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neko_cam's review
2.0
Interesting for its unique ideas of hell, its landscapes, and its cultures. The story and its telling were serviceable but far from amazing.
pumpkincore's review
3.0
I loved the world building so much. I didn't care very much about the battle preparations and the battles themselves; a lot of that sort of went over my head except the general gist of "winners, losers, questionable behavior" and the like.
You can certainly tell he's an artist first and a writer second. His visuals are evocative and visceral, but his prose is very repetitive and sometimes self indulgent. It's easy to get lost from the big picture events in all the minutae.
But it was a fun, if slow, read. Not sure if I'll finish the series.
You can certainly tell he's an artist first and a writer second. His visuals are evocative and visceral, but his prose is very repetitive and sometimes self indulgent. It's easy to get lost from the big picture events in all the minutae.
But it was a fun, if slow, read. Not sure if I'll finish the series.
thevultureeye's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
books_n_pickles's review
3.0
I picked this one up at Macmillan's free book day back in 2013 and finally got around to reading it! On top of the fact that it looked and sounded interesting, it has a blurb from Guillermo del Toro--so yeah, that was one time when I actually read a blurb. Also, this is totally a case of judging a book by its cover, and with good reason.
The author is actually an artist, a film concept designer who did work on Hellboy and at least two Harry Potter movies--at it shows in the book. The cover, of course, is gorgeous and insanely detailed, not to mention incredibly helpful for visualizing Hell--which is, if I'm perfectly honest, a bit difficult to do. There are definitely places where the book reads more like an artist or director describing their vision for a movie than it does a typical book. This has its pluses and minuses: while it can slow the pace down and be a little distracting from the plot, Barlowe's extraordinary vision of Hell is a key selling point of the book. I've read so many books that it's hard for me to come across completely new ideas, but those did exist here in the descriptions of the demons' appearances, in the construction of the cities of Hell, and in the makeup of Hell's geography. This is a very Gaiman-esque Hell, not one full of fire and brimstone, but one that's disgusting and inhumane even as it's incredibly, personally human.
()
This book was world-building at its finest, with engaging characters even if a bit frustrating. Why were all of the demons male? I must admit that I find it refreshing when otherworldly creatures are basically sex/genderless--and I was annoyed at the very contrived, unfortunately practically inevitable romance with Lilith. I would have been just as (if not more) invested in a relationship of equals founded entirely on respect. It would have been more tragically romantic, which I think would have better fit Barlowe's vision of Hell, not to mention more realistic (I'm pretty sure) for a woman with Lilith's sexual trauma. (I'm not listing that as a spoiler because this is a book written by a man and populated almost exclusively by men. Talk about Hell!)
My biggest beef with the book? Sargatanas' belief that starting a war against the Beelzebub, the reigning monarch of Hell, will redeem him in the eyes of the Creator. When has holy war ever been something admirable? Starting a war in order to better one's station--not including others--to a better state seems like the the most selfish act possible, and certainly not one that God would condone. But then, it's never totally clear if the god of this book reflects the Christian God. Probably not, given how unreligious the book is overall. (Quite a feat for a book based on one of the greatest works of Biblical fanfiction ever written!)
Yeah, there's more action than plot here...but if it was made into a movie based on Barlowe's designs--especially if directed by del Toro--I would totally go and see it.
Quote Roundup
Note: Since the awesome environmental descriptions were too long to quote, most of these relate to my annoyance about the means by which these demons are going to reclaim Heaven.
37: I'd just read a series of parodies of dude writers describing women, contrasted with almost equally painful actual descriptions of women written by men, when I reached this introduction to Lilith, who just happens to be casually masturbating while waiting for her servant to return. Never mind that she has a horrifying life filled with regular, Hellishly nightmarish rape, she's just going to lie there and please herself for the titillation of male readers. Ugh.
96: "Henceforth, in this new time, you and your Guard will have to add secret police to your list of many tasks. I must know of the shifting thoughts of those closest to my throne. As seemingly unimpeachable as my inner circle is, no one is safe from corruption."
Yup. Secret police. This sounds more like Nazi Germany than the way to Heaven.
107: The palace was so vast, so filled with administrative levels, that it came as no real surprise to him that they might be in an area that he had not traversed.
