I received an ARC copy from the author but that has in no way influenced my review, which I freely chose to write.

I have been following The Great Devil War, since the first novel, The Devil’s Apprentice, and loved it. I must confess I easily lose patience with series, so that’s saying something. I’m pleased to report that I enjoyed this instalment too, and I can’t wait for the 6^th and last part, although I’m sure I’ll miss the characters once it’s over. One warning to people who hate cliff-hangers, this book ends in one, and it felt a bit shorter than most of the others, as if we were catching up with the characters after a long break and getting ready for the big finale, rather than telling a full story. But it is a good read nonetheless.

It has been a long while since we last heard from Philip, and when we catch up with him, he is not the same boy we met in the first novel. Readers who’ve been following the series don’t need to worry if they’ve read part four a while back, because, at the beginning of the book, Philip keeps pondering about the past and about the decisions that brought him here and that means we can easily get up to speed. Philip is unhappy and thinks he has taken the wrong decision, and of course, we all know that one needs to be careful what one wishes for, and strange things soon start happening. And then, he is back in Hell, but he soon realises that time moves at a different pace there and many things have happened since he was around. I won’t go into a lot of detail about the plot, but I can tell you that we visit Heaven again; Philip gets to spend more time with his father; there is a new character that will take your breath away (and one I’ve come across in other writers’ work as well); and a story development that I think might not come as a total surprise to readers.

There are the usual funny meetings and jokes (yes, you’d be pleased to know that politicians get a very suitable punishment), characters from the Old Testament have plenty of things to say about Jehovah and not all complimentary, and we have an opportunity to catch up our favourite characters.

Although the book starts a bit slow, and we get a look into a Philip more bitter and angry than we are used to, he soon gets thrown into the middle of things and I enjoyed seeing him become more and more determined and independent. There is evidence of a darker side to his character that we had had glimpses of before, but he has grown into a more complex character, and like Satina and even Sam, their experiences and their age have had an impact making them more mature and responsible, although that does not mean they no longer have fun.

I enjoyed catching up with all the characters, meeting the new ones, the interaction between Lucifer and Jehova, and although I’m not a fun of cliff-hangers, I know I won’t have to wait long for the true finale, and there are big and difficult decisions coming Philip’s way.

I recommend it to lovers of fantasy, particularly that to do with angels, demons, mythology, especially those who enjoy series, and of course, to those who have been following the series. This novel is book five in the series, and they should all be read in the right order for readers to enjoy it fully. If you haven’t read the rest, I recommend that you start from the beginning and keep going, and I’m sure I’ll be back soon to tell you about book 6.

I am supposed to have read the original arc, which should make me hate this one. To many readers who had read it, this one seemed unnecessary to say the least. Luckily, I hadn’t and I liked the TV series of the same name. So, I find it okayish. 

I’m reading the next volume to see where it all goes. Maybe it will impress me more? I hope so!

I was hoping for Carey's run, didn't check, and loved it anyway. 

Far different from the TV show, but this deals with God's death.   God has been murdered, Gabriel has been cast out of Heaven and Lucifer has been infected with some weird, squiggling metal.   When Lucifer is tasked with finding God's killer, he takes Gabriel along with him as he unravels the mystery. 

Weird, especially how naked all the angels tend to get.  I saw so much angel ass and junkless fronts.   

But it's also fun, and the mysteries quickly tie together, delving into their own retelling of mythologies as both fallen angels try to figure out who killed their father. 

Lovely, both the storytelling and the art!

I am writing this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team (authors, if you’re looking for reviews, I recommend you check her amazing site here), and I thank her and the author for providing me an ARC copy of this book that I freely chose to review.

This is a fun book. Written in the third-person form the point of view of Philip, a thirteen-year-old boy who lives with his mother and who lost his father when he was very young, this novel is suitable for younger readers and also for adults. If you have given up on new adult stories because of their heavy reliance on romance and low-grade erotica, you are safe with this book. Yes, there is a love interest, but the book is a great adventure first and foremost. Rather than a reluctant hero, we have here a reluctant villain (well, more or less). A tragic mistake makes Philip end up in a situation that is totally out of his comfort zone, and he has to undergo a training that I’m sure many boys and girls would take to like a duck to water, but not him. He has to learn to be bad, and it is a challenge.

