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Beast
Beast explores how dreams and desires can both liberate or confine the dreamer.
Eve, a young self-taught musician sits on a bench overlooking the grassy crossroads of a model village.
She is dreaming of the power of music. Her dreams reach into the cosmos, summoning Demon and his rabbit familiar.
Eve longs to harness the divine in service of her music.
But will she instead make a deal with Demon for worldly success?
Demon dreads the terrible price he will pay for failure and thus begins a long battle for Eve's soul.
Eve, a young self-taught musician sits on a bench overlooking the grassy crossroads of a model village.
She is dreaming of the power of music. Her dreams reach into the cosmos, summoning Demon and his rabbit familiar.
Eve longs to harness the divine in service of her music.
But will she instead make a deal with Demon for worldly success?
Demon dreads the terrible price he will pay for failure and thus begins a long battle for Eve's soul.
- GenresFantasy
262 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 19, 2025
So often Demon's gift is in the priming and opening of the eyes of others. Is that then what so many want? Attention?
Certainly it is the lack of attention that keeps ordinary the lives of those who could by rights have been extraordinary.
Beast (2025) is Lulu Allison's latest novel, following her Women's Prize longlisted 2021 work Salt Lick.
It is published by the wonderful Bluemoose Books (see below).
Beast centres around the figure of Eve, sitting on a bench on the village green when, dreaming of the power of music, and invoking the divine she summons instead a demon, who takes for himself a rabbit as a familiar.
And there she was, the one who had pulled down the ancient wreathings of the divine. The trader, the dreamer, the mark.
Eve.
We found her in the dark of approaching night, a few hours after Demon's dizzying arrival and my own equally dizzying transformation.
Yes, we were three transformed creatures: Demon from blissful sleeper into unwilling practitioner of ancient lore, me from drab rabbit into divine companion, Eve from an angular, awkward child into a musical explorer who had summoned the divine.
I could not tell it on that first sighting but I came to like her very much. I care for her still. I like too who she became, which is not always a given for those who cross paths with Demon or his brothers. All this I know.
It is Rabbit who tells the story, looking back on that day 20 years earlier, as he waits with Demon for Eve to finally yield her soul in exchange for what Demon has given her.
The story is, in that sense, a modern day Dr Faustus, although as we, Demon and Rabbit follow Eve through her early musical yearnings, her brief period of pop semi-stardom, and then her creation of a modern-day opera, telling the story of two of the villagers, male lovers, Demon finds it frustratingly hard to pin down exactly what Eve yearns for as part of the pact he would like to make.
This is also a story, as is Eve's opera, about a yearning for acceptance, as much as it is one for fame
A normal man and woman, married, careful, safe, obedient. Their cultivated name and their presumptuously tended status bestowing both privilege and protection.
From tyranny are such spells concocted.
Normal. If all that was most common was called usual then perhaps fewer would be excluded. Abnormal is so much more threatening than unusual. But then, it is the usage of a word over time that confers its meaning. Human mouths will soon enough flavour a word with distaste and scorn if it is distaste and scorn they require.
The author's own take on the novel's themes, and what readers may take from the book, can be found here: https://luluallison.net/beast/
And after the Wish Cow that accompanied Salt Lick, my copy of this book came with a hand-crafted medal of Rabbit and Demon drifting in the cosmos:
Demon grabbed a hold of me and we were gone in a boiling hiss of frustration and fury.
We span and soared and Demon shrieked. We screeched down a chimney, ripped through branches, hurtled up and up and up to the edges of the sky. I huddled into Demon, shut my eyes. The reckless violence of our trajectory was terrifying. I shrank as small as I could.
We left the last shreds of earth's atmosphere. The chill black of the cosmos soon soothed Demon. He loosened his grip on me and, more slowly, I loosened my grip on myself. We hung, our bodies slowly finding out-flung passivity, adrift on the inclines of other gravities. After what felt like a long and relieving rest, Demon spoke.
'I am afraid.
A beautifully written novel - and a strong Booker and Women's Prize contender.
Thanks to the author for the advanced review copy.
The publisher
Bluemoose Books is an award winning independent publisher based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. Kevin and Hetha Duffy started Bluemoose in 2006 and as a ‘family’ of readers and writers we’re passionate about the written word and stories. Stories are transformative and as publishers we delight in finding great new talent. If you’re looking for orange headed celebrity books, you’ve probably come to the wrong place. But if you want brilliant stories that have travelled from Hebden Bridge, across the border into Lancashire, down to London across to Moscow, Sofia and Budapest and into the United States, Australia, India, Colombia and Greenland, Iceland and Bosnia Herzagovina then Bluemoose is the publisher for you.
Salt Lick
Shown here with the tin-and-wood "wish cow" I received as one of those who crowd-funded the work.
