Demons Books in Order

The Demons books take Esther M Friesner's sense of humor and aim it at hell, temptation, and the many modern systems that seem almost designed to help evil organize itself. Here Be Demons, Demon Blues, and Hooray For Hellywood are comic fantasies, but the comedy is built on a sharp idea: infernal logic does not feel all that far from political logic, media logic, or celebrity logic.

That gives the trilogy its bite.

These are not old-fashioned underworld epics in the Milton sense. They are books where demons can look at modern life and spot opportunity everywhere. Politics, fear, vanity, ambition, and entertainment all become usable territory. By the time the series reaches Los Angeles and the orbit of show business, the satire becomes even more obvious.

What keeps it from turning into one long joke is the pressure underneath. Friesner likes absurdity, but she also knows that temptation works best when it attaches itself to things people already want. So the stories keep one eye on comedy and the other on how easily systems can reward the worst instincts in a room.

If you want fantasy that laughs at the world without pretending the world is harmless, this trilogy has a sly, ugly-funny energy that still feels pretty pointed.