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Demon Fire
The tropical Hawaiian islands become the site of unspeakable terror for a group of vacationers who seek the sun, sand, and surf but instead encounter ancient gods, witches, and the demon forces of hell. Original.
- GenresHorror
366 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 24, 2022
Quinn Ramsey and his son, 9 year old Quinn Jr., aka Q, have just moved from Florida to Hawaii. Quinn's uncle, Bernard was murdered - burned to a crisp - and no one can figure out how, and the distant relative has left Quinn everything he owns - a huge mansion, a fleet of vehicles, a private jet, even his very own island - turning Quinn into a multi-millionaire overnight.
While exploring the wine cellar, a voice instructs Q to pull a certain bottle, leading him to discover a secret room. Q thinks the voice is his mother, who has passed away, and the voice tells him that she will return if he does everything she asks. Upon leaving the basement each time, Q always forgets where he came from and what he was doing. Not long after, Quinn hires a live-in tutor/nanny for Q, an attractive young woman, named Adar.
Meanwhile, all across the main island, more and more people are being found burned to death, in the exact same manor as Quinn's uncle. Not to mention, Quinn is being harassed and threatened to sell his land, located on a small private island. It gets so out of control, Quinn is attacked, more than once, leading him to question why on earth these people could possibly want this land so badly.
Q has become increasingly quiet and sullen, lashing out at his father about no longer caring his mother is dead because he's "fucking" Adar (even though he's not), Q says "she" told him everything - and of course, Quinn has no idea who "she" is. Q's "mother" next instructs him to kill Adar, and says they can't be together again until he does. He's torn between right and wrong, and his love for his mother. When he doesn't listen to her, his "mother" begins to torment and punish him every night because "the whore still lives."
At this point, between the attempts on his life, his son's bizarre behavior, the random deaths by fire that plague the people he comes into contact with, and the occult reading material in his uncle's library, Quinn knows something more is happening on the island - and in his very own house. Adar admits to him that his uncle was a powerful witch, and tells Quinn that she herself also practices Wicca.
"I was sent here because something was weakening the defensive barriers that protect our world from the horrors of the next plane. I think we're up against one of the Old Ones. What I'm referring to is a powerful vampire life force that feeds off fear and blood. I believe your uncle called this thing into existence, but he is dead and the creature is still here. Some person or group must be sustaining it."
Adar knows she will need help from her family, who all practice the same magic and religion, and invites them to come stay with Quinn. They take a trip to explore the private island, to see what's so special about this land, and once there, find a mass grave of early Polynesian people, hidden in a cave. One member of the family explains to Quinn that the grave exudes massive power, and those harassing him want that power.
"An extremely unpleasant and bloodthirsty fellow. This entity had a particular fondness for children, fire, and self-mutilation. It was described as a giant tusked reptile. Moloch. It would take something incredible to lure Moloch into our world."
It turns out, there is a large coven on the main island, which Quinn's uncle was a part of. Bernard Ramsey managed to call forth an incredibly powerful demon, called Moloch, and hid him away from the other members of his coven.
"Moloch, the primeval Ammonite God, reputed to bestow wealth and eternal life in return for the sacrifice of human children."
The coven figured out about Bernard's betrayal, and wanted Moloch's power for themselves, but Bernard died before they could force it out of him.
"To lure Moloch into the physical realm would require a sacrifice of souls on the scale of the Nazi Holocaust - far too many to escape notice if they had to rely on living beings. Somehow, Bernard has stumbled upon the answer: trapped souls; souls such as those of the ancient Polynesian bound to the cave under Mauna Kea."
Suddenly, the threats for his land are making a lot of sense. With the help of Adar and her family, can Quinn stop the coven and send Moloch back where he came from in time?
-------------------------
I liked this book, but I feel like there were too many characters and it got too convoluted at times. One thing I hate is to be confused when I'm reading a book - so I just think this would have benefitted from being more straight-to-the-point. There was probably too much focus on things that weren't super necessary to the main plot.
Regardless, it was good and the parts I got into, I really got into - that plus the cover art, I can't rate this less than 4 stars. I actually think I'd like to re-read this one day, because maybe it's my fault for dragging it out so long. If I read it in a shorter time span, I think things would maybe be different.
As for the characters, I have to say I didn't feel as if I got to know any of their personalities very well, which is important to me, so it was a bit of a let down. I did think the son was funny, and on the flip side, there was a cop who was constantly popping up 24/7, interrogating Quinn about every little thing, inviting herself along to things he was doing, etc. and she was just irritating as holy hell. But there was a twist to her at the end.