Certainly it is the lack of attention that keeps ordinary the lives of those who could by rights have been extraordinary.
Beast (2025) is Lulu Allison's latest novel, following her Women's Prize longlisted 2021 work Salt Lick.
It is published by the wonderful Bluemoose Books (see below).
Beast centres around the figure of Eve, sitting on a bench on the village green when, dreaming of the power of music, and invoking the divine she summons instead a demon, who takes for himself a rabbit as a familiar.
And there she was, the one who had pulled down the ancient wreathings of the divine. The trader, the dreamer, the mark.
Eve.
We found her in the dark of approaching night, a few hours after Demon's dizzying arrival and my own equally dizzying transformation.
Yes, we were three transformed creatures: Demon from blissful sleeper into unwilling practitioner of ancient lore, me from drab rabbit into divine companion, Eve from an angular, awkward child into a musical explorer who had summoned the divine.
I could not tell it on that first sighting but I came to like her very much. I care for her still. I like too who she became, which is not always a given for those who cross paths with Demon or his brothers. All this I know.
It is Rabbit who tells the story, looking back on that day 20 years earlier, as he waits with Demon for Eve to finally yield her soul in exchange for what Demon has given her.
The story is, in that sense, a modern day Dr Faustus, although as we, Demon and Rabbit follow Eve through her early musical yearnings, her brief period of pop semi-stardom, and then her creation of a modern-day opera, telling the story of two of the villagers, male lovers, Demon finds it frustratingly hard to pin down exactly what Eve yearns for as part of the pact he would like to make.
This is also a story, as is Eve's opera, about a yearning for acceptance, as much as it is one for fame
A normal man and woman, married, careful, safe, obedient. Their cultivated name and their presumptuously tended status bestowing both privilege and protection.
From tyranny are such spells concocted.
Normal. If all that was most common was called usual then perhaps fewer would be excluded. Abnormal is so much more threatening than unusual. But then, it is the usage of a word over time that confers its meaning. Human mouths will soon enough flavour a word with distaste and scorn if it is distaste and scorn they require.
The author's own take on the novel's themes, and what readers may take from the book, can be found here: https://luluallison.net/beast/
Maybe they will consider the varied reach of dreams – how a wish can be as grand as the cosmos or as seemingly small as domesticity and acceptance – and yet sometimes, for some people, it is the second that is the greater leap.
Perhaps the musician at the crossroads, Robert Johnson, or Paganini or Eve, was not looking to do a deal with a devil, but reaching into the cosmos for the divine, and a demon just happened to be the divine creature who answered the call.
For some dreams are about power, about riches, about accessing the divine. For others, it is as simple as finding love and acceptance. Eve dreams in pure music.
And after the Wish Cow that accompanied Salt Lick, my copy of this book came with a hand-crafted medal of Rabbit and Demon drifting in the cosmos:
Demon grabbed a hold of me and we were gone in a boiling hiss of frustration and fury.
We span and soared and Demon shrieked. We screeched down a chimney, ripped through branches, hurtled up and up and up to the edges of the sky. I huddled into Demon, shut my eyes. The reckless violence of our trajectory was terrifying. I shrank as small as I could.
We left the last shreds of earth's atmosphere. The chill black of the cosmos soon soothed Demon. He loosened his grip on me and, more slowly, I loosened my grip on myself. We hung, our bodies slowly finding out-flung passivity, adrift on the inclines of other gravities. After what felt like a long and relieving rest, Demon spoke.
'I am afraid.
A beautifully written novel - and a strong Booker and Women's Prize contender.
Thanks to the author for the advanced review copy.
The publisher
Bluemoose Books is an award winning independent publisher based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. Kevin and Hetha Duffy started Bluemoose in 2006 and as a ‘family’ of readers and writers we’re passionate about the written word and stories. Stories are transformative and as publishers we delight in finding great new talent. If you’re looking for orange headed celebrity books, you’ve probably come to the wrong place. But if you want brilliant stories that have travelled from Hebden Bridge, across the border into Lancashire, down to London across to Moscow, Sofia and Budapest and into the United States, Australia, India, Colombia and Greenland, Iceland and Bosnia Herzagovina then Bluemoose is the publisher for you.
Salt Lick
Shown here with the tin-and-wood "wish cow" I received as one of those who crowd-funded the work.
September 18, 2025
I read the uncorrected proof.
For context, I've spent over three decades working in and around the music biz and I know at least half a dozen Eves and about a hundred Leons. I've witnessed first hand and heard a lot more the creative processes, tantrums, spats, feuds, myths, egos, bullsh*t and f*ckery that surrounds the industry.
