Booklog: The Demon's Lexicon (Brennan)

[nebroadwe]

The Demon's Lexicon (Sara Rees Brennan)

Ever since magicians killed their father, Nick and his older brother Alan have protected their half-mad mother, hunted from pillar to post all over the UK. It would be easier to hide if Alan weren't such a soft touch, but not even Nick can stop him from trying to help a pretty girl and her demon-haunted younger brother. And it would be easier to survive helping them if Alan didn't have his own secrets to hide ... First novel from a writer making the jump from fandom to original fiction, and it shows: the characters are reasonably engaging and the plot machinery holds together, but the dialogue's a bit precious and the narrative needs more falling action than it gets. (Also, for a species characterized by suspicion of and/or infacility with language, the demons are awfully fluent in English.) Room is left for a sequel; I won't seek it out, but I'll probably read it if it crosses my path.