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Desdaemona #2
Pandaemonium
Desdaemona has done a thing so so terrible that she has to run away from the consequences. Again. Where better to look for shelter than with the boy she was running from before? But trouble follows. And if it’s not Jacey’s parents who sent the deadly crow-men, the Twa Corbies, in chase of her, then who is it? Deep under London, among the lost and rejected of two worlds, answers begin to emerge from Desi’s hidden past. Answers that send her north in a flight that turns to a hunt, with strange companions and stranger prey. Dangers lie ahead and behind; inconvenient passion lays traps for her just when she needs a clear head; at the last even Desi has to beg for help. From one who has more cause than most to want her dead...
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 30, 2012
2 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Ben Macallan
3 books12 followersBen Macallan is the boy your mother warned you about, the one with the motorbike and the cool clothes and the dangerous superpowers. He shoots round corners without looking, can put on his socks without bending and finds new planets as a Sunday afternoon hobby. He sometimes hangs out in smoky bars, where he plays saxophone and talks philosophy. Several schools claim to have taught him, but he never turns up for Speech Day. He may be watching you, but you'll never know. He lives where he lives, and always stops to speak to cats and Big Issue vendors.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 30, 2013
I didn’t care for book 1, but at least it was interesting enough. Book 2, Pandaemonium, was downright horrible. The book was truly its namesake, full of wild confusion.
The book started out fine, picking up immediately where book 1 ended. This time around, however, the story was told from Desi’s viewpoint instead of Jordan’s. I liked Desi and thought she was a good kickass heroine in book 1, but I came to like Jordan a lot at the end of book 1 so I was disappointed that book 2 didn’t continue from his viewpoint. But hey, it was Desi. Kickass heroine. I expected my disappointment to quickly fade. I could not have been more wrong. Things went downhill — fast.
Desi was on the run because bad guys were after her. It was the same thing ALL OVER AGAIN from book 1 except book 2 had her teaming up with her ex-boyfriend Jacey instead of Jordan. I quickly tired of the story. I thought Jordan’s narration in book 1 was long-winded, but Desi’s narration in book 2 was worse. Way WORSE. Her narration was a stream of consciousness, which I abhor. It didn’t take but a New York minute for Desi to turn from one of my favorite characters of the series to one of my least favorite.
Although things were happening, the plot progressed very little. Very little made sense, either. Characters just seemed to do stuff for no rhyme or reason. Many times I would be thinking, “What the fuck are these characters trying to accomplish?” Around a quarter of the book, I skimmed because I couldn’t endure the shitty reading any longer. I couldn’t believe how far in the book it took for Desi to learn who were the bad guys that were after her. I couldn’t believe how much time Desi spent thinking about her romantic drama crap with Jacey and Jordan towards the end when they were about to confront the bad guys. Woman, have some priorities!
Only at the end did I finally stop skimming, and what happened there confirmed my decision to skim as a smart one. Not much was resolved, especially not the love triangle. Though the bad guys were finally dealt with, it was lackluster and not worth reading the entire book to get to there. It was definitely not worth reading the entire series either. Desi’s character growth, the kind that should have started in the beginning of book 2 if not all the way back in the middle of book 1, finally started in the last chapter... of book 2, the end of the series. What a PISSER, and here I thought book 1’s ending was a pisser. I didn’t realize the book 2 was trying to outdo itself in angering me.
Conclusion
I rate Pandaemonium 1-star for I didn’t like it. At All. Stories should be as long as needed, but this one had absolutely no reason being dragged out as a duology. This one was one of those cases where the editor or the publisher should have insisted the story to be a standalone and have the book 1 and 2 just be ONE book.
I do not recommend this series. It’s a waste of time.
The book started out fine, picking up immediately where book 1 ended. This time around, however, the story was told from Desi’s viewpoint instead of Jordan’s. I liked Desi and thought she was a good kickass heroine in book 1, but I came to like Jordan a lot at the end of book 1 so I was disappointed that book 2 didn’t continue from his viewpoint. But hey, it was Desi. Kickass heroine. I expected my disappointment to quickly fade. I could not have been more wrong. Things went downhill — fast.
