In the third part of my review of The Demon’s Lexicon, I am floored by the narration and impressed by this fictional world. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Demon’s Lexicon.
Oh gods, LET’S GET TO IT. This review covers chapters six through ten of The Demon’s Lexicon.
- I spoke about the risk that Sarah Rees Brennan was taking in creating a narrator like Nick, and it’s paying off in droves as I read further. It’s fascinating to me that Alan is the kinder, more empathetic brother, but Brennan shows us how that can also be a negative thing. As Alan continues to use his altruism to impress girls (especially Mae), we get to see how this ends up putting the brothers at risk. Nick’s anger after the dance is terrifying, and it’s only made worse when Nick gets a glimpse of the massive, sprawling house that Mae and Jaime live in. God, that line is vicious: “These two had everything. They could have left Nick’s brother alone.” It’s such an easy way to describe how these two brothers react to thinks. Nick deeply cares about Alan, so much so that he values him above all other things to the point that he’ll be a “jerk” in order to protect his brother. As Brennan describes, Alan cares so much that he turns into a “suicidal fool.”
- What I like about this is that we’re given a dynamic between the two main characters that lays their flaws out in the open. We know what they are very early into this story. As the tension continues to build, I then start worrying about what either brother might do to complicate things. So just from a storytelling perspective, it’s a very clever choice for Brennan.
- And then we’ve got Liannan. I AM SO HERE FOR THIS. The depiction of demons in this book is unreal, y’all. It’s that deceptive desperateness that makes up their entire being that makes them so fascinating to me. These creatures want any excuse to be in our world, to experience our lives, and that makes Nick’s summoning of Liannan both electrifying and terrifying. It’s a challenge for Nick just to maintain his composure and to make sure he isn’t fooled or manipulated by her as she does everything she can to do just that. So it’s pretty damn amazing that Nick removes his talisman in front of Liannan. I enjoyed that Brennan described this as a freedom, a sense that Nick had finally gotten away from something that was a constant in his life. It ended up making him feel more confident than usual.
- Maybe it’s nothing, but why did Liannan say that Nick knew her once?
- I also noticed how distinctly sexual Nick’s interaction with Liannan was. Which makes sense! It’s such a deeply human behavior. It’s what Liannan teases Nick with, kissing him, caressing him with her claws.
- Okay, did I understand this correctly??? Liannan asks for “warmth,” and Nick thought of Alan comforting him after their father died. If that “warmth” was a memory, does that mean she took that memory from him???
- “Didn’t you guess? The whole Circle is coming for you.” HAHAHA, LORD, THIS IS GOING TO BE MESSED UP.
- Oh god WHY ARE JAMIE AND MAE AT THE HOUSE. Jesus, Alan, do you enjoy upsetting Nick?
- Nick realizing that his brother must be terribly lonely is just HEART-CRUSHING. I keep getting the sense that Nick is so attached to his brother that he lashes out in jealousy when Alan connects with anyone, so I imagine it must be painful to realize that Alan is still lonely even though Nick is always around.
- Well, Jamie and Mae’s story is real sad. THERE IS SO MUCH SADNESS IN THIS BOOK.
- WHICH POLITICIANS AND ACTORS ARE MAGICIANS. I WANT TO KNOW.
- “The way Jamie kept making uneasy jokes about their life and Mae kept revealing a disturbing fascination with it made Nick feel as if he was a freak show suddenly on display for these people.” oh my GOD!!! I knew something felt off about the way that Jamie asked so many personal questions, and then Nick just trots out this perfect explanation of it. They’re a spectacle for Mae and Jamie.
- “I grew them myself.” BLESS YOU, MAE.
- How did it take me until page 132 to realize that Alan takes after his father? He’s genuine and kind to the point that he’ll do things for other people at the expense of himself.
- Nick is crass and rude to Mae when she speaks about talking with Olivia. I admit that it makes me uncomfortable, but at the same time, Nick has a point here. The way Jaime and Mae treat his family is from a position of ignorance. They haven’t had to live the life Nick has, and it feels deeply unfair to him.
- HEY, HOW TERRIFYING IS THAT MOMENT WHEN ALL THE GLASSES BREAK.
- So, Mae and Nick flirting is just so UNEXPECTED. Honestly, it’s almost like that playground mentality of people being mean to one another because they actually like you. But he totally does. I mean, come on! Read the passage when Mae reads aloud to him. HE IS TOTALLY CRUSHING ON HER.
- NO. ARE YOU SERIOUS. STONEHENGE??? CAN THERE BE A HUGE DEMON BATTLE AT STONEHENGE? THAT WOULD BE AMAZING.
- Nick, don’t tke the photograph. Don’t do that. Oh god, who was Marie to Alan? It’s going to ruin me, isn’t it?
- I WANT TO GO TO THE SALISBURY CATHEDRAL.
- “Well, he was helping to save Jamie’s life. Jamie could learn to cope.” OH MY GOD, THE SASS IS TOO MUCH. I know Nick is an asshole, but sometimes he says shit like this, and it kills me.
- This is such a surreal situation. Jamie and Nick paired together is bad enough, but they have to hopefully find magicians and detect illusions.