I can think of only a few writers who can write about sound with originality. Lester Bangs and David Keenan are two of them. Lulu Allison gets close; there's no 'achingly beautifuls' here, but if you've read a million Uncuts, NMEs, Mojos and piles of music bios like I have, and you're listening to music well beyond the perimeters of the mainstream, you might find the endless descriptions of the (torturous) creative process and Eve's sound experiments a bit of a slog.
But for readers unfamiliar with the creative process, the music industry, and the music that Eve is making, the descriptions are great.
I really liked the story about Christopher and the model village, which becomes the focal point of the book. It has more than a whiff of British whimsy that reminds me of Tom Cox's Villager, which can only be a good thing.
But as much as I enjoyed the Robert Johnson selling his soul at the crossroads, Faustian pact idea that is the premise of the book, I just couldn't get on with the rabbit as narrator, and whenever the rabbit started in on philosophising about life as a spectral familiar and the demon's attempts to win Eve's soul, I lost interest, which is why the book gets 3 instead of 4 stars.
For context, I've spent over three decades working in and around the music biz and I know at least half a dozen Eves and about a hundred Leons. I've witnessed first hand and heard a lot more the creative processes, tantrums, spats, feuds, myths, egos, bullsh*t and f*ckery that surrounds the industry.
I can think of only a few writers who can write about sound with originality. Lester Bangs and David Keenan are two of them. Lulu Allison gets close; there's no 'achingly beautifuls' here, but if you've read a million Uncuts, NMEs, Mojos and piles of music bios like I have, and you're listening to music well beyond the perimeters of the mainstream, you might find the endless descriptions of the (torturous) creative process and Eve's sound experiments a bit of a slog.
But for readers unfamiliar with the creative process, the music industry, and the music that Eve is making, the descriptions are great.
I really liked the story about Christopher and the model village, which becomes the focal point of the book. It has more than a whiff of British whimsy that reminds me of Tom Cox's Villager, which can only be a good thing.
But as much as I enjoyed the Robert Johnson selling his soul at the crossroads, Faustian pact idea that is the premise of the book, I just couldn't get on with the rabbit as narrator, and whenever the rabbit started in on philosophising about life as a spectral familiar and the demon's attempts to win Eve's soul, I lost interest, which is why the book gets 3 instead of 4 stars.
September 14, 2025
Perhaps the best thing I’ve read this year
August 28, 2026
This book allowed me to find my confidence as a creative again. I am willing up top to accept that I am the perfect audience for this book, hence the rating and the spiel below.
For a book that makes a demon out of dreams, it quickly learns the line between creative aspirations and the ordinary benefits that can come of fame and fortune. Time is posed as an enemy, but not of the creative, instead of the reaper of the rewards, whether that be Demon or the people who stand to gain from Eve's creativity. For so long, we are taught that Eve is not in it for the money or the notoriety, and the book even sums it up perfectly towards the end: she has no self-esteem, but no one else will write her music.
I almost enjoyed Rabbit's inability to keep track of time, preferring to mark it in bundles of years or months between events. In it, he expresses Eve's work (and his interest in it) as utterly timeless, while we see the years pile onto people like Leon who try to plant their feet in the current moment. Creativity unchained is the slipperiest demon of them all, surpassing even the divine who want to harness it. It makes me strangely hopeful, and perhaps I've read into it wrong, that all it takes to create is a dream, and one good enough to grace the divine with its height can lead to many returns.
Demon is also an excellent character, as his complete ambivalence towards the art made or gifts received by his dealmakers puts him in the perfect position against Eve for Rabbit to conjure a world of his own for us to hear of. Had Demon been the one to cherish it all instead, we would have missed so much of Rabbit's inner world and the impartial philosophy of the nature of human beings, be they vain or gluttonous or simply vessels for their music. His point of view is unspoilt, instead sharpened by the dreams of Eve and the venom of Demon, and I thought it was really neat.
I really miss Rabbit. So much.
For a book that makes a demon out of dreams, it quickly learns the line between creative aspirations and the ordinary benefits that can come of fame and fortune. Time is posed as an enemy, but not of the creative, instead of the reaper of the rewards, whether that be Demon or the people who stand to gain from Eve's creativity. For so long, we are taught that Eve is not in it for the money or the notoriety, and the book even sums it up perfectly towards the end: she has no self-esteem, but no one else will write her music.
I almost enjoyed Rabbit's inability to keep track of time, preferring to mark it in bundles of years or months between events. In it, he expresses Eve's work (and his interest in it) as utterly timeless, while we see the years pile onto people like Leon who try to plant their feet in the current moment. Creativity unchained is the slipperiest demon of them all, surpassing even the divine who want to harness it. It makes me strangely hopeful, and perhaps I've read into it wrong, that all it takes to create is a dream, and one good enough to grace the divine with its height can lead to many returns.