Desi was on the run because bad guys were after her. It was the same thing ALL OVER AGAIN from book 1 except book 2 had her teaming up with her ex-boyfriend Jacey instead of Jordan. I quickly tired of the story. I thought Jordan’s narration in book 1 was long-winded, but Desi’s narration in book 2 was worse. Way WORSE. Her narration was a stream of consciousness, which I abhor. It didn’t take but a New York minute for Desi to turn from one of my favorite characters of the series to one of my least favorite.
Although things were happening, the plot progressed very little. Very little made sense, either. Characters just seemed to do stuff for no rhyme or reason. Many times I would be thinking, “What the fuck are these characters trying to accomplish?” Around a quarter of the book, I skimmed because I couldn’t endure the shitty reading any longer. I couldn’t believe how far in the book it took for Desi to learn who were the bad guys that were after her. I couldn’t believe how much time Desi spent thinking about her romantic drama crap with Jacey and Jordan towards the end when they were about to confront the bad guys. Woman, have some priorities!
Only at the end did I finally stop skimming, and what happened there confirmed my decision to skim as a smart one. Not much was resolved, especially not the love triangle. Though the bad guys were finally dealt with, it was lackluster and not worth reading the entire book to get to there. It was definitely not worth reading the entire series either. Desi’s character growth, the kind that should have started in the beginning of book 2 if not all the way back in the middle of book 1, finally started in the last chapter... of book 2, the end of the series. What a PISSER, and here I thought book 1’s ending was a pisser. I didn’t realize the book 2 was trying to outdo itself in angering me.
Conclusion
I rate Pandaemonium 1-star for I didn’t like it. At All. Stories should be as long as needed, but this one had absolutely no reason being dragged out as a duology. This one was one of those cases where the editor or the publisher should have insisted the story to be a standalone and have the book 1 and 2 just be ONE book.
I do not recommend this series. It’s a waste of time.
October 31, 2012
* * * 3.5 Stars * * *
Circumstances change so fast; it takes nimble footwork just to keep up, and your heart lags behind even in the best of times, which these most emphatically were not.
Desdaemona, Ben Macallan's debut, was one of my top reads of 2011. He has a unique style of writing that I find mesmerizing and I quickly devoured his novel and was left wanting more.
Desdaemona was the story of a boy named Jordan who was constantly on the run from the Powers of his world that were determined to find him. Pandaemonium is Desdaemona's story, a secondary character to Jordan who eventually plays a very important role in his life. She causes a lot of trouble at the conclusion of the first story and I found myself eager to dive into the next novel and learn more about her character.
As the story begins, Desi is on the run from Jordan, afraid of the consequences that her actions against him may have caused. But we quickly discover that Jordan is not the only person hunting her.
She finds herself running to Jacey, an ex from her past that we learn about in the debut. I enjoyed exploring his character and the relationship that he once had with Desi. He knew her before she became Desdaemona, when she was still Fay, and many references were made about the differences between the two.
So she left Fay behind, and Desi went out into the world, and you could argue a long time over whether she was trying to find herself or lose herself entirely. Both at once, I think, and not a little bit of each but altogether.
Of all the things that I liked about this novel, one of my favorite moments was near the ending, when Desi has her final confrontation with the "bad guy". I loved every vivid detail that Macallan describes about him. He was something straight out of a science fiction horror movie and was very easy to imagine.
Pandaemonium was a unique and entertaining read and I'm hoping we will have a third book in this series. I enjoyed Desdaemona's character, but I've loved Jordan from the very beginning and find myself more interested in knowing what's happening with him now that he has experienced such drastic changes. But whether we get more Jordan or not, I can't wait to read whatever Macallan comes up with next.
http://www.addicted2heroines.com/2012...
Circumstances change so fast; it takes nimble footwork just to keep up, and your heart lags behind even in the best of times, which these most emphatically were not.
Desdaemona, Ben Macallan's debut, was one of my top reads of 2011. He has a unique style of writing that I find mesmerizing and I quickly devoured his novel and was left wanting more.