While exploring the wine cellar, a voice instructs Q to pull a certain bottle, leading him to discover a secret room. Q thinks the voice is his mother, who has passed away, and the voice tells him that she will return if he does everything she asks. Upon leaving the basement each time, Q always forgets where he came from and what he was doing. Not long after, Quinn hires a live-in tutor/nanny for Q, an attractive young woman, named Adar.
Meanwhile, all across the main island, more and more people are being found burned to death, in the exact same manor as Quinn's uncle. Not to mention, Quinn is being harassed and threatened to sell his land, located on a small private island. It gets so out of control, Quinn is attacked, more than once, leading him to question why on earth these people could possibly want this land so badly.
Q has become increasingly quiet and sullen, lashing out at his father about no longer caring his mother is dead because he's "fucking" Adar (even though he's not), Q says "she" told him everything - and of course, Quinn has no idea who "she" is. Q's "mother" next instructs him to kill Adar, and says they can't be together again until he does. He's torn between right and wrong, and his love for his mother. When he doesn't listen to her, his "mother" begins to torment and punish him every night because "the whore still lives."
At this point, between the attempts on his life, his son's bizarre behavior, the random deaths by fire that plague the people he comes into contact with, and the occult reading material in his uncle's library, Quinn knows something more is happening on the island - and in his very own house. Adar admits to him that his uncle was a powerful witch, and tells Quinn that she herself also practices Wicca.
"I was sent here because something was weakening the defensive barriers that protect our world from the horrors of the next plane. I think we're up against one of the Old Ones. What I'm referring to is a powerful vampire life force that feeds off fear and blood. I believe your uncle called this thing into existence, but he is dead and the creature is still here. Some person or group must be sustaining it."
Adar knows she will need help from her family, who all practice the same magic and religion, and invites them to come stay with Quinn. They take a trip to explore the private island, to see what's so special about this land, and once there, find a mass grave of early Polynesian people, hidden in a cave. One member of the family explains to Quinn that the grave exudes massive power, and those harassing him want that power.
"An extremely unpleasant and bloodthirsty fellow. This entity had a particular fondness for children, fire, and self-mutilation. It was described as a giant tusked reptile. Moloch. It would take something incredible to lure Moloch into our world."
It turns out, there is a large coven on the main island, which Quinn's uncle was a part of. Bernard Ramsey managed to call forth an incredibly powerful demon, called Moloch, and hid him away from the other members of his coven.
"Moloch, the primeval Ammonite God, reputed to bestow wealth and eternal life in return for the sacrifice of human children."
The coven figured out about Bernard's betrayal, and wanted Moloch's power for themselves, but Bernard died before they could force it out of him.
"To lure Moloch into the physical realm would require a sacrifice of souls on the scale of the Nazi Holocaust - far too many to escape notice if they had to rely on living beings. Somehow, Bernard has stumbled upon the answer: trapped souls; souls such as those of the ancient Polynesian bound to the cave under Mauna Kea."
Suddenly, the threats for his land are making a lot of sense. With the help of Adar and her family, can Quinn stop the coven and send Moloch back where he came from in time?
-------------------------
I liked this book, but I feel like there were too many characters and it got too convoluted at times. One thing I hate is to be confused when I'm reading a book - so I just think this would have benefitted from being more straight-to-the-point. There was probably too much focus on things that weren't super necessary to the main plot.
Regardless, it was good and the parts I got into, I really got into - that plus the cover art, I can't rate this less than 4 stars. I actually think I'd like to re-read this one day, because maybe it's my fault for dragging it out so long. If I read it in a shorter time span, I think things would maybe be different.
As for the characters, I have to say I didn't feel as if I got to know any of their personalities very well, which is important to me, so it was a bit of a let down. I did think the son was funny, and on the flip side, there was a cop who was constantly popping up 24/7, interrogating Quinn about every little thing, inviting herself along to things he was doing, etc. and she was just irritating as holy hell. But there was a twist to her at the end.
September 14, 2022
The building of the characters and plot are somewhat slow, but never to the point it becomes tedious. When the action does kick in it never relents; I finished most of the novel in two days. There are only a few instances of gory violence and sexual perversion, but when they do rear their ugly heads, things get pretty nasty. And thankfully there is none of that Rosemary's Baby bull with the coven members winning the day and going on to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Nope, the annoying and power-hungry members here get exactly what they deserve.
I look forward to more of Holleman's work.
I look forward to more of Holleman's work.
December 29, 2017
Fun little horror novel. Demons, witches, ancient gods, all set on the tropical Hawaiian islands.
June 1, 2021
Hokey, lame and stupid but insanely entertaining and fun. I’m hooked on these cheesy 80s horror books.
Read
July 10, 2022Very spiritual book about love I read it when I was 19 I'm 39 now and I reflect on that book
February 23, 2023
well all that certainly happened
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews