Scan barcode
violetturtledove's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Considering that the series is 'Incarnations of Immortality' and the characters can be from any time period, I'm surprised it's taken this long to have a story that starts before the twentieth century. At least that way the outdated morals can make some sort of sense. 'The inquisition was actually good at first' is still a hell of a take though.
There are plenty of stories, and plenty of authors, that can make Satan a sympathetic, nuanced character. This is not one of those stories, or the author to do it. The main character has lustful thoughts and so from then on it's a sheer drop into total evil. Except he's not really 'evil', just a bit of a dick really. Basically it's a mess. It's an entertaining mess at points, and yes I'm still going to continue to read but I'm going to continue to complain too. There are some interesting points later on regarding the necessity of Evil for the greater good, the place of other religions in this mostly Christian framework, an absent God ruling a dull Heaven, etc. A lot of the events of the previous books are revisited, and it's a strange mix of excusing Satan for his bad behaviour (he thinks his ends justify his means) and also trying to make sure he's still bad enough to be Satan and it just never quite gets the balance right. There are two main global catastrophes orchestrated by Satan because 'evil' but then he stops them because... people are suffering?
But by this point I suspect many readers will have lost interest. I'm continuing through sheer bloody-mindedness, and the occasional bit of cheesy hilarity like "Beelzebub, stop the plague".
There's an ongoing point in these books about the unfairness of the world, mainly on the definitions of 'sin' and the judging of souls. There's been some talk right from the start of 'fixing things' but so far no one has really done anything about it and I'm not getting my hopes up for the last book. However, the alternative is that the author has created an alternate history, with a fantasy afterlife, and established that within this world, babies can be tainted by the sins of their parents, only to go 'well it sucks but what can you do?'
peramene's review
slow-paced
4.25
My favorite book of the series, and I'll say no more. Yes, it's got its flaws... but damn.
irenetrexqueen's review against another edition
5.0
How dare Piers make me love the devil so much! I think everyone should read this one if you like the first book. Easily my second favorite in the series.
carlylottsofbookz's review against another edition
4.0
I was excited to pick up this book, to finally learn of how Satan--Incarnation of Evil--told his story (especially considering how Green Mother ended!). I am not sure I got what I expected, but I got an excellent tale.
Here is the tale of a man who had the love of his life taken from him by a powerful sorcerer working for the devil. This starts him on a new life in hiding--and he joins a church to eradicate evil. Seems an unlikely candidate for Evil, right? It was, until Lucifer sends a demoness to corrupt him...and he falls for it (for reasons best left to the book). Well, he tries to still do as much good as he can while doing evil the demoness demands of him, and it shortly turns out that when he is slated to die, he accidentally kills Lucifer instead. With the office open, and the guidance of the demoness, he takes over as Satan. (Every Incarnation of Evil chooses the name he be most known as.)
Much as he did on earth, he tries to restructure hell and organize it to make it more efficient (the bureaucracy is just as terrible in hell as in other places). But he doesn't seek to do undue harm, and in fact only acts ill to the other incarnations because of the way their predecessors treated him.
A very intriguing book that introduced concepts of religious natures and indeed of the concepts of Good and Evil.
I'm afraid that the next book, which I believe is about God will not be nearly as interesting or as intertwined with the rest of the series...we shall see!
Here is the tale of a man who had the love of his life taken from him by a powerful sorcerer working for the devil. This starts him on a new life in hiding--and he joins a church to eradicate evil. Seems an unlikely candidate for Evil, right? It was, until Lucifer sends a demoness to corrupt him...and he falls for it (for reasons best left to the book). Well, he tries to still do as much good as he can while doing evil the demoness demands of him, and it shortly turns out that when he is slated to die, he accidentally kills Lucifer instead. With the office open, and the guidance of the demoness, he takes over as Satan. (Every Incarnation of Evil chooses the name he be most known as.)
Much as he did on earth, he tries to restructure hell and organize it to make it more efficient (the bureaucracy is just as terrible in hell as in other places). But he doesn't seek to do undue harm, and in fact only acts ill to the other incarnations because of the way their predecessors treated him.
A very intriguing book that introduced concepts of religious natures and indeed of the concepts of Good and Evil.
I'm afraid that the next book, which I believe is about God will not be nearly as interesting or as intertwined with the rest of the series...we shall see!
jeremiah042's review
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
pinkguin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
csemjoro's review against another edition
4.0
I have always loved this series and only recently found out that I hadn't finished it. I loved getting this new perspective on the events of the last few installments, and can't wait to reach the conclusion.