I am working my way through a bunch of old Christopher Moore books. Recently I’ve re-red all of the books that take place in Pine Cove.
Practical Demonkeeping is the first book that takes place in Pine Cove, California. The story involves a demon obviously, but also a djinn (genie). The rather humorous story, although at times dark and gruesome revolves around a young man who is actually in his 70s and his demon. The djinn wants to get the demon back to where it belongs. Death, mayhem and redemption follows. Interesting the majority of characters in this book do not reappear in the following books about Pine Cove.
The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove introduces a bunch of new characters, most reappearing in the third book on Pine Cove. The premise of this involves a beast who is awaken from the depths of the ocean and attracted to the coast of California when there is a leak from a nuclear plant (that is quickly repaired). Other characters are a psychiatrist, pharmacists, police officer, psychotic former movie star, mammalogist and bar tender among others. Ultimately when the beast appears at Pine Cove and attempts to mate with a fuel truck causing an massive explosion at two in the morning the town turns into a lusty paradise. at the end the beast returns to the depths of the ocean, but several marriages and partnerships result from the visit.
The Island of the sequined Love Nun does not occur in Pine Grove, but one character Tucker Case does. Tucker is a pilot who has lost his license when he crashed a plane while helping a woman join the mile high club. The moral of the story being don’t have sex and fly simultaneously. But, as a result he ends up getting a piloting job on an island in the south Pacific. The convoluted story is a laugh a minute, with lots of sex, a cannibal and a giant fruit bat. Tucker and the bat appear in the next book.
The Stupidest Angel takes place in Pine Cove just before Christmas. Most of the characters were in the previous book (The Lust Lizard…) about Pine Cove. The new characters include Tucker, his love interest and a giant fruit bat. The story goes back and forth between silly, crazy, laughing and gasping. Ultimately everything turn out fine at the end – as it has to.
First I highly recommend reading all four of these books. Secondly, it might be time for another book involving Pine Cove.
More later…
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