No. Freaking. Way. An undying demon with all the time in the world to kill, and endless curiosity, and he hasn't explored every inch of that place? No way. Also, I have no idea what kind of administration Sargatanas needs to manage Hell. It seems like a pretty straightforward place.
108-109: "We have fulfilled every one of Their claims against us, prove ourselves to be anything but the angels we once were, and denied ourselves any consideration for return. We must show that after all these grim millennia, after all the pain and punishment, we are capable of change. I am convinced that if our intentions and actions are clear--that our opposition to Beelzebub and his government is in earnest--They will take notice. And that is the first step to regaining our lost grace."
Yeah. I'm really not buying it. It sounds like he's just picking a fight to show off. What's the goal of this, if he's just going to leave it behind? To wreck half of Hell? How is that heavenly? I pretty much knew that Barlowe was going to have his characters win, but I was also really hoping there'd be some kind of shock at some point, when Sargatanas is told that he's not doing this for the right reasons, and he'd have to reevaluate his goals. Alas, this was not to be.
172: Sargatanas is giving a speech to rally the troops.
"What is it that keeps us here? ... Are we here because we are all truly evil or were some of us misled and misdirected, carried away on the scalding winds of rhetoric? ... Or is it, perhaps, our damaged pride that keeps us filled with shame and bound to this place?"**
*My gosh, he was basically a Trump supporter, except with Lucifer!
**I'm pretty sure it's pride making you think you're good enough to prove yourself worthy of going back to heaven. And pride is kind of a deadly sin and all...
238: This scene where Hani takes on Moloch was particularly cinematic, and nicely condensed so that it didn't get exhausting. I really do appreciate Hani. He seems more honestly self-reflective than Sargatanas, and I respect his blunt awareness of his own motives. I know he's in Hell for a reason...but it's kind of hard not to end up rooting for him.
256: Sargatanas does have a moment of clarity to reflect on the purpose/selfishness of his goals. But it's not a long reflection, and the result is pretty much the same coming out as it was coming in: we fight and kill for the right to regain Heaven. He compares his war to Lucifer's and even questions whether his motives are selfish--but those questions are never answered! Argh!
258: As a writer and a being capable of logic and a storytelling grump and a woman, I object to this page.
303: We're only 50 pages from the end of the book when we learn that Lilith has interests other than carving statues, being interested in souls, and having sex. Surely Barlowe could have spared a sentence here or there to tell us about her non-lover-related activities in Adamantinarx-upon-the-Acheron rather than shoehorning it all in here at the end. Can this poor woman have some non-male-related characterization, please? I just feel like there was so much potential for her to be a more interesting character than she ended up being, and it's really frustrating to me.
343: The reason for Sargatanas's fate is as full of holes as Swiss cheese. This book could have been a good bit more philosophical. i'd have sacrificed some between-battle prep for a little more depth to the discussions of good and evil.
349: We learn two pages from the end that Lilith had some sword fighting training. Why couldn't we have read about this? Why couldn't Lilith have fought, even if just alongside the souls?
Ugh!
Okay, so my responses to the quotes came out sounding like I didn't like the book much. But the fact is, I did. It's practically the definition of world-building, which is something that I highly value, and I did care about the characters even if they weren't as three-dimensional as they could have been. I guess I might say that there was never a "sublime" moment to lift this book out of the action-orientation. It felt a bit like a lot of today's action movies, which try to give a nod to deeper ideas but push through them to get back to the action. But then, that goes hand in hand with the kinds of films that Barlowe works on.
That said, check out his art--he's got a website and the work he did is absolutely stunning. He apparently illustrated a book based on Dante's Inferno, and I'd be interested to take a look at it sometime.
The author is actually an artist, a film concept designer who did work on Hellboy and at least two Harry Potter movies--at it shows in the book. The cover, of course, is gorgeous and insanely detailed, not to mention incredibly helpful for visualizing Hell--which is, if I'm perfectly honest, a bit difficult to do. There are definitely places where the book reads more like an artist or director describing their vision for a movie than it does a typical book. This has its pluses and minuses: while it can slow the pace down and be a little distracting from the plot, Barlowe's extraordinary vision of Hell is a key selling point of the book. I've read so many books that it's hard for me to come across completely new ideas, but those did exist here in the descriptions of the demons' appearances, in the construction of the cities of Hell, and in the makeup of Hell's geography. This is a very Gaiman-esque Hell, not one full of fire and brimstone, but one that's disgusting and inhumane even as it's incredibly, personally human.