Desdaemona was the story of a boy named Jordan who was constantly on the run from the Powers of his world that were determined to find him. Pandaemonium is Desdaemona's story, a secondary character to Jordan who eventually plays a very important role in his life. She causes a lot of trouble at the conclusion of the first story and I found myself eager to dive into the next novel and learn more about her character.
As the story begins, Desi is on the run from Jordan, afraid of the consequences that her actions against him may have caused. But we quickly discover that Jordan is not the only person hunting her.
She finds herself running to Jacey, an ex from her past that we learn about in the debut. I enjoyed exploring his character and the relationship that he once had with Desi. He knew her before she became Desdaemona, when she was still Fay, and many references were made about the differences between the two.
So she left Fay behind, and Desi went out into the world, and you could argue a long time over whether she was trying to find herself or lose herself entirely. Both at once, I think, and not a little bit of each but altogether.
Of all the things that I liked about this novel, one of my favorite moments was near the ending, when Desi has her final confrontation with the "bad guy". I loved every vivid detail that Macallan describes about him. He was something straight out of a science fiction horror movie and was very easy to imagine.
Pandaemonium was a unique and entertaining read and I'm hoping we will have a third book in this series. I enjoyed Desdaemona's character, but I've loved Jordan from the very beginning and find myself more interested in knowing what's happening with him now that he has experienced such drastic changes. But whether we get more Jordan or not, I can't wait to read whatever Macallan comes up with next.
http://www.addicted2heroines.com/2012...
July 7, 2013
This is the sequel to Desdaemona, and while still good, doesn't quite hit the same heights. This time Desdaemona herself is the narrator, rather than the outsider Jordan's point of view in the first book. In some ways that book is just a prequel to this, the main story.
Everyone is after Desdaemona, including Jordan (newly created Prince of Hell and not happy with her role in that elevation), Jace (the boy she ditched and whose family was after her in the last book for getting pregnant and getting an abortion) and the newly introduced Oz (the person that made her into a daemon to send after a target) and Thom (the actual target who Desi was supposed to kill but didn't and then lied about it).
Put them all together and you have a lot of chasing around across the breadth and width of Britain, not to mention a side trip to Hell. One section is a standout - Desi calls to life the Uffington White Horse to escape a deadly threat - this is one of the oldest and most mysterious figures in British history, and it's done beautifully.
The story climaxes and the lair of Oz, and disappointingly fizzles out at this point, when it should have been violent and bloody. There is room for a sequel of sorts, but I'm not sure if it would be worth writing as Desi goes back to being an ordinary girl in the end.
One final quibble, Hell and Princes of Hell are mentioned repeatedly, but the Lord of Hell is Pluto, otherwise known as Hades. Hades is emphatically not hell, they come from totally different traditions. It's a minor thing, but it did annoy me
Everyone is after Desdaemona, including Jordan (newly created Prince of Hell and not happy with her role in that elevation), Jace (the boy she ditched and whose family was after her in the last book for getting pregnant and getting an abortion) and the newly introduced Oz (the person that made her into a daemon to send after a target) and Thom (the actual target who Desi was supposed to kill but didn't and then lied about it).
Put them all together and you have a lot of chasing around across the breadth and width of Britain, not to mention a side trip to Hell. One section is a standout - Desi calls to life the Uffington White Horse to escape a deadly threat - this is one of the oldest and most mysterious figures in British history, and it's done beautifully.
The story climaxes and the lair of Oz, and disappointingly fizzles out at this point, when it should have been violent and bloody. There is room for a sequel of sorts, but I'm not sure if it would be worth writing as Desi goes back to being an ordinary girl in the end.
One final quibble, Hell and Princes of Hell are mentioned repeatedly, but the Lord of Hell is Pluto, otherwise known as Hades. Hades is emphatically not hell, they come from totally different traditions. It's a minor thing, but it did annoy me
April 20, 2019
The first book was so good, but the wheels fell off on this one. There was no consistency to the story and less debt of character. Sad really.