There are some world-building and some wonderful descriptions (of locations, like Lucifer’s castle, a church with a very interesting graveyard, the doors of Hell…), but it is not excessively complex, and it does not slow down the adventures. Philip, like the readers, is totally new to this place, and his descriptions help us share in his adventures more fully. He gets a variety of guides and people explaining how things work there: Grumblebeard, the hospitable devil guarding the doors of Hell, Lucifax (Lucifer’s wonderful cat), Satina (a young female demon and a Tempter) and Lucifer in person (in demon?). Everything is dark and night (people do not wish each other good day, but good night, you don’t write in a diary, but in a nightary…) everywhere, there are many types of demons, each one with his own characteristics and roles to play, and bad humans (and there are a few not-unexpected jokes about politicians, although some of the others who end up in hell might be a bit more surprising) get punished in many different ways, but Hell itself is a place where demons go about their daily lives, have their jobs, go to school, get married, tend to their gardens… It is a place full of dangers but also full of interest, and Philip gets to experience plenty of new things, not all bad.

The book’s view of Heaven, Hell and moral issues is far from orthodox. Personally, I did not find it irreverent, but it is a matter of personal opinion. Even though I did not necessarily agree with all the views exposed, these are issues well-worth thinking and talking about and I am sure those who read the novel will feel the same. I enjoyed the sense of humour, and I liked most of the characters, from the secondary ones (I’ve already said I love Lucifax, but I grew fond of most, from the cook to Death himself), to the main protagonists, like Lucifer, wonderful Satina, and Philip. He is not perfect (well, he is perhaps too perfect to begin with, and then he turns… but I won’t spoil the book for you), and he learns important lessons on the way, and he is not the only one. Although I felt at first that some of the changes that take place in the book stretch the imagination, when I thought more about it, time in Hell moves at a different pace, and for a character who is as inflexible and extreme as Philip, for whom everything is black or white —at least to begin with— the process he goes through makes sense. And by the end of the novel, he has become more human and more humane.

The book is a page-turner, there are heroes and villains (or baddies and really evil characters), a few secrets, betrayals, red-herrings, tricks and deceits, an assassination attempt, and a mystery that will keep readers intrigued. And a great final twist. (Yes and a fantastic ending. I had an inkling about it and about some other aspects of the plot, but the beauty is in how well they are resolved). The novel is well-written, flows well, with a language of a level of complexity that should suit adults as well as younger readers, and it managed to make me care for the characters and want to keep reading their adventures.

A few quotes to give you a taster of the style of the pitch of the book.

“Let that be your first lesson, Philip. Down here, humor is always dark.”

“God and the Devil roll dice at the birth of every human being,” the cat explained. “A one-hundred-sided die determines the degree of evil or goodness in each person. The results fix the nature of each individual.”

I particularly loved this accusation addressed at Philip:

“You look like a devil, but you’re not one. You are nothing but a sheep in wolf’s clothing.”

I am not surprised that this book is a popular read in Denmark. I expect it will do well in its English version too. And I’ll be eagerly waiting for the adaptation to the screen. I recommend it to anybody who enjoys well-written YA books in the fantasy genre, without an excessive emphasis on world building, who don’t mind some creepy and dark elements and appreciate a good dose of dark humour. I have a copy of the second book as well, and I can’t wait to see what Philip and his underworld friends get up to next.

14 books in a month.  All really good read of 4 to 4.5 stars read. 

I went to a charity second hand book sales. This charity has placed collection books near my office and asked readers to unload their books into the books. These books then be categorized by volunteers and hold in really big second hands book fair. 

For USD 1.5 dollars each, you could pick any book you want and brought them home. 

I went after work with a coworker. We got around a dozen each. A lot of them are of the Alex Rider series. I even picked up the same book twice, from different zone. My mistake is not a big deal as it is for charity. Plus I could gift this to my coworker who went with me. 

So... 

Got even more reading ahead of me. 

The Alex Rider series. 

I like it a lot. It is about a teenager, who was orphaned when young, and lost an uncle. It turned out his uncle was a spy working for MI6. So he got recruited, and used by the MI6. 

It is kind of interesting to see that most of the adults in the books are either the bad guys or dishonest adults with little concern for putting a teenager at risk.

The story is good enough. 

  Scorpia - Anthony Horowitz  

The real bad guys starts with Scorpia. An international assassin group. Alex found out more about his father. He was told that he was once an assassin working for this group. And his loyalty to MI6 ended up with him being killed. 

Alex was briefly convinced that his father was betrayed by MI6.  One of the woman board member at Scorpia wants to turn Alex Rider to be on their team instead of the MI6. 

The plan work, for a short while. He was sent to an assassin assignment. To kill the leader of M16 Mrs Jones. 

The story is good and moving along nicely. There are some plot twists. The good thing about YA is that the bad guy usually tell you their evil plan instead of asking the readers to find a lot of clue on what's going on. 