- Just so you all know, every day is Mark Mark Talk About His Feelings Day. Every single day.
- “The magician was like a man painted in oils, superimposed on a world drawn in crayon.” THIS LINE GAVE ME CHILLS, both because it’s brilliant, and because it signals such an intense shift in action.
- When Nick told Jamie to follow the magician, and Jamie said he couldn’t because couldn’t fly, I WAS SO CONFUSED. WHAT. I love the way in which Brennan is revealing exactly what magicians can do with their powers.
- WHAT THE HELL, THE MAGICIAN’S DEMON IS FOLLOWING.
- Oh, Jamie. They’re filming a movie? That’s the best you could come up with? Actually, I can’t think of a better lie, so I’m not going to judge.
- “He’d caught a live magician, and now Alan would be safe.” Dude, don’t think that. YOU’RE GOING TO RUIN IT.
- Who was surprised that Alan suggested that they use the magician to take off one of Jamie’s marks? Absolutely no one. I was shocked, however, that Jamie believed that Alan should go first.
- And then I was filled with ENDLESS ANTICIPATION once the magician woke up. OH MY GOD, I COULDN’T WAIT.
- Things that would not have been as powerful and disturbing had Nick not been the narrator: Nick announcing that he was going to torture the magician for information before killing him. GOOD LORD.
- Wha… what. What. You can be born with magic, with the calling? But… what???
- Some people willingly give up their lives for demons???
- WHAT IS HAPPENING.
- Oh my god, I don’t know why I was surprised that Nick actually cut Gerald, but… well, this is really happening.
- OH MY GOD, OLIVIA SHOWED UP.
- OH MY GOD, THE MARK.
- OH MY GOD, WHAT IS NICK DOING.
- Oh my god, Nick is so upset, and this is so complicated.
- “He was under the water for about a minute when he heard the gunshot.” WHAT THE FUCK WHAT IS THIS CHAPTER.
- “There was a wolf in the sitting room.” HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH CHAPTER 9.
- OH MY GOD, TWO MAGICIANS IN THE SAME ROOM. GET HIM. SHOOT THEM OH MY GOD.
- OH MY GOD IT BIT NICK OH MY GOD.
- OH MY GOD, I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT HIM LEAVING HIS TALISMAN BEHIND. I AM SO DONE.
- jesus NICK JUST TOLD ALAN HE’D KILL OLIVIA TO SAVE ALAN’S LIFE. Why is all of this in one chapter? What about my poor heart?
- WHAT THE HELL. GERALD TURNED INTO A BIRD AND FLEW AWAY AND WHAT THE HELL.
- WHY THE FUCK WOULD ALAN DELIBERATELY LET THE MAGICIAN GO???
- This really is about what these two brothers believe is best. Nick thinks that Alan is the only that matters, and Alan wants to please/help everyone.
- What the goddamn hell is happening to Nick on the boat???
- MY REVIEW STOPPED BEING A THOUGHTFUL RUMINATION ON THE THEMES AND CHARACTER DYNAMICS OF THIS BOOK AND TURNED INTO A FRANTIC LIVEBLOG.
- Actually, let me stop freaking out to say that the moment Nick surrenders to the comfort of Alan is fucking beautiful, y’all. He gave up and let himself be helpless, and that is such a huge development of his character.
- Like Unspoken, I love that so many settings in Brennan’s books have that old Gothic feel to them. People aren’t writing books like this anymore! It’s exciting. I mean, I grew up on Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mary Shelley, Emily Bronte, etc. It feels strangely familiar to me.
- Nick, I also feel out of place and strange in large houses. I’m not used to them, either.
- “There is someone being tortured in this house.” Nick, is that your superpower?
- OH, RIGHT, THAT’S WHO MEZENTIUS WAS.
- How the hell is someone being tortured of their own free will???
- What the fuck is that thing chained to the wall? THIS BOOK IS RUINING ME WITH EVERY CHAPTER.
- WHY ARE THE MAN’S EYES BEETLES? MAKE IT STOP.
- WHAT THE FUCK!
- A HALL OF POSSESSION??? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON.
- oh. oh my god. The “blood money” comment. This is THE MOST MESSED UP THING IN THIS BOOK SO FAR.
- (I must add “so far” to that because lord knows Sarah Rees Brennan will find new ways to ruin me.)
- Y’all, there are no cures for possession. None. These people continue being possessed until their bodies die. That’s it. I am so done.
- WIFE. RUTH IS THOMAS’S WIFE. Merris is so matter-of-fact about this, and it hurts. IT HURTS.
- You’re fucking kidding me. SOMEONE ANSWERED NICK’S AD. So Marie is dead???
- Alan is blackmailing Merris. My gods, that was surprising. But it’s a sign of his desperation at this point. I wonder if he knew that Merris would reject him. I cannot figure out what he’s doing, though. What’s his plan? Why did he need to see the possessed patients?
- Another sign that Nick genuinely cares about Alan: He turns down the chance to be sexual with Mae.
- For now, that is.
I’ll be spending time working on the video commissions for the next seven chapters today and tomorrow, so expect another post soon to wrap those up!