February 22, 2013
“Trouble didn’t follow me, so much as the other way around. I stalked it down dark and obviously untrustworthy alleyways, picked its pockets for the hell of it, tapped it on the shoulder and ran away like a kid playing games, led it inexorably into other people’s paths and let them face its fury.” (p.89)
Desdaemona’s on the run again. She ran once before, and found refuge and a new life – for a while at least. But she had a few issues with what she had to do to keep it, so she talked fast and hoped no-one would notice the lies. But trouble is never far away and now she’s harried from pillar to post, by way of old allies and enemies across a broad landscape that takes you from the forgotten stations of the Underground to the chalk lands where the White Horse is ready to ride ever onwards.
Then there’s the complication of two old boyfriends: Jordan, the new love she’s running from – freshly crowned somewhat-reluctant prince of hell; and Jacey, the old love from a previous life she’s running to – heir to an empire and best protection from the wild assortment of mercenaries set upon her.
There’s a lot of running in this book – by foot and motorbike, by horse and rollerblade and some of it is fun, but at times it becomes too much and can be an exhausting thing to read as you go from monster attack to extended running scene, to monster attack to another extended running scene with scant places to stop and breathe in between. And yet, when those occasions for rest occur, they are often accompanied by the swelling of interesting background detail into just a little too much information that leaves you impatient for the action to start up again. In the author’s previous books this particular stylistic quirk has worked to great effect so perhaps the incongruity is because there’s a certain expected rhythm to urban fantasy, with pop beats you can nod your head to, and Pandaemonium reads more like a surprise jazz remix of a tune you sort of recognise.
“They were going to hang my boyfriend up by his heels and bleed all the life out of him, and they thought I’d want to watch.
“No. Almost all of that is true, but none of it is right.” (p.7)
The book hangs on its lead, and Desdaemona is an awkward character to like. You can sympathise with her plight, want her to shake free of the trouble dogging her, but liking her seems optional. She’s all sharp edges, the centre of everyone’s world and there is the persistent impression that all her sins are instantly forgiven so that everyone can flock to her assistance just when it’s needed. With Jacey, the forgiveness can be understood; there’s been plenty of adjustment time since they became exes, and the previous volume of the series offered a hashing out of their old business that allows for a certain degree of moving on; but there’s no apparent fallout for her betrayal of Jordan, save it creating the instigation for her to start running.
At the very least you’d expect him to make a snippy comment at some later point, instead of quite happily shrugging off the fact that she forced him into something he’d clearly said he didn’t want to do. And at the very least you’d expect some sign of her own motivation for it, beyond the brushed aside excuse that she felt it needed doing and was hers to do. Perhaps they both felt it was some kind of subconscious payback for him forcing her to face a part of her own past in the last book, but if so that’s not clear in the text and so his switch from betrayed to helper creates a feeling of unfinished business.
There’s also a running obsession with power happening throughout as Desdaemona repeatedly dwells on both the power of her gifted Aspect and the power of those around her: an understandable habit given her necessary rise from powerlessness, and the need to measure the many potential threats against her own ability to respond, all of which make her choices at the end particularly effective.
“I’d told the story before, here and there, or parts of it: just often enough that the old ways of telling it, the old words came easily to my tongue.” (p.91)
And yet, despite pacing issues and odd character niggles, Pandaemonium is still a hypnotising read. Macallan, no matter what name he writes under, has always had a distinctive gift for language that catches you up and pulls you along, weaving decorous spells that don’t let go. The story is built slowly, layering piece upon piece until the whole emerges in a patchwork of glorious imagery and fun concepts that make you want to read the next one to see what he can come up with next.
Desdaemona’s on the run again. She ran once before, and found refuge and a new life – for a while at least. But she had a few issues with what she had to do to keep it, so she talked fast and hoped no-one would notice the lies. But trouble is never far away and now she’s harried from pillar to post, by way of old allies and enemies across a broad landscape that takes you from the forgotten stations of the Underground to the chalk lands where the White Horse is ready to ride ever onwards.
Then there’s the complication of two old boyfriends: Jordan, the new love she’s running from – freshly crowned somewhat-reluctant prince of hell; and Jacey, the old love from a previous life she’s running to – heir to an empire and best protection from the wild assortment of mercenaries set upon her.