The evil plan has to be spoiled and the teenager hero has to save the day. Not that much different with the adult versions. Just less bloody. 

A solid 4.5 stars read. 

  Ark Angel - Anthony Horowitz  

Alex was shot in the ending of the previous book. 

He was lucky that he was not killed. He was in a hospital.

The boy in his next room was there and some bad guys tried to kidnap him. Of course, Alex would try to save this boy. So he switch the room no with the boy and let the kidnappers mistook his identity and chase after him.

More danger ahead. 

The boy's father is thankful and invited Alex to take a trip with them.

Only to find out that the father was actually a bad guy.

More danger ahead. He tried to set a bomb in space and mayhem and destruction ensured. 

Only to have Alex soiled their plan.

Another 4 stars solid read. 

  Snakehead - Anthony Horowitz  

Alex was in space in the end of the previous book.

He then fallen back on Earth and picked up by Australian intelligent agent. They tested his skills and kind of manipulated him to work for them.

The amount of cruelty involved is being belief. Seriously, how could adults deal with a teenager this way. Instead of wanting to protect him, they tried to use him.

This time, he met someone who knew his parents. 

He was supposed to go undercover. But his cover is brown and the bad guys already got his real identity.

Who rat him out? That's the more juicy part and side story. 

Another solid 4 stars read. 

  Scorpia Rising - Anthony Horowitz  

One of my favorite Alex Rider so far. A 4.5 to 5 stars read. 

There are new bad guys in Scorpia. In order to build up their reputation again, they are going to something big. 

As for Alex, he was supposed to be left out of any mission. Afterall, he is still a teenager. 

A terrorist threat has been made and the only clue is that it would target a school.  He seems to be a perfect guy for the part.

So again, there is a threat against Alex's life. This time, a sniper attack at his school. His friend got hurt in the process.

Alex has to leave school, and helped with MI6. Of course it is a trap. 

Before this book, Alex has suffered a lot. But he seems to be fine so far. 

Not this one. A big loss is coming. 

Solid 4.5 stars read. 

  Russian Roulette: The Story of an Assassin - Anthony Horowitz  

A side story. The story is not about Alex but his opponent Yassen. 

Yassen background is horrible. He also lost his parents when he was young. He was not treated with kindness and he got involved with Scorpia much too young. 

A twist of events made him stayed with Scorpia. He got to know Alex's father, who tried to talk him out of being an assassin.

The story is good and give a bit more background of another character other than Alex.

Another solid 4 stars read. 

  End Game - David Baldacci  

The latest installment of Will Robie and Jessica Reel story. 

The Blue Man is missing. So Robie is tasked to find him. Reel joined in but was giving Robe the cold shoulder, 

Never Robie or Reel is good at taking about their emotion.

Robe is under stress. He failed his previous mission and was afraid that his PTSD would affect his performance. 

Blue Man went for a fishing trip and lost contact. Robie and Reel arrived at the location only to find hostile skinheads dominating the place.

A lot of running around and action. 

Also met the old flame of Blue Man.

Finally when the bad guys got sorted. Emotion things got sorted too. 

But how to deal with this is another story. 

A real estate plan to turn an old missile site into luxurious bunker for the rich. 

Some interesting plot twists later, and some interesting action at the end. 

Solid 4.5 read. 

  Live Wire (Myron Bolitar, #10) - Harlan Coben  

Myron is a sport agent. But he also got involved into trouble because he seems to be getting himself into trouble while trying to help others.

Harlan Coben is a brilliant writer, especially in developing the relation between Myron and Win.

Suzze is the former tennis queen. He asked Myron to help find her husband Lex.

While trying to find Lex, he run into his sister in law. His brother has lost contacted with Myron. 

So now he wants to find his brother. 

Quite a bit of running around. The bad guy was at the house of a rock star, keep making solid music with Lex while being hidden.

All is not well when Myron take a closer look under the surface. 

He called for help. Win stepped in.

Win was correctly pointed out the while Myron intention maybe good. He was the one who get into the trouble, while Win has to step in to do what he has to do to save him,

Win is a good friend. With a friend like Win, one could do a lot of things that one wouldn't dare on one own. 

Solid 4.5 read. 

  Chris Ryan Extreme: Hard Target: Faster, Grittier, Darker, Deadlier - Chris Ryan  

Bloody and action base. Read like a B action movie with a lot of loud sounds of explosions and shootings. 

Joe Gardner was ex-military. He lost his arm to an IED. He got a call from an ex-military John Bald saying he was in trouble.

Gardner got to Bald only to find that the urgency for a job. A money making illegal one. 