(
Spoiler
I have one cool (I think) theory about Hell, never confirmed: that it's actually located on the absent Lucifer's body.This book was world-building at its finest, with engaging characters even if a bit frustrating. Why were all of the demons male? I must admit that I find it refreshing when otherworldly creatures are basically sex/genderless--and I was annoyed at the very contrived, unfortunately practically inevitable romance with Lilith. I would have been just as (if not more) invested in a relationship of equals founded entirely on respect. It would have been more tragically romantic, which I think would have better fit Barlowe's vision of Hell, not to mention more realistic (I'm pretty sure) for a woman with Lilith's sexual trauma. (I'm not listing that as a spoiler because this is a book written by a man and populated almost exclusively by men. Talk about Hell!)
My biggest beef with the book? Sargatanas' belief that starting a war against the Beelzebub, the reigning monarch of Hell, will redeem him in the eyes of the Creator. When has holy war ever been something admirable? Starting a war in order to better one's station--not including others--to a better state seems like the the most selfish act possible, and certainly not one that God would condone. But then, it's never totally clear if the god of this book reflects the Christian God. Probably not, given how unreligious the book is overall. (Quite a feat for a book based on one of the greatest works of Biblical fanfiction ever written!)
Yeah, there's more action than plot here...but if it was made into a movie based on Barlowe's designs--especially if directed by del Toro--I would totally go and see it.
Quote Roundup
Note: Since the awesome environmental descriptions were too long to quote, most of these relate to my annoyance about the means by which these demons are going to reclaim Heaven.
37: I'd just read a series of parodies of dude writers describing women, contrasted with almost equally painful actual descriptions of women written by men, when I reached this introduction to Lilith, who just happens to be casually masturbating while waiting for her servant to return. Never mind that she has a horrifying life filled with regular, Hellishly nightmarish rape, she's just going to lie there and please herself for the titillation of male readers. Ugh.
96: "Henceforth, in this new time, you and your Guard will have to add secret police to your list of many tasks. I must know of the shifting thoughts of those closest to my throne. As seemingly unimpeachable as my inner circle is, no one is safe from corruption."
Yup. Secret police. This sounds more like Nazi Germany than the way to Heaven.
107: The palace was so vast, so filled with administrative levels, that it came as no real surprise to him that they might be in an area that he had not traversed.
No. Freaking. Way. An undying demon with all the time in the world to kill, and endless curiosity, and he hasn't explored every inch of that place? No way. Also, I have no idea what kind of administration Sargatanas needs to manage Hell. It seems like a pretty straightforward place.
108-109: "We have fulfilled every one of Their claims against us, prove ourselves to be anything but the angels we once were, and denied ourselves any consideration for return. We must show that after all these grim millennia, after all the pain and punishment, we are capable of change. I am convinced that if our intentions and actions are clear--that our opposition to Beelzebub and his government is in earnest--They will take notice. And that is the first step to regaining our lost grace."
Yeah. I'm really not buying it. It sounds like he's just picking a fight to show off. What's the goal of this, if he's just going to leave it behind? To wreck half of Hell? How is that heavenly? I pretty much knew that Barlowe was going to have his characters win, but I was also really hoping there'd be some kind of shock at some point, when Sargatanas is told that he's not doing this for the right reasons, and he'd have to reevaluate his goals. Alas, this was not to be.
172: Sargatanas is giving a speech to rally the troops.
"What is it that keeps us here? ... Are we here because we are all truly evil or were some of us misled and misdirected, carried away on the scalding winds of rhetoric? ... Or is it, perhaps, our damaged pride that keeps us filled with shame and bound to this place?"**
*My gosh, he was basically a Trump supporter, except with Lucifer!
**I'm pretty sure it's pride making you think you're good enough to prove yourself worthy of going back to heaven. And pride is kind of a deadly sin and all...
238: This scene where Hani takes on Moloch was particularly cinematic, and nicely condensed so that it didn't get exhausting. I really do appreciate Hani. He seems more honestly self-reflective than Sargatanas, and I respect his blunt awareness of his own motives. I know he's in Hell for a reason...but it's kind of hard not to end up rooting for him.