There’s a lot of running in this book – by foot and motorbike, by horse and rollerblade and some of it is fun, but at times it becomes too much and can be an exhausting thing to read as you go from monster attack to extended running scene, to monster attack to another extended running scene with scant places to stop and breathe in between. And yet, when those occasions for rest occur, they are often accompanied by the swelling of interesting background detail into just a little too much information that leaves you impatient for the action to start up again. In the author’s previous books this particular stylistic quirk has worked to great effect so perhaps the incongruity is because there’s a certain expected rhythm to urban fantasy, with pop beats you can nod your head to, and Pandaemonium reads more like a surprise jazz remix of a tune you sort of recognise.
“They were going to hang my boyfriend up by his heels and bleed all the life out of him, and they thought I’d want to watch.
“No. Almost all of that is true, but none of it is right.” (p.7)
The book hangs on its lead, and Desdaemona is an awkward character to like. You can sympathise with her plight, want her to shake free of the trouble dogging her, but liking her seems optional. She’s all sharp edges, the centre of everyone’s world and there is the persistent impression that all her sins are instantly forgiven so that everyone can flock to her assistance just when it’s needed. With Jacey, the forgiveness can be understood; there’s been plenty of adjustment time since they became exes, and the previous volume of the series offered a hashing out of their old business that allows for a certain degree of moving on; but there’s no apparent fallout for her betrayal of Jordan, save it creating the instigation for her to start running.
At the very least you’d expect him to make a snippy comment at some later point, instead of quite happily shrugging off the fact that she forced him into something he’d clearly said he didn’t want to do. And at the very least you’d expect some sign of her own motivation for it, beyond the brushed aside excuse that she felt it needed doing and was hers to do. Perhaps they both felt it was some kind of subconscious payback for him forcing her to face a part of her own past in the last book, but if so that’s not clear in the text and so his switch from betrayed to helper creates a feeling of unfinished business.
There’s also a running obsession with power happening throughout as Desdaemona repeatedly dwells on both the power of her gifted Aspect and the power of those around her: an understandable habit given her necessary rise from powerlessness, and the need to measure the many potential threats against her own ability to respond, all of which make her choices at the end particularly effective.
“I’d told the story before, here and there, or parts of it: just often enough that the old ways of telling it, the old words came easily to my tongue.” (p.91)
And yet, despite pacing issues and odd character niggles, Pandaemonium is still a hypnotising read. Macallan, no matter what name he writes under, has always had a distinctive gift for language that catches you up and pulls you along, weaving decorous spells that don’t let go. The story is built slowly, layering piece upon piece until the whole emerges in a patchwork of glorious imagery and fun concepts that make you want to read the next one to see what he can come up with next.
November 19, 2012
This book follows on from the previous book Desdaemona directly - as in book 1 finishes as Desdaemona (Desi) walks through the door and book 2 begins as she walks down the stairs at the other side of the door. Do not try reading this book until you have read book 1 as you will be missing out.
As books go this is pretty much more of the same, which is good, except for the fact that the author switches the main character of this book to Desi - a female lead (whereas book 1's lead was Jay - a male). The only downfall is that the author writes a male lead better than a female lead and the drive of the story was weaker for it in my opinion.
This is still a decent book though and I will be looking out for more by this author
As books go this is pretty much more of the same, which is good, except for the fact that the author switches the main character of this book to Desi - a female lead (whereas book 1's lead was Jay - a male). The only downfall is that the author writes a male lead better than a female lead and the drive of the story was weaker for it in my opinion.
This is still a decent book though and I will be looking out for more by this author
February 11, 2013
This is great fun, picking up immediately after Desdaemona and racing through another set of adventures nicely ignoring genre expectations.
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November 18, 2012
Excellent use of British folklore in a modern setting. Plenty of action with characters you could cheer for. Overall an excellent read. recommended.
February 5, 2013
I loved this book, and highly recommend it, except that it picks up almost exactly where the first book, Desdaemona, left off, so if you haven’t read Desdaemona you should read that first.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews