When the pupils of St. Peter's High School are sent to a remote outdoor activity centre to come to terms with the horrific murder of a fellow student, grief is the last thing on their minds. Their teachers have planned a comprehensive timetable of counselling, discussion groups and prayer but the students have a better solution which involves alcohol, debauchery and all night partying. Meanwhile, a short distance away, the commanders of a top secret military base are a little concerned that they've unleashed the forces of Hell into the community, and so begins another intensely satisfying tale from the twisted mind of Christopher Brookmyre. Full of his trademark wit and brutality, Pandaemonium grips and tickles like a feather vice from the first word to the last blood splattered full stop.

This story started life as a horror film idea/script. It certainly shows. What makes it a great book is that Brookmyre's incredibly improved (from an already good starting point) characterisation makes the danger these characters face all the more upsetting. He's also, although not by any great extent, gotten over his habit of not killing off too many likeable characters. Here, some incredibly horrific deaths occur to a bunch of well-drawn school kids, trapped in an isolated location and without any help on the way. It's more than a little stomach churning in places. The attackers are demons. They have come through after a nearby Secret Army Base opened a portal to Hell. Brookmyre here finds a place for a fair and balanced discussion of religion, and also a place for an unfair and biased discussion of religion from all points of view. The final third peters out a little, but then comes back with a stunning finale. Highly recommended.