Skip to main content

story identification - Man has invisible demon following him that turns visible when eating people


I read this book in 2007, it was written in English. The story revolves around a man who has been cursed (I think) to have a demon follow him.


The demon is normally invisible and the man is the only person who can see the demon. When the demon feeds or kills people he changes shape to a huge creature and becomes visible.


The demon is also invincible. I think I remember the man and demon talking about a time when the man tried to kill the demon after being cursed but the demon just came back.



It's quite a graphic book, not fit for children. It contained swearing, violence, sex, and possible drug use. I'm not sure if it was part of a series or just a single standalone book.


There are three scenes I can vaguely remember:




  1. The man and the demon are in a bar. The man is playing pool against a bar regular who is apparently the best pool player in town. The man isn't too good but the invisible demon helps lead the balls into the pockets (insane shots like a ball curving 90 degrees). The regular gets mad that he lost. The man and the demon were playing pool to get money (for what I can't remember)




  2. There was a scene where an old man is telling his friends about the night before: He wakes up in the middle of the night and tells his wife "The bear is out of the cave" or something similar. His wife just rolls over and says "You better put some ice on it". This story was alluding to the man wanting to have sex with his wife for the first time in ages, but she was not interested at all.





  3. I remember a hospital being destroyed when the demon goes crazy and needs to eat. The love interest might have worked at the hospital.




I will add more details if and when I remember them.



Answer



Possibly Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore.



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 façade 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 TVTropes page mentions the pool example:




Calling Your Shots: Travis cheats at pool by having his invisible demon, Catch, move the balls where he calls them. Usually.



Google Books mentions the bear:



"I tried to wake up the wife. Whacked her on the leg with it just to get her attention. I told her the bear was charging and I have one bullet left."
"And?" Brine filled the pause.
"She told me to put some ice on it to make the swelling go down."



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the etymology of Doctor Who?

I recently decided to watch Doctor Who, and started viewing the 2005 version. I have the first two episodes from the first season, and I can't help but wonder what is the etymology of the name "Doctor Who"? And why does the protagonist call himself "the Doctor" (or is it "the doctor")? Answer In the very first episode of Doctor Who (way back in 1963), the Doctor has a granddaughter going by the name "Susan Foreman", and the junkyard where the TARDIS is has the sign "I.M. Foreman". Barbara, who becomes one of the Doctor's companions, calls him "Doctor Foreman" (probably assuming that is his name given his relationship to Susan), and Ian (another early companion) does the same in the second episode, to which the Doctor says: Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about? "Foreman" is most likely selected as a convenient surname for Susan to use because it happened to be on display near where the TARDIS landed....
Post a Comment
Read more

story identification - Animation: floating island, flying pests

At least 20 years ago I watched a short animated film which stuck in my mind. The whole thing was wordless, possibly European, and I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it... It featured a flying island which was inhabited by some creatures who (in my memory) reminded me of the Moomins. The island was frequently bothered by large winged animals who swooped around, although I don't think they did any actual damage. At the end one of the moomin creatures suddenly gets a weird feeling, feels forced to climb to the top of the island and then plunges down a shaft right through the centre - only to emerge at the bottom as one of the flyers. Answer Skywhales from 1983. The story begins with a man warning the tribe of approaching skywhales. The drummers then warn everybody of the hunt as everyone get prepared to set "sail". Except one man is found in his home sleeping as the noise wake him up. He then gets ready and is about to take his weapon as he hesitates then decides ...
Post a Comment
Read more