Demon is also an excellent character, as his complete ambivalence towards the art made or gifts received by his dealmakers puts him in the perfect position against Eve for Rabbit to conjure a world of his own for us to hear of. Had Demon been the one to cherish it all instead, we would have missed so much of Rabbit's inner world and the impartial philosophy of the nature of human beings, be they vain or gluttonous or simply vessels for their music. His point of view is unspoilt, instead sharpened by the dreams of Eve and the venom of Demon, and I thought it was really neat.
I really miss Rabbit. So much.
March 22, 2026
this took me AGES to finish. partially bc of the writing - rambling and luminous! quite nice - and partially bc the story didn’t hook me as much as a book written from the point of view of a rabbit familiar to a soul-sucking demon should have done. A shame! There were some sentences in this where I was like YES !!!! and some where i was rolling my eyes (someone’s thoughts were compared to bisto and there was a metaphor about them being dark and swirling 🙃 ). A solid 3/5.
July 31, 2026
The legend of Faust is one that has prevailed through the centuries; it's been retold in many different formats, from Marlowe's Doctor Faustus in the fourteenth century, to Goethe's adaptation, which brought new metaphysical depths to the story, to various retellings in other literature, and even cinema, from Murnau's beautiful 1926 film.
Beast, by Lulu Allison, brings a new aspect of the story, and, in many ways, turns the story on its head and tells the tale from the viewpoint of the demon's familiar. This not only offers a new perspective on the classic tale, but raises a large number of questions regarding predestination, good and evil, and who, exactly, is the 'Beast'?
Although not wanting to give too much away in the story, we are taken through our tale from the viewpoint of a demon's familiar, in this instance, takes the form of a rabbit. As becomes clear, the demon has been called to attempt to make a deal with a musician (Eve), and the tale revolves around her life, her striving to achieve something sublime in music, and the efforts and frustrations of the demon to convince her to make a deal in return for her soul.
Although this is an adaptation of a very old tale, it feels refreshingly new, and I really did enjoy reading Beast. Lulu Allison portrays her characters with real depth and emotion, and many of the characters are akin to people I have known in my own past. I recognise the egos of musicians and the kindness of strangers, and each of these is brought to life, feeling as if they have been based on people the author knew personally.
Many of the aspects of Beast are certainly not easy to explore without continuing to read the book, and sitting and having a think about what you've just read, but Lulu Allison has achieved that. Having studied Religion and Philosophy, this opened up a wealth of thoughts I experienced during my university years, and having read the book now, I am wondering if there was even a 'Beast'!
Overall, Beast is a wonderfully written story, that not just comprises an enjoyably readable tale, but also one that explores many facets of the inner human; our wishes and desires; are we predestined to fulfil one singular purpose... questions, questions...
Beast, by Lulu Allison, brings a new aspect of the story, and, in many ways, turns the story on its head and tells the tale from the viewpoint of the demon's familiar. This not only offers a new perspective on the classic tale, but raises a large number of questions regarding predestination, good and evil, and who, exactly, is the 'Beast'?
Although not wanting to give too much away in the story, we are taken through our tale from the viewpoint of a demon's familiar, in this instance, takes the form of a rabbit. As becomes clear, the demon has been called to attempt to make a deal with a musician (Eve), and the tale revolves around her life, her striving to achieve something sublime in music, and the efforts and frustrations of the demon to convince her to make a deal in return for her soul.
Although this is an adaptation of a very old tale, it feels refreshingly new, and I really did enjoy reading Beast. Lulu Allison portrays her characters with real depth and emotion, and many of the characters are akin to people I have known in my own past. I recognise the egos of musicians and the kindness of strangers, and each of these is brought to life, feeling as if they have been based on people the author knew personally.
Many of the aspects of Beast are certainly not easy to explore without continuing to read the book, and sitting and having a think about what you've just read, but Lulu Allison has achieved that. Having studied Religion and Philosophy, this opened up a wealth of thoughts I experienced during my university years, and having read the book now, I am wondering if there was even a 'Beast'!
Overall, Beast is a wonderfully written story, that not just comprises an enjoyably readable tale, but also one that explores many facets of the inner human; our wishes and desires; are we predestined to fulfil one singular purpose... questions, questions...
October 19, 2025
Beautifully written and a great story, if achingly slow sometimes. I’d have liked an even stronger sense of our protagonists rabbityness throughout.
July 6, 2026
Cómo puede algo estar tan bien escrito y a la vez ser un embole total?
February 15, 2026
I am so glad I read this. The writing was quite poetic. I really don't think I can write a review that would do this book justice. This book made me more passionate about reading.
June 30, 2026
2.5 rounded down. although an interesting premise, and i adored having the rabbit familiar as the narrator, i could not get into this one… was over halfway in and protagonist still hadn’t given up their soul and i just couldn’t keep focused. beautiful prose in some places though!!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews