The Devil's Apprentice (The Great Devil War #1) by Kenneth B. Andersen

Philip is a good boy, a really good boy, who accidentally gets sent to Hell to become the Devil’s heir. The Devil, Lucifer, is dying and desperately in need of a successor, but there’s been a mistake and Philip is the wrong boy. Philip is terrible at being bad, but Lucifer has no other choice than to begin the difficult task of training him in the ways of evil. Philip gets both friends and enemies in this odd, gloomy underworld—but who can he trust, when he discovers an evil-minded plot against the dark throne?

The Devil's Apprentice is volume 1 in The Great Devil War-series.

Format: ebook
Narrator: n/a
Performance: n/a
Story: 🌑🌑🌑🌑

How do you turn an angel into a devil?

It's a very daunting task, but not impossible, and The Devil, Lucifer, is up for the challenge.

I've very much into books about angels, demons and other similar mythological creatures and I am happy that author, Kenneth B. Andersen reached out and sent me the ebooks. The Great Devil War series is totally up my alley, an epic saga that tackled one of my favorite topics: celestial and demonic entities going about their daily business

The first book, The Devil's Apprentice is about Philip, a very good boy who became The Devil's successor which is, like, the most brilliant premise ever! The story chronicles Philip's descent to devilhood where he tried to pass various tests Lucifer came up with to help him become a devil. At first, he failed miserably as he was simply too good and pure that he drove The Devil to despair. Will Philip ever learn to embrace his dark side and become Lucifer the Second before it is too late? 

I love how Hell came alive in all it's fiery glory. I enjoyed tagging along with Philip as he went exploring.There were tortures and punishments for the sinners and there was also an entire community of various demons complete with family homes, schools, gardens and cemeteries. And more mysterious creatures even devils were scared of! Creepy fun stuff! 

The story is highly imaginative and engaging. It combines Christian theology, mystery and coming-of-age of sorts. It made good use of biblical mythos, gave a convincing argument as to why evil is necessary and showed being vanilla could be so blah. It can even make you care about Lucifer and the fate of his kingdom. It kept things PG since this is a middle grade book but it's replete with dark humor that greatly appealed to the snark in me. 

Philip experienced many complicated emotions that lit a fire in him. He met enemies and form unlikely friendships. His goodness knew no bounds but he also proved that angels make the best kind of demon. And boy, was he good at being bad! I kind of wanted him to stay that way.

The realization that he had a true friend opened his eyes and his desire to save the dying Lucifer made him face monsters scarier than demons. Ultimately, things came full circle but a debt is owed. Is really Philip ready to pay the price when the time comes?  

Damn, if this is the kind of books Danish kids read, heck, sign me up for more!

P.S.

Thank you to the author, Kenneth B. Andersen, for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

SOUNDTRACK

Lucifer's Symphony
Japandroids

Post-Nothing

We know what you've done
We know what you've done

There's no blood on me

We know what you've done
We know what you've done

There's no blood on me

Our daughters
Our sons
The future is
Your fun