)
"In Christopher Moore's ingenious debut novel, we meet one of the most memorably mismatched pairs in the annals of literature. The good-looking one is one-hundred-year-old ex-seminarian and "roads" scholar Travis O'Hearn. The green one is Catch, a demon with a nasty habit of eating most of the people he meets. Behind the fake Tudor facade of Pine Cove, California, Catch sees a four-star buffet. Travis, on the other hand, thinks he sees a way of ridding himself of his toothy traveling companion. The winos, neo-pagans, and deadbeat Lotharios of pine Cove, meanwhile, have other ideas. And none of them is quite prepared when all hell breaks loose."

The inhabitants of Pine Cove, California, are a crazy bunch of people. One could think that all the most eccentric freaks of the country have met here. Maybe its the sun? While looking for an opportunity to get rid of the deamon Catch, which is bound to him, Travis O'Hearn travels to Pine Cove, accompanied by the deamon. Because Catch is only visible when he's eating a human he doesn't catch any attention in town. But the demon has his own plans, too and is by no means the nice 'genie in the bottle' he appears to be.

The plot is absurdly funny in a typical Christopher Moore-way. This is his first novel and in a way it foreshadows everything which is about to come ... first of all of course 'Biff'. Because Pine Cove and its inhabitants play important parts in Moore's other works 'Practical Demonkeeping' is a good intro into the strange universe of Christopher Moore.
[Dorothée Büttgen, December 04]

"Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" (Perennial, Paperback, 10th edition, 2003, read: May 04)
"The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years - except Biff, the Messiah's best bud, who has been resurrected to tell the story in this divinely hilarious yet heartfelt work "reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams" (Philadelphia Inquirer).
Verily, the story Biff has to tell is a miraculous one, filled with remarkable journeys, magic, healings, kung fu, corpse reanimations, demons, and hot babes. Even the considerable wiles and devotion of the Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshua from his tragic destiny. But there's no one who loves Josh more - except maybe "Maggie", Marie of Magdala - and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight."

If you have ever asked yourself what happened to Jesus Christ in the years between his birth and his crucifiction you can now read the whole story for yourself. Because what nobody knew until now: Jesus had a buddy named Biff with whom he traveled all around the world to look for the Three Wise Men. 2000 years later Biff is resurrected by the angel Raziel and has to write down his view of the things in a tiny New York hotel room. To make it clear for everyone what really took place.

Until now 'Biff' is the best and funniest book by Christopher Moore I've read so far (ok, I've only read three until now but its possible to put these three in an order. And I cannot imagine that the man can be any funnier - but I'm waiting to be surprised). Its not recommended to read it in public transportation or just before sleeping. Because you will have to laugh out loud all the time which can be very irritating to the other subway passengers and doesn't really put you to sleep in bed. This is the right novel for everyone who wants to have a look 'behind the scenes' of the bible.
[Dorothée Büttgen, December 04]

"The Stupidest Angel" (William Morrow, Hardcover, 1st edition, 2004, read: November 04)
"The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years - except Biff, the Messiah's best bud, who has been resurrected to tell the story in this divinely hilarious yet heartfelt work "reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams" (Philadelphia Inquirer).
Verily, the story Biff has to tell is a miraculous one, filled with remarkable journeys, magic, healings, kung fu, corpse reanimations, demons, and hot babes. Even the considerable wiles and devotion of the Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshua from his tragic destiny. But there's no one who loves Josh more - except maybe "Maggie", Marie of Magdala - and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight."

Raziel, the stupidest angel and already known as the soap-opera-addicted heavenly guide from 'Lamb' has won at Poker. His prize is the honor to fulfill a child's christmas wish and therefore perform a classic christmas miracle. If you've read 'Lamb' and know Raziel, you'll notice that this doesn't sound like a good plan. In the end the participants of Pine Cove's anual christmas party are trapped by maneating zombies in a strom is just one of the problems Raziel causes.

A Christmas story which might have come from a trashy horror film by the British Hammer-studios ... this is something completely different. Pine Cove isn't exactly a boring town, as you may already know from 'Practical Demonkeeping' and Raziel isn't really missing to add to the confusion. If Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol is to sweet for your taste, this is the right one for you. A Christmas fairy tale with a happy ending á la 'Pine Cove'.
[Dorothée Büttgen, April 05]

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