Practical Demonology
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- Create Date：2022-04-05 09:52:03
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Clare Rees
- ISBN：1419745581
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Summary
A chilling YA novel set in a world overrun by plague and demons—and a group of teens doing anything they can to survive。
There have always been castles in the valley， and the people have always been under threat。 They’ve always needed those thick walls， the protection of that enclosing stone。 Non feels like she needs it more than most， because her mother was infected by the demons that live in the woods。
As the doctor’s daughter， Non had planned a career in medicine—partly to please her father， but also because it would keep her inside the protective walls of the citadel。 When plague strikes the citadel， all the teenagers are evacuated to the ruined Cirtop Castle。 While there， she's given the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to study the demons that she’s always feared。 But will she be brave enough to take it？ In the footsteps of Jelly， Rees's brilliant and original debut novel， comes a new story of survival and community—and just a little bit of literal guts。
There have always been castles in the valley， and the people have always been under threat。 They’ve always needed those thick walls， the protection of that enclosing stone。 Non feels like she needs it more than most， because her mother was infected by the demons that live in the woods。
As the doctor’s daughter， Non had planned a career in medicine—partly to please her father， but also because it would keep her inside the protective walls of the citadel。 When plague strikes the citadel， all the teenagers are evacuated to the ruined Cirtop Castle。 While there， she's given the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to study the demons that she’s always feared。 But will she be brave enough to take it？ In the footsteps of Jelly， Rees's brilliant and original debut novel， comes a new story of survival and community—and just a little bit of literal guts。
Reviews
Donna
，
Where did I stop？ 20% inWhy？ This is a case where the blurb is so far off the book that I feel cheated。 The tone of the blurb is one of creepy vibes， struggle， and darkness。 What I got when I started reading was a boy-crazy pseudo-boarding school story that read nothing like the blurb。 From the language to the tone， it was just a complete mismatch。 Not to mention， 20% in and the catalyst still hasn't happened。 What's mentioned in the blurb about her getting a chance to study demons？ Still hadn't Where did I stop？ 20% inWhy？ This is a case where the blurb is so far off the book that I feel cheated。 The tone of the blurb is one of creepy vibes， struggle， and darkness。 What I got when I started reading was a boy-crazy pseudo-boarding school story that read nothing like the blurb。 From the language to the tone， it was just a complete mismatch。 Not to mention， 20% in and the catalyst still hasn't happened。 What's mentioned in the blurb about her getting a chance to study demons？ Still hadn't happened。 Too much time was spent on asinine details and too many adjectives。 And there's something about demon zombie eggs or something。 I have no idea what that was。 PRACTICAL DEMONOLOGY was not at all what I was expected， and not in a single good way。 I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Olivia
，
PRACTICAL DEMONOLOGY is an intriguing YA fantasy/horror。 In a world where people have taken shelter at castles and must fight against demons whenever they venture out， children have trained with weapons early。 Non is from the citadel， and with the plague arriving， the teens are being sent to quarantine in another castle， Cirtop Castle， along with those from other castles。 Non has a lot of questions about demons that no one seems able to answer， but she knows what is happening is not as simple as PRACTICAL DEMONOLOGY is an intriguing YA fantasy/horror。 In a world where people have taken shelter at castles and must fight against demons whenever they venture out， children have trained with weapons early。 Non is from the citadel， and with the plague arriving， the teens are being sent to quarantine in another castle， Cirtop Castle， along with those from other castles。 Non has a lot of questions about demons that no one seems able to answer， but she knows what is happening is not as simple as it may seem。At Cirtop， Non decides to step away from the reserved persona those from the citadel have known of the girl whose mother was taken by the demons， and she finds that her curious mind leads her to investigate what is happening and why。 All the while， demons seem to be organizing and working to ruthlessly destroy and infect humanity， the way that they reproduce。What I loved: This was a really intriguing and unique plot。 The demons here leave a lot of questions， and Non is slowly investigating them while also working on survival。 Non is an intriguing character with a curious mind that asks good questions。 Investigating those questions is challenging， but she is up to the task。 She also really seems to come into her own during her stay at Cirtop。 Intriguing themes around religion， illness， culture styles， and war add to the story。Without giving too much away， there are definitely some creepy and horrific scenes that make this a solid fantasy/horror read。 It balances the scary with the safety along a fine line that makes this a macabre and enthralling read。 Particularly the last third of the book will delight YA horror fans， though the demons remain extremely creepy throughout。What left me wanting more: There are so many questions that still remain about why the castles sent only their teens to Cirtop （leaving younger children and pretty much all adults behind）， why the adults act the ways they do， and also about the demons and the way they developed and act。 The latter is also in the realm of questions Non has， and the answers are slow to come。 The middle of the book felt like it stalled out a bit with a slower pace， but the ending really picks up on the horror elements and pace。Final verdict: Overall， PRACTICAL DEMONOLOGY is an intriguing and unique YA fantasy/horror that I would recommend for fans of YEAR OF THE REAPER， ROT & RUIN， and HORRID。Please note that I received a review copy。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Alex Pippenger
