Note: This review is based on the first 10 parts of Inner Demons.  The complete novel has 92 parts.  I may update this review when I’ve read more.

Let me start by saying that I feel guilty about giving Inner Demons 4 stars.  And I’m going to do it anyway.

Inner Demons is one of those rare stories that gets past my filters.  I’m a snob, you see.  For the most part, I like good, careful, subtle writing; the kind that shows well-crafted, effortless prose; the kind that is full of subtext and is rich with detailed, complex characters.  Inner Demons is not most of those things.  The writing is very raw.  At times the grammar feels clumsy (the author uses a lot of past perfect tense when simple past would be more appropriate and readable).  And the characterization is . . . odd—the characters all seem very forgiving; they act more like how you’d hope people would act, than like they actually do. 

But, in spite of all of that, I read 10 parts in one sitting, when all I’d intended to do was take the screen capture to use for this listing.

Inner Demons is told by Dean, a 16 year-old boy who is gay, and very in-the-closet.  As the story begins, he’s fleeing the small Morman town in Idaho where he grew up to go live with his Aunt in Denver.  He hopes to find a boyfriend.  And maybe some real friends, too.  And I know what you’re thinking—this all sounds very emo.  And yes, Dean does very much like black clothing.

The thing is, Dean isn’t caught up in his self-pity.  No, he doesn’t like his life, and yes, he feels sorry for himself at times.  But the writing is just so honest.  Not in the "deep" meaning of that word—I mean in the very text.  Dean seems utterly guileless.  He wears his heart on his sleeve, and he’s totally okay with it.  He sees other people’s pain and he reaches out to do something about it, even at risk to himself.  And, for me, that makes it hard not to care about him. 

A few chapters in, Dean befriends Ken(dra), a transexual coworker, and then meets Brad, who asks him for his number.  As you can tell from the author’s description on the listing, Brad has some issues that have only been hinted at as far as I’ve read, but his dates with Dean are full of caring and tenderness.  Again, I’m not convinced there are real people who act quite this way, but these moments are nice to read.

Inner Demons doesn’t have a lot of tension.  My feeling is you’ll read it because you like Dean, or you won’t read it at all.  And I suspect most of you will think my 4 star rating is inflated.  But for those few of you who have the same soft spots I’ve got, I think you’ll want to read it.  I’ll be going back for more, very soon.

3 of 3 members found this review helpful.
Help us improve!  Register or log in to rate this review.