He wants out. But got interrupted by some other bad guys who found Bald's location.

Now he is offered by MI6 to find Bald, to protect him so that they could get to the even bigger fish.

A lot of persons shot at him. And he fired back.

The story left with a clip hanger. 

Not a lot of characters developments yet. That's why the movement seems a bit jumpy, with changing from one location to another. The plot seems a bit too complex to get notice by the intelligent agency. And the idea to have Gardner get into trouble and get something done. 

Not bad. Not great. But not bad. Solid 4 stars read. 

  Agent 21 - Chris Ryan  

Hard to believe this is from the same writer Chris Ryan. Spy story children version.

As I have just finished reading some Alex Rider stories. It is hard not to compare the two.  By comparison, the action is more real, but the characters not as adorable. 

Zachary is a teenager who parents were killed in a mass poisoning. 

He then recruited to be a spy. They faked his death and give him new identity. 

The problem is, he was supposed to be thirteen. There seems to be a lot of manipulation on the part of the adults. 

Thirteen can do a lot. But what motivated him to be a spy. Again, there are some secondary supporting characters. But none have developed deep relationship with Zachary yet. 

The action part is good. The character part is a bit underdeveloped. 

Still a solid 4 stars read. It read like a young Bourne. 

  Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer    Authority: A Novel - Jeff VanderMeer  

First two books of a trilogy. 

Annihilation is a psycho sci-fi mystery. 

Four women scientists were sent into a strange alienated zone to find out what's going on. 

It seems to be a organic invasion but all the equipments failed after entering the zone. Previous expeditions were unsuccessful. 

What's at play is human psychology. The mistrust is there and the betray also. 

They were lost in the zone. And all of them were put into hypnotic suggestions in trying to control them.

There were strange writings on the wall. Instead of ink, it is some kind of moss that found the writings.  

Strange.  The setting of mood is really good. 

Solid 4.5 read. 

The second book was about how they survived and being interrogated by government agents. 

Again. Who is the liar? What do they all wants? 

Control is head of the project and interviewing the biologist. 

Everyone is lying. Is it drug or some kind of alien parasite that make people this way? 

Very weird. Like sci-fi on an acid trip. 

Solid  4 stars read. 

   Private: No. 1 Suspect: (Private 4) - James Patterson  

I have not read any James Patterson before. I bought two of his books and this is the first one. 

Seems okay at first. A detective agent head is in trouble. His girlfriend is murdered, found naked on his bed.

Look like a frame job.

He called his people. And his people is willing to lie for him if he killed someone.

The chapters are short and story moved along nicely. 

4 stars read. Not enough to motivate me to read the whole series. But good enough to spend time with in a lazy afternoon. 

  The Scarecrow - Michael Connelly  

A really good read. Very enjoyable. 

Jack is a journalist and he was being downsided. 

Rachel is a FBI agent. 

They teamed up before in the last book Poet.

Now Jack is out of a job, he wanted to write book and his investigation into the trunk murder is going to lead him to it.

He called Rachel. Jack was in danger and Rachel came to his rescue. 

The killer is on to Jack and wanted to eliminate him before he go any further.

Another frame job.

The killer tried to isolate Jack to frame him for murder by putting a dead body in his house.  Fortunately, Rachel was there.  And it spoiled the killer's plan for Jack. 

The clever killer has a good plan and able to get away with killing for a long time. 

Rachel first made the connection that Jack was being isolated for the kill. Jack made further connection that he lead back to the data center that the law firm and the newsroom has in common.

All good and well.

Now the killer know Jack is coming closer to the truth.  More violence ensured. 

Jack was really brave but not really a good fighter. The action sense is good when Jack has to go into a knife fight with a wine opener. 

Good stuff. 

Nice and smooth. 5 stars read. 

  Lucifer, Vol. 8: The Wolf Beneath the Tree - Ryan Kelly,Ted Naifeh,Peter Gross,Mike Carey,P. Craig Russell  

The only graphic novel read this month. Lucifer is a character created by Neil Gaiman and continued by Ryan Kelly, Ted Naifeh, Peter Gross, Mike Crey and P. Craig Russell. 

It is pretty good. Lucifer has his core value of seeking freedom. 

Michel teamed up with Lucifer to stop the Wolf from poisoning the tree of life.

Pretty nice graphic. Meant for adults. It is hard to explain. Just read it. 

Very enjoyable 4.5 stars read. 

Summary 

A fast read month. A lot of stories and it formed an imaginary space in my mind. Like meeting new characters that one has already familiar with. All the books are good pick. Very happy with the finds.