，
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review a copy of this book！Given the cover and the title of this book， I think I went in with expectations of a certain level of story that the narrative ultimately didn't satisfy。 The writing style was a bit too。。。。simplistic？ （for lack of a better word） I would have expected a bit more complicated and less generic narrative voice to encapsulate the quirkiness of the story。 We are in a fantasy world， with demons and plagues and Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review a copy of this book！Given the cover and the title of this book， I think I went in with expectations of a certain level of story that the narrative ultimately didn't satisfy。 The writing style was a bit too。。。。simplistic？ （for lack of a better word） I would have expected a bit more complicated and less generic narrative voice to encapsulate the quirkiness of the story。 We are in a fantasy world， with demons and plagues and what not。 We *aren't* in a YA contemporary， but that is what the language in this work felt like。 The tone was just not congruent with the subject matter or genre。 Don't get me wrong: I'm all for trying weird things that push the boundaries of genre， but if there's not payoff or motivation for doing so then I don't think it's a good idea。 The plot was fine， but a bit convoluted; there was a lot going on but I just felt like I was on the outside looking in。 It was a bit unbelievable， probably because I felt like I was watching everything from the outside of the fishbowl。 Ultimately， I would love to check out more by this author or more in this world （second chances， and all that jazz）。 This installment was just a bit of a miss for me。 I can see from the description that this is a debut novel， so maybe the author just needs more time to hammer out their narrative voice！ 。。。more
Lee-ann
，
Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review。 While this wasn't my type of book， I can see fantasy fans enjoying Practical Demonology。 Nor is a strong female character who wants to study her books， but gets shunted off to quarantine and ends up studying demons and makes many important discoveries。 She makes new friends and realizes the importance of her old ones too。 These themes hold true across all genres and in real life。 Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review。 While this wasn't my type of book， I can see fantasy fans enjoying Practical Demonology。 Nor is a strong female character who wants to study her books， but gets shunted off to quarantine and ends up studying demons and makes many important discoveries。 She makes new friends and realizes the importance of her old ones too。 These themes hold true across all genres and in real life。 。。。more
Madisonsbooknook
，
*Thank you to NetGalley and Amulet Books for providing me an eArc， in exchange for an honest review - All opinions are my own*The very interesting premise and gorgeous cover had me thinking this would be an atmospheric fantasy horror。 Unfortunately， I was a little disappointed with the execution。 This story takes place in a fictional world that is suffering from a plague that has a high kill rate， and they have no idea how it spreads。 CW for pandemic and plague dialogue and lots of commentary on *Thank you to NetGalley and Amulet Books for providing me an eArc， in exchange for an honest review - All opinions are my own*The very interesting premise and gorgeous cover had me thinking this would be an atmospheric fantasy horror。 Unfortunately， I was a little disappointed with the execution。 This story takes place in a fictional world that is suffering from a plague that has a high kill rate， and they have no idea how it spreads。 CW for pandemic and plague dialogue and lots of commentary on quarantine and medicine development。 As this book touches on our reality of a pandemic it may not be a book some may want to read right now。 What I did enjoy was the demons and the mystery of how these creatures are created。 I enjoyed the creation of a military-esque school to learn how to survive and kill the demons。 I also enjoyed the horror elements throughout the story。 What I didn't enjoy was the writing。 I found it very simplistic with surface level descriptions and exploration into the world。 I also could not connect to any of the characters， they felt very one dimensional with no clear differences or personalities。 For a book with such high stakes， I did not care if anything happened to the characters。 I thought this book would be quite atmospheric and I'm disappointed that it wasn't， I ended up not caring at all about this world and the story unfortunately。 This didn't work for me， but it may work for you if you enjoy a horror fantasy genre blend， not very descriptive writing and a fast read 。。。more
Ashley
，
This book has promise。 I don't want to spend my review dumping on it。 Right from the jump I'll say it get's two stars from me but if the author writes a second book， hopefully I can rate that one better。 The premise of this book was interesting。 Quarantine， demons， plague。 In a Covid world， some people may want to avoid this book because of that and that's absolutely okay。 I， unfortunately， will be avoiding it because it was boring。 And I mean incredibly boring。 The pacing is very slow。 I got th This book has promise。 I don't want to spend my review dumping on it。 Right from the jump I'll say it get's two stars from me but if the author writes a second book， hopefully I can rate that one better。 The premise of this book was interesting。 Quarantine， demons， plague。 In a Covid world， some people may want to avoid this book because of that and that's absolutely okay。 I， unfortunately， will be avoiding it because it was boring。 And I mean incredibly boring。 The pacing is very slow。 I got thirty percent in and thought about the most interesting thing that had happened and how there was a huge gap after where nothing interesting happened again。 Our characters are also uninteresting。 I do take issue with the worldbuilding。 So this is supposed to be some alternate world with demons that have no flesh and spread their disease by bites and scratches。 Like a zombie。 There's names of places that aren't real and yet Christianity is real。 And called Christianity。 If you want to have a religion in that alternate world I'm all for it but the second you use a real religion it skews the story for me into a weird area。 Not only that， but there were some issues with the writing itself。 For one it reads more as a middle grade than young adult。 It's not poorly written， it just doesn't fit the vibe of the book we're told the author is going for when we read the blurb。 It also reads more contemporary than fantasy and definitely more contemporary than fantasy from the past。 It reads as modern language which also took me out of the story。 It's the author's first book， I'd give her a chance on a second even though this one wasn't strong。 The premise was interesting， hopefully next time， we get a strong premise and a book to match。So， like I said， a two （2） star review for me。 I received this arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 Thanks to them and the publisher。 。。。more
Chris G。
，
Non’s whole world has been the castle community that keeps her safe from the demons roaming the valley， but she knows there are two other castle communities nearby that she has never seen， plus partially ruined Cirtop Castle。 When plague breaks out， the teens from the three communities are sent to Cirtop Castle for protection and despite their differences they pull together to survive increasingly fierce demon attacks。 There’s a small library at Castle Cirtop and Non searches it for clues about Non’s whole world has been the castle community that keeps her safe from the demons roaming the valley， but she knows there are two other castle communities nearby that she has never seen， plus partially ruined Cirtop Castle。 When plague breaks out， the teens from the three communities are sent to Cirtop Castle for protection and despite their differences they pull together to survive increasingly fierce demon attacks。 There’s a small library at Castle Cirtop and Non searches it for clues about why the demon population is increasing - she’s astonished by how little is known about them。 A strength of this story is the way Non pieces together the mystery of the demons using maps， data she collects， history， and hypotheses。 Shout out to the heroics of the scientific method！ EARC from Edelweiss。 。。。more
Lillyanna Lamm
，
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review。 "Practical Demonology" by Clare Rees is a dark fantasy in a world with a plague and demons where a group of teens are trying to survive。 I would give "Practical Demonology" by Clare Rees a two-star review because， 1; I loved the cover and I thought it would be about history of demons etc。 but it turned out to be wrong 2。 the characters were interesting 3; I liked the plot， but it wasn't my type of tea。 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review。 "Practical Demonology" by Clare Rees is a dark fantasy in a world with a plague and demons where a group of teens are trying to survive。 I would give "Practical Demonology" by Clare Rees a two-star review because， 1; I loved the cover and I thought it would be about history of demons etc。 but it turned out to be wrong 2。 the characters were interesting 3; I liked the plot， but it wasn't my type of tea。 。。。more
Bea
，
3。5Practical Demonology is a book with an intriguing premise and a stunningly horrifying cover。 In a world filled with plague and demons， a group of teens is fighting to survive。 They create a military school out of an old castle and learn to protect themselves and others。 These terrifying flesh demons are reminiscent of zombies but much faster and equipped deadly claws and sharp teeth。 Our characters struggle to understand the origin of the demons， the nature of the plague afflicting the world， 3。5Practical Demonology is a book with an intriguing premise and a stunningly horrifying cover。 In a world filled with plague and demons， a group of teens is fighting to survive。 They create a military school out of an old castle and learn to protect themselves and others。 These terrifying flesh demons are reminiscent of zombies but much faster and equipped deadly claws and sharp teeth。 Our characters struggle to understand the origin of the demons， the nature of the plague afflicting the world， and how they are supposed to survive on their own。 They set off on a chilling adventure of discovering their surroundings and learning more about their enemies。 Initially， I was really excited to read this book。 A dark YA horror fantasy sounded like a great time。 Unfortunately this book falls a little flat。 Most of the story feels more like middle grade。 I would have loved some more detailed writing and pushing further into the world building。 The characters were a little one dimensional and behaved as if they were younger than they are。 Overall this is a super easy read for anyone that is interested in YA horror。 Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review 。。。more
clara
，
Though very promising in its premise， I found the book somewhat juvenile in its writing。 The plot was alright， even if a bit underwhelming — although my own high expectations might be to blame for that。 My main problem with the novel resided in its characters。 Even though they inhabited a world full of monsters and had to fight for their lives constantly， their behavior and even way of talking seemed almost childish to me; some conversations， closer to those one might overhear in a modern high s Though very promising in its premise， I found the book somewhat juvenile in its writing。 The plot was alright， even if a bit underwhelming — although my own high expectations might be to blame for that。 My main problem with the novel resided in its characters。 Even though they inhabited a world full of monsters and had to fight for their lives constantly， their behavior and even way of talking seemed almost childish to me; some conversations， closer to those one might overhear in a modern high school than anything else。 I can appreciate that as a deliberate choice made by the author， maybe an effort to make the setting or story more relatable， but， for me， it only made the book somewhat hard to get through。Nevertheless， despite my issues with the character crafting and some dialogue choices， the general narration of the story was quite enjoyable and immersive， very rich in its descriptions， and extremely atmospheric。Overall， this was a solid read for fans of YA fantasy—emphasis on the YA—and I look forward to reading more work by the author。 。。。more
Emma Marsden
，
If the word “quarantine” freaks you out， this book might make you nervous。But I hope you push through because this was an enjoyable adventure！ Our MC， Non， is a content， studious， introvert with an equally extroverted best friend， Meg。 Both girls are sent into quarantine when a plague breaks out in their homes。 While in quarantine， Non becomes a leader by accident when she decides to start looking closer at the demons that have been attacking her people for centuries。And yes- all of this happens If the word “quarantine” freaks you out， this book might make you nervous。But I hope you push through because this was an enjoyable adventure！ Our MC， Non， is a content， studious， introvert with an equally extroverted best friend， Meg。 Both girls are sent into quarantine when a plague breaks out in their homes。 While in quarantine， Non becomes a leader by accident when she decides to start looking closer at the demons that have been attacking her people for centuries。And yes- all of this happens in one book and all of the above in the first several chapters！This book is well thought out and is definitely a good fit for the younger side of YA audiences。 LSpecial thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the eARC in exchange for a review。 All thoughts and opinions are my own。 。。。more
Alex
，
Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Practical Demonology in exchange for an honest review。Maybe its because the cover and title have really big atmospheric vibes so I went in with really high expectations， but I think the narration here was a bit too generic to capture such an out of the box story。 The plot itself was fine， but there was a lot going on and I found I never really bought into any of it。
Annarella
，
A good dark fantasy， creepy and gripping。 The story kept my attention， I enjoyed it and liked the world building and the characters。The author is a good storyteller and the plot flows。Recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC， all opinions are mine
Makayla
，
Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read a digital ARC。 Overall， there's some very interesting ideas and concepts going on here。 I'm fascinated by this interpretation of demons and how the world knows so little about something that has been plaguing their lives for centuries。 I also loved the main character， and I think most readers will as well。 She's relatable to us introverted folks who would rather read then do anything else。 I enjoyed the overarching story， but some moments felt a li Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read a digital ARC。 Overall， there's some very interesting ideas and concepts going on here。 I'm fascinated by this interpretation of demons and how the world knows so little about something that has been plaguing their lives for centuries。 I also loved the main character， and I think most readers will as well。 She's relatable to us introverted folks who would rather read then do anything else。 I enjoyed the overarching story， but some moments felt a little flat or out of place。 And I'm not entirely sure what's going on with the monkeys or what that's representing。 Nonetheless， I think it's a good book， and I'll recommend it to YA readers looking for a darker fantasy。 Can't wait to see if there's a next one！ I hope there is 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Practical Demonology
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Practical Demonology&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Practical Demonology&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0