Title:

Prosper's Demon

Author:

K. J. Parker

Category:

Science Fiction / Fantasy

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

August 20, 2023

rosper's Demon is a novella that clocks in at 101 pages in the trade paperback edition that I read, but it sure packs a lot of story into those few pages. Parker introduces us to a Renaissance-esque world, except this world is invested with immortal demons. 72,936 demons, to be precise. The evil demons sneak in take possession of various people for their own wicked designs. But humanity has a guild of trained exorcists who can spot a possession and have the means to extract the demon from its host. The demon can do a lot of damage as it is extracted, but the exorcist can punish the demon with even stronger pain - the demons might be immortal, but they can be made to suffer.

The narrator of Prosper's Demon is an unnamed exorcist. He is ruthless and unbending - the demons fear him, because he is unyielding in his duties. The demons remember their painful confrontations with him, and loathe him. The narrator keeps encountering one particular demon over and over again, the battle between the two continues across the kingdom. Until one day, the news comes that the Duke has hired Prosper, the smartest genius who ever lived, to tutor his infant son. The heir will be raised to be a wise philosopher king, his rule will change the course of history. Uh-oh. The exorcist high-tails it to the ducal palace.

Sure enough, his immortal opponent, the evil demon, has now sunk his claws into the baby boy. The exorcist cannot wantonly rip the demon out of this victim, the duke would execute him for sure. But the exorcist has never bargained with the demons, never backed down, shown no mercy or quarter. What to do?

Prosper is indeed a genius, a master of the arts, sciences and philosophy. He is also arrogant and let's everyone know just how little they are compared to his brilliance. The exorcist is not intimidate nor impressed (too much) by Prosper's accomplishments, and so eventually he becomes a frequent conversation companion of the great man.

Prosper has embarked upon a quest to create a great, gigantic bronze statue of a rearing horse. This statue will be bigger than any that ever existed, indeed, there are previous sculptors and craftsmen who have explained the limits to the size of bronze statues. Prosper intends to exceed those limits. What follows is a lot of fascinating details about the creation of enormous bronze works of art. How can a hollow body support so much weight? How can it be cooled evenly? How do you make a mold that can contain the molten bronze? Parker seems to have done a ton of research on the making of big statues. I don't know if the problems and the solutions that he describes are actually true, but his explanations of the various challenges and ingenious solutions to overcome the obstacles certainly sounded plausible.

There are several surprises in this book. The narrator is ruthless, amoral, and merciless - and yet I couldn't help but admire his fiendish efforts to help mankind in their endless battle with these demons. Parker reliably writes interesting books with flawed characters, and this is another success by him.