S.L. Wright

Confessions of a Demon — (2009-2010) Publisher: After accidentally stealing the life force of a dying demon, Allay became the only human-demon hybrid in existence. Demons feed on human emotions, so Allay decided the safest way to satisfy this need — and still retain some semblance of her humanity — was to open a bar. Here she can drink from, and ease, her patrons' pain, which has helped her to stay under the demon radar. Until now. When Allay is attacked and nearly killed by another demon, ahuman comes to her rescue. Theo Ram is tall, handsome, and mortal — and Allay feels a connection to him she didn't think she'd ever know. But that bond is tested when the demon community in New York begins to rise up, and two opposing clans fight for power. Now Allay is caught in the middle, and she must decide where her loyalties lie.

Confessions of a Demon

Confessions of a Demon is what urban fantasy should be and so seldom is. It's fun, it's a bit sexy, and S.L. Wright knows how to balance those two prerequisites with enough action and world-building to make this more than just a relationship novel. That's not such an easy task.

Allay, the main character, is caught up in a struggle for power between two rival factions of demons. She doesn't realize it at first, but that's really what it's all about. Allay is a hybrid demon — she was born human and was accidentally changed into a demon during her teenage years. Her uncommon status makes her something of a celebrity, but not in the typical sense, because everyone wants to consume her instead of just admire her.

Wright's idea for demons is something interesting. These are no cloven-hoofed, horned, evil beings, but rather they are naturally occurring creatures that happen to feed off of humans. Each demon is unique by virtue of how it feeds. (It's all pretty clean and there are none of the usual bloodsucking vampires.)

What really intrigued me about Confessions of a Demon was that I kept thinking, “this would make a really cool video game.” For those of you who aren’t gamers, that's my way of saying that it's a very workable setting. The characters and their interactions with humanity and each other are well-constructed and I really wanted to explore their world. Wouldn't it be fun to be a virtual demon? Would you be a good demon who tries to avoid hurting the people you feed off of, or would you be a bad demon and ruthlessly prey on humans?

My sole problem with Confessions of a Demon is that Allay is kind of whiny. She's smart-mouthed and sassy like most of her urban fantasy heroine peers, but she's also really conflicted over who she is and if she can live with what it takes to stay “alive.” I didn’t like Allay all of the time, but I still thought Confessions of a Demon was a great read.

If you are looking for a somewhat unique flavor of urban fantasy, Confessions of a Demon is well worth a try — it's fun and exciting. I’m looking forward to a sequel. —John Hulet

Demon Underground

Demon Underground is S.L. Wright’s sequel to Confessions of a Demon. Wright begins pretty much right at the end of Confessions with the life and times of Allay, a human girl turned demon. Demon Underground is a straightforward urban fantasy novel with a nice blend of action, social interaction and lots and lots of romantic angst.

In Demon Underground, Allay is dealing with the aftereffects of having taken down one of the most powerful demons in New York City. The relationship she had begun with Ram, another very powerful demon, continues as a central theme of the book. Allay is constantly caught up in the tug-of-war between her mistrust of a demon more powerful than herself and an overwhelming sexual and emotional connection with Ram. It’s not my favorite part of the book, but it fits with the genre.

Wright parades a number of different demon characters through the story. Many are merely normal demons trying to survive and find a place where they are safe. Some are powerful and manipulative, and don’t live by a moral code that Allay can accept. This conflict of morality — her human values versus the realities of being a demon — makes for a large part of the difficulties that Allay has to face. She doesn’t want to be a bad person, even if her definition of bad doesn’t really apply to most demons.

The final theme is the conflict of hiding demons from humankind to avoid persecution. When one of the major demon players in the city makes plans to profit from a possible exposure of demonkind, Allay gets caught up in the middle of trying to stop it or at least protect herself and others from the aftereffects. Her solutions are unique and stressful for her, but that’s part of what one expects in urban fantasy.

On the whole Demon Underground is passable. Wright’s concept of demons and their symbiotic relationship with humans, introduced in Confessions of a Demon, is still my favorite aspect of the story. It’s interesting and plausible enough to be a welcome change from the oversexed vampire/werewolf theme that we are often subjected to. Demon Underground falls short of its predecessor in that it focuses more on politics and relationships rather than continuing to develop innovative fantasy ideas. This series is decent, but not something that you want to place at the top of your to-be-read pile.
—John Hulet