A Delightful Romp Into the Underworld
“Evil is necessary, Philip. Without it the world would become a terrible place.”
4/5
Stats
Kindle Edition, 311 pages
Published October 8th 2018 (first published September 30th 2005)
Original Title
Djævelens lærling
ASIN
B07J9MRZVJ
Edition Language
English
Series The Great Devil War #1
Book Synopsis
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.
My Thoughts…
Phillip’s life is the pits. He is 13 years old, which let’s be frank, is no good for anyone. On top of that, he is the frequent target of a vicious school bully who takes bullying to a whole new level, he is a genuinely kind person, and most of all, he is dead. Even worse, is that upon dying he finds himself in the fiery pits of hell instead of heaven and he is confused. And, so are all the demons around him.
There has been a grave mistake.
Thus starts Phillip’s adventure, which is part Dante’s Inferno and part Percy Jackson. Lucifer is dying, and he needs an heir. Is it Phillip? Can Phillip look past all his good ways to be the bad boy that he might be inside? It is a fun and smart thought. Most novels are always on the side of good and looking down their nose at the bad. But not this one. It is fun! Everyone is bad, wrong. Demons, tempters, ghosts, the devil – this story has it all in spades.
Phillip is also a very likable character. His goodness could come off as a goody-goody character with a less skilled writer, but in the hands of Anderson, Phillip is a recognizable and empathetic character. You like him, and you root for him. Plus, the twist at the ending of the story kept this from being predictable.
Overall this is an enjoyable read. I can see it being engaging for a 12-year-old or an adult. It was absolutely engaging for this adult. There are themes in the story that is understandable for everyone. Give this story a try. It will be well worth the read.
Thank you to TheWriteReads and the author for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest review.
Order Your Copy Here
About The Author
I was born in Denmark on a dark and stormy night in November 1976. I began writing when I was a teenager. My first book was a really awful horror novel titled Nidhug’s Slaves. It didn’t get published. Luckily.
During the next 7 years, I wrote nearly 20 novels–all of which were rejected–while working as a school teacher. The rest of the time I spent writing.
In 2000 I published my debut fantasy book, The Battle of Caïssa, and that’s when things really took off. Since then I’ve published more than thirty-five books for children and young adults in genres ranging from fantasy to horror and science fiction.
My books have been translated into more than 15 languages and my series about the superhero Antboy has been adapted for film, which is available on Netflix. An animated tv series is currently in development.
A musical of The Devil’s Apprentice opens in the fall 2018 and the movie rights for the series have also been optioned.
I live in Copenhagen with my wife, two boys, a dog named Milo and spiders in the basement.
About THE GREAT DEVIL WAR: The Great Devil War was published in Denmark from 2005-2016, beginning with The Devil’s Apprentice.
Even though the story (mostly) takes place in Hell and deals with themes like evil, death and free will, it is also a humoristic tale about good and evil seen from a different perspective. A tale that hopefully will make the reader – young or old, boy or girl – laugh and think.
Welcome to the other side!
Thanks for sharing. What’s been your favorite book of 2019?
Sooooo hard!!! To many good books.
Are you going to read on with this series? I’m kind of tempted. The book was great!
It was really fun! I might. I want to see what happens.