Book Review: Remembering Demons by J. Cornelius

Daryl is an unusual patient at an unusual mental hospital. His verifiably “real” friend group is largely made up of a surprisingly large number of physicists who also happen to be admitted there. The group spends a lot of free time involved in freewheeling conversations about topics that intrigue Daryl while often flying over his head. He also counts amongst his friends however, a gnome with a penchant for drink that only he can see and who emerges from the walls to keep him company. Additionally, in the facilities’ mirrors, and especially in the basement, he can see another world, one filled with frightening creatures that also appear to be able to see him and want desperately to cross onto his side of the glass.

His psychiatrist Dr. Walker is doing what she can to build a rapport with him while also trying to get him to learn to ignore these “hallucinations”, believing that if he does so they will stop, and Daryl does his best to follow her advice. His scientist friends however aren’t so convinced the things he sees aren’t real, and his visions are getting stranger, more threatening, and more convincing with every passing day.

J. Cornelius has crafted an immediately involving story in Remembering Demons. The hospital and the occurrences within it are genuinely creepy and the beings that haunt Daryl are suitably frightening. Feelings of tension and dread permeate nearly every page as we try to puzzle out just what is real and what is all in our hero’s head, leading to a satisfying conclusion that takes the story into some unexpected directions.

Unfortunately, the characters are mostly underdeveloped, with only Daryl receiving much of a backstory, and the writing sometimes veers into using the sort of unnecessarily pretentious words that rarely impress anyone aside from the author. Those flaws though don’t detract much from the overall enjoyment readers should get from this book. It’s the first part of a planned trilogy, and I for one am eager to see where he takes this eerie, engaging story from here. ★★★★