Epidapheles and the Inadequately Enraged Demon: 03/19/11

My first semester of library science had me completely swamped. Although I'm taking twice the load this semester the workload seems more balanced. That balance has allowed me a little bit of time to begin catching up on my reading, especially my back issues of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

I just finished reading the July / August 2010 issue. One of my favorite stories from it is "Epidapheles and the Inadequately Enraged Demon" by Ramsey Shehadeh. It's the follow up to "Epidapheles and the Insufficiently Affectionate Ocelot" (March / April 2010).

I remembered Door (the invisible and overly intelligent animated chair) staying with the queen in the first story. Door though is back with Epidapheles so I don't know if my memory is incorrect or these stories aren't told in chronological order. Regardless, it doesn't matter. The inept wizard and his condescending but helpful familiar make a good comedic team.

The problem at hand this time is the kidnapping of a woman by a demon. While Door has absolutely no confidence in Epidapheles's ability to open a doorway to the demon's world, he must do whatever he can to help. What he and the wizard don't realize is that the kidnaped woman has been working methodically on her own escape.

As I've mentioned before, I'm always making connections between what I'm reading and what I've previously read. In the case of this delightful farce, I was reminded not of another story, but of an episode of Futurama: "Spanish Fry" from season four.

Four stars

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