256: Sargatanas does have a moment of clarity to reflect on the purpose/selfishness of his goals. But it's not a long reflection, and the result is pretty much the same coming out as it was coming in: we fight and kill for the right to regain Heaven. He compares his war to Lucifer's and even questions whether his motives are selfish--but those questions are never answered! Argh!
258: As a writer and a being capable of logic and a storytelling grump and a woman, I object to this page.
303: We're only 50 pages from the end of the book when we learn that Lilith has interests other than carving statues, being interested in souls, and having sex. Surely Barlowe could have spared a sentence here or there to tell us about her non-lover-related activities in Adamantinarx-upon-the-Acheron rather than shoehorning it all in here at the end. Can this poor woman have some non-male-related characterization, please? I just feel like there was so much potential for her to be a more interesting character than she ended up being, and it's really frustrating to me.
343: The reason for Sargatanas's fate is as full of holes as Swiss cheese. This book could have been a good bit more philosophical. i'd have sacrificed some between-battle prep for a little more depth to the discussions of good and evil.
349: We learn two pages from the end that Lilith had some sword fighting training. Why couldn't we have read about this? Why couldn't Lilith have fought, even if just alongside the souls?
Ugh!
Okay, so my responses to the quotes came out sounding like I didn't like the book much. But the fact is, I did. It's practically the definition of world-building, which is something that I highly value, and I did care about the characters even if they weren't as three-dimensional as they could have been. I guess I might say that there was never a "sublime" moment to lift this book out of the action-orientation. It felt a bit like a lot of today's action movies, which try to give a nod to deeper ideas but push through them to get back to the action. But then, that goes hand in hand with the kinds of films that Barlowe works on.
That said, check out his art--he's got a website and the work he did is absolutely stunning. He apparently illustrated a book based on Dante's Inferno, and I'd be interested to take a look at it sometime.
pumpkinspies's review
3.0
I loved the world building so much. I didn't care very much about the battle preparations and the battles themselves; a lot of that sort of went over my head except the general gist of "winners, losers, questionable behavior" and the like.
You can certainly tell he's an artist first and a writer second. His visuals are evocative and visceral, but his prose is very repetitive and sometimes self indulgent. It's easy to get lost from the big picture events in all the minutae.
But it was a fun, if slow, read. Not sure if I'll finish the series.
You can certainly tell he's an artist first and a writer second. His visuals are evocative and visceral, but his prose is very repetitive and sometimes self indulgent. It's easy to get lost from the big picture events in all the minutae.
But it was a fun, if slow, read. Not sure if I'll finish the series.
lyricat's review
4.0
Sometimes beautiful, sometimes horrifically grotesque, God's Demon is a fascinating tale of redemption in Hell. I found the worldbuilding unique and complex; very little is directly explained, the reader is left to piece it together through context.
I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the sequel.
I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the sequel.
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture
Moderate: Violence
bibliotropic's review
4.0
Are the demons of hell as worthy of a chance at redemption as a human? Are the souls already cast into hell deserving of a second chance to atone for their sins? Is damnation eternal? And what price will you pay, what will you risk, to change your circumstances?
Barlowe deals with all of these issues in a very literal “sympathy for the devil” tale. The demon lord Sargatanas remembers that once, before he Fell, he was an angel and close to God, and struggles with the realization that he will never again know the peace of Heaven. But rather than resign himself to his fate, he eventually takes up arms, intending first to defeat his enemies in Hell and then make his war against Heaven. He wants another chance, an opportunity to show God that even those who mike the biggest of mistakes are not completely beyond hope.
It’s an admirable goal, and not one often done with actual demons. Added to this is the story of Hani, a soul punished in Hell for sins he committed during his Life. Sins, and a Life, which he cannot remember. He, too, wants his chance to show that even damned souls are redeemable.
“For what is the good of the lesson if one cannot apply what one has learned?”
Neither of them have entirely unselfish motivations, which makes the characters very three-dimensional and realistic. After all, nobody is ever really without their layers. Barlowe builds a fascinating cast of characters, pulling them from lesser-known mythologies and giving them the rich detail they deserve. This book holds demons both cruel and hopeful, disgusting and familiar, the best and worst of anything we can imagine the denizens of Hell to be.
For all the richness this book holds, though, it suffers in two areas, and ‘suffers’ is a very hard word to use here, in context. The first is in its pacing, which I thought rather slow. Barlowe takes his time with the story, creating a level of detail that’s hard to surpass, but it does slow the story down a little. I fully expected that a book about demonic wars would move more swiftly. Of course, this could be a benefit, depending on your preferences. I can’t deny that holding back the action a little allowed for the characters to develop more fully, the landscape to shape itself more realistically, and for the reader to truly fall into a sympathetic Hell to be one with the demonic characters and the land they didn’t choose to dwell in.
The second place the book faltered was (and I hate to say this) by the limited imaginations of the readers. Now, I can’t blame the author for the fact that I had a hard time with this, and it did serve to underscore what I’ve always heard about how readers will automatically impose their own ideals upon characters, especially in terms of appearance, but from browsing the associated artwork on Barlowe’s website, it seemed that most of the characters looked very little as I imagined them. There are many reasons for this. First and foremost is because it’s hard to imagine things that look only vaguely humanoid, and are for all intents and purposes something out of a person’s worst nightmares. So while part of the problem may have lain in a few too-vague descriptions of the demons or the Abyssal creatures, I think most of the problem lay in the fact that Barlowe was writing about things that were very hard to picture in general.
Overall, though, this book was wonderful, rich and provocative, and most definitely not the kind of thing to pick up if all you’re looking for is some light reading. It will challenge you, it will make you think, and it will break your expectations. It’s worth reading, mostly definitely, even if the reading can be a little slow. It’s not hard to see why most of the reviews for God’s Demon are positive ones.
Barlowe deals with all of these issues in a very literal “sympathy for the devil” tale. The demon lord Sargatanas remembers that once, before he Fell, he was an angel and close to God, and struggles with the realization that he will never again know the peace of Heaven. But rather than resign himself to his fate, he eventually takes up arms, intending first to defeat his enemies in Hell and then make his war against Heaven. He wants another chance, an opportunity to show God that even those who mike the biggest of mistakes are not completely beyond hope.
It’s an admirable goal, and not one often done with actual demons. Added to this is the story of Hani, a soul punished in Hell for sins he committed during his Life. Sins, and a Life, which he cannot remember. He, too, wants his chance to show that even damned souls are redeemable.
“For what is the good of the lesson if one cannot apply what one has learned?”
Neither of them have entirely unselfish motivations, which makes the characters very three-dimensional and realistic. After all, nobody is ever really without their layers. Barlowe builds a fascinating cast of characters, pulling them from lesser-known mythologies and giving them the rich detail they deserve. This book holds demons both cruel and hopeful, disgusting and familiar, the best and worst of anything we can imagine the denizens of Hell to be.
For all the richness this book holds, though, it suffers in two areas, and ‘suffers’ is a very hard word to use here, in context. The first is in its pacing, which I thought rather slow. Barlowe takes his time with the story, creating a level of detail that’s hard to surpass, but it does slow the story down a little. I fully expected that a book about demonic wars would move more swiftly. Of course, this could be a benefit, depending on your preferences. I can’t deny that holding back the action a little allowed for the characters to develop more fully, the landscape to shape itself more realistically, and for the reader to truly fall into a sympathetic Hell to be one with the demonic characters and the land they didn’t choose to dwell in.
The second place the book faltered was (and I hate to say this) by the limited imaginations of the readers. Now, I can’t blame the author for the fact that I had a hard time with this, and it did serve to underscore what I’ve always heard about how readers will automatically impose their own ideals upon characters, especially in terms of appearance, but from browsing the associated artwork on Barlowe’s website, it seemed that most of the characters looked very little as I imagined them. There are many reasons for this. First and foremost is because it’s hard to imagine things that look only vaguely humanoid, and are for all intents and purposes something out of a person’s worst nightmares. So while part of the problem may have lain in a few too-vague descriptions of the demons or the Abyssal creatures, I think most of the problem lay in the fact that Barlowe was writing about things that were very hard to picture in general.
Overall, though, this book was wonderful, rich and provocative, and most definitely not the kind of thing to pick up if all you’re looking for is some light reading. It will challenge you, it will make you think, and it will break your expectations. It’s worth reading, mostly definitely, even if the reading can be a little slow. It’s not hard to see why most of the reviews for God’s Demon are positive ones.
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