The Demon Star by Jesse Aragon
Blurb:
On a ruined planet oppressed by eldritch gods, a rebel leader forces his son to become the vessel of a god-killing demon. Caught in a conflict spanning galaxies and millennia, two unlikely allies must decide whether to save the child, their world, or themselves.
The otherworldly religious conflict of Dune, the cosmic strangeness of Gideon the Ninth, and the heart-pounding action of Red Rising converge in this horror-tinged epic science fantasy debut
Ysira Naktis was a human sacrifice, destined for death. But unlike the thousands “harvested” each year, she did the unthinkable. She survived—and what she brought back with her could rewrite the fate of her civilization.
When Ysira’s son is chosen for demonic possession, she is faced with a choice: allow him to harness cosmic power at an unspeakable cost or doom millions to save him. She finds an unlikely ally in Brother Jacen Kheris, once a gifted exorcist, now an addict desperate for purpose.
From a demon-haunted canyon to a starbound satellite, they must battle their way through cultists, aliens, and the gods themselves. The truths they unearth send them hurtling down a path that can only lead to apocalypse.
Review:
Spoiler filled review
“Faith was a leap in the dark, the chasm between mystery and truth, and such a leap required resolve. Faith was the will to do even the unspeakable–for the sake of a dream, for the promise of peace, for the shadow of a hope of a better future.
Aragon created a creepy, cosmically complex twist of horror and fantasy that infuses demon infestation, greedy gods, and telepathic addicts into a debut novel for the ages. The Demon Star is a novel that reaches deep into the dark recesses of the reader's mind, wraps miniscule tendrils around the imagination, and then cranks up the adrenaline to heart pounding crescendos. Within pages of beginning The Demon Star, I knew that this was going to be the perfect story for me.
For the majority of the novel, we follow two main POVs: Jacen, a washed up exorcist who had exceptional promise in the Church because of his abilities as an advanced telepath, and Ysira who is a demon possessed scavenger with a mysterious past. One of the first things that immediately grabbed me in this novel was how masterfully Aragon had crafted this world. In just a few chapters, I already felt immersed in the cult-ish, ritualistic Church with their demon exorcisms and devotions to the six gods of the world. The worldbuilding was on another level, especially for a debut novel. The Demon Star felt like the practiced work of a seasoned author who was just honing the skills she had developed over a lifetime of publishing. But it’s only going to continue to get better for Aragon, because this is just the beginning!
Back to the Church. They offer an annual Harvest of low level telepaths as a sacrifice to keep their gods at bay. However, as we come to find out, Ysira is one of the Harvested people who, in a seemingly miraculous turn of events, had come back from the Scar. She was no longer alone. She was infested with a demon that curled around her brain stem, giving her the power to heal herself from almost any injury. The demons are creepy, slug like insectoids that resemble the ear worms from Star Trek: Wrath of Khan or the Yeerks from Anamorphs, with significantly more power and nefarious agendas.
The story hinges on an ancient, extremely powerful demon that is lurking in the depths of the Scar who kills one of the six gods early in the novel. This sets off a chain of events culminating in the attempt to harness their demonic power to defeat the gods of the world and free the people of Zivora from their captivity. A host named Neri, who is uniquely positioned to act as a vessel for this, is persuaded to help, to the possible detriment of the entire world. Bloody, brutal battles range from space stations to the desert planet.
Putting aside the captivating worldbuilding and harrowing action scenes, Aragon ambitiously tackles philosophical questions of faith and religion. As Jacen is confronted with the reality that the gods he has devoted his entire life to are mere mortals, he is faced with the question of what actually delineates what a god is? Is it just the power to destroy? Is it the power to create? Is it the separation of a mortal and immortal being? Is it something completely different? And what is faith and what is he willing to do in its name?
Aragon pulls zero punches as we watch Jacen and others in his party make cataclysmic decisions in support of their faith, while killing thousands of innocent people and potentially destroying all that they know. And what rises from the ashes is a Dune-esque, Paul Atreides, messianic figure with the power and desire to devour galaxies. Jacen’s character arc swings back and forth as his faith is crushed and lost, and then revived in a god who has the potential to lead civilization into the void. The philosophical musings of The Demon Star set it a rung above many of its peers.
The Demon Star works as a standalone. But I’m hoping and praying Aragon continues the story. There are so many threads that deserve to be picked up and followed out to their conclusions. How do the Firstborn respond to this affront to their gods? How does Neri deal with Naxal and what kind of god does he become? Is Jacen’s renewed faith misplaced or is faith in something, even something dangerous, better than no faith at all?
The Demon Star is one of those debut novels that should get readers jumping in their seats because this is the start of something great from Aragon. I enjoyed every minute of The Demon Star: the world, the characters, the mythology, the philosophy. I will eagerly be following everything that Aragon writes moving forward. She is a new author to point in the direction of the pantheon of fantasy horror greats.
