TITLE: The Devil’s Apprentice
SERIES: The Great Devil War Volume 1
AUTHOR: Kenneth B. Andersen
GENRE: Middle Grade/ YA Fantasy
FORMAT: Kindle Edition
PAGE COUNT: 322 pages
MY RATING: 4/5 stars
FAVORITE QUOTES:
- Philip wrinkled his brow. “Goodnight? Why do you say goodnight?” -“Because it is night. As it always is down here.”
- “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.”
- “Evil is necessary.”
- “..good exists because of evil, and vice versa,” Lucifer replied. “Without darkness there would be no light. Without night there would be no day. And without evil, then there would be no good. If we separate things, then we’re left with nothing.”
So this is the 10th day of the #DevilsApprentice #UltimateBlogTour hosted by TheWritereads, and I am so glad to be sharing the review of this amazing book with you guys! Thanks a ton, Dave from @TheWriteReads and the author-Kenneth B. Andersen, for giving me this opportunity and providing me with a free e-book copy of ‘The Devil’s Apprentice’ on exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
BLURB
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.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kenneth B. Andersen (1976) is an award-winning Danish writer. He has published more than forty books for children and young adults, including both fantasy, horror, and science fiction.
His books have been translated into more than 15 languages and his hit-series about the superhero Antboy has been turned into three movies. A musical adaptation of The Devil’s Apprentice, the first book in The Great Devil War series, opened in the fall 2018 and film rights for the series have been optioned.
Kenneth lives in Copenhagen with his wife, two boys, a dog named Milo, and spiders in the basement.
Website www.kennethbandersen.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriterKennethBAndersen/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenneth_b_andersen/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/K_B_Andersen
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kenneth-b-andersen
REVIEW
When I first laid my eyes on the cover and then read the blurb, I instantly knew that I need to read this book! Those big horns, the long and slender forked-tongue and the brawny build with those sharp claws, make the portrayal of the devil so entrancing. That’s the very first thing that caught my eye.
Philip is a young and a genuinely good boy. He has never learned to lie and hurt anybody, not even an insect. What happens when Philip meets with a sudden accident and is planned to sent to hell by the Devil himself? Is hell the right place for an obliging young boy like Philip?
Well that’s what the story is all about! Philip has been erroneously sent to hell. It was supposed to be Sam, a devilish little boy whose nefarious acts would have earned him the right place in hell. Lucifer wanted Sam as the heir to the throne but alas, what to do with this cherubic little Philip? Once he has come this far and found his pace in hell, Lucifer needs to make good use of this young chap! Why not train him to be evil? A complete transition from an exemplary little boy to a monstrous one?
So the training starts! A major part of the story has been covered in narrating the training that Philip undergoes, the training to be a Devil! Philip is trained by Lucifer himself and I enjoyed reading how hopelessly Philip fails in all his tests. It got quite hilarious at times to see Philip fail in all his attempts even though he had propitious chances to engage himself in egregious acts. It was as if Philip always had this natural gift of finding the good within every villainous deed!
The story was proceeding good so far but somewhere I felt that it lacked to grasp my interest and I couldn’t totally ‘get into the book’, until the time came when Philip actually started growing little black horns, his shoulder blades grew and he started developing wings and a little devilish tail! Amigos, Philip is becoming a Devil! And how has this unfeasible task actually come to pass? Well, Philip has fallen in love with a tempter named Satina down in hell. Philip gets jealous when he suspects Satina being involved in a relationship with a loathsome young devil- Aziel, the one guy who has caused Philip immense trouble during in his initial days in hell. Jealousy, rage and most importantly Love- ‘nothing! – generates as much evil as love.’
This is where the story really starts to get interesting, I totally started devouring the book at this point! The unexpected transformation from this guiltless little child to a devilish young boy has been narrated so perfectly and attractively! I could actually visualize and feel his diabolic nature come to light and the viciousness grow within him bit by bit and certainly could see Philip smirk every time he did something evil. And the fun part is Philip enjoyed being this evil, he savored harming others and being a bad boy! I really enjoyed reading this portion. All those instances where Philip responded well to Lucifer’s training and did these “devilish acts” were very entertaining to read because the readers have known Philip as a Good boy and when these abrupt changes occur in his character then the whole thing takes a different turn and it arouses the reader’s interest.
The author’s depiction of Hell is very commendable. Hell has been described as the total opposite to ‘normality’ or ‘order’. It’s always night in Hell, no daylight but only darkness. There’s fire everywhere- like an engulfing flame of lava or a tiny flame akin to the flicker of a candle. There’s the lake of fire where the ‘condemned souls drift beneath the surface, staring with scalding eyes into the eternal night.’ There are large cobwebs here and there and the bizarre construction of buildings have an uncanny and a spectral feel to them! Every alleyway and passage seem to be haunted and viciously dark and glittering. The darkness is so blinding! The air laden with deafening screeches, harrowing growls and roars, excruciating whip cracks and maddening noises of laughter and howling is disquieting to breathe! There’s mayhem and madness everywhere! Oh, And there’s SO MUCH MORE! I would really LOVE to see an on-screen adaptation of this whole thing!
Now let’s talk about Lucifer! The portrayal of Lucifer in the book is very diverting! He has been described as an old and debilitated “grand-fatherly” figure who is nearing his death and is in anticipation of finding the right one to be his successor. The Devil, also referred to as Satan, is best known as the nemesis of good people everywhere. But I really LOVED that the author has depicted Lucifer as a plain old man who has always been very kind and magnanimous to Philip. I actually got very emotional when Lucifer was on his death bed and he was bidding goodbye to his throne and Philip. The situation was very pitiable because throughout the book I am sure that I haven’t felt even a slightest bit of exasperation towards Lucifer. I liked his character. In fact, there were other characters in the book who were way too vexing and evil than Satan himself!
Not much has been talked about Satan’s past in the book except what has already been said in the Christian Mythology. In the book, Lucifer is very ill, his physical and mental health is deteriorating badly and he is nearing his death. But we already know that the Devil is immortal! Then what went wrong? Well, Satan has fallen prey to a shocking conspiracy by one of his very own kind and This appalling revelation certainly makes the story so much vigorous and riveting!
Who conspired against the throne? What becomes of the Devil? Will Phillip finally sit on the throne or has something else been already planned for him? What adventures further await in Hell?
To sum up, I’d say ‘The Devil’s Apprentice’ is a very brilliantly written fantasy novel. It’s a package full of entertainment with elements of humor, suspense, thrill and “devilry”! The language is quite easy to read and the narration is flawless! The author also ingeniously gives a message out to the readers about the presence of ‘evil’ within every human residing on earth. “Evil is necessary”, come to think of it without evil no good can be done. Evil and good, they exist in parallel and neither of them is possible without the other. We should learn to tell good from evil and accept the existence of the evil within because it is inescapable and mandatory for our survival. Evil and good together bring order and balance in human life. This message is definitely one of the reasons why I would strongly recommend this book to each and everyone of you! Besides, there’s so much entertainment and adventure! I am so very EAGER to read the next book in this Three volume ‘Great Devil War’ series!!! I am so sure that all of you would enjoy reading this book! 10/10 recommended!
Thanks again, Dave (you are awesome) from @TheWriteReads, the fantabulous Gang and the talented author- Kenneth B. Andersen for giving me the opportunity of reading and reviewing the book!
Thanks for stopping by and reading my review ❤
If you have already enjoyed reading this book then don’t forget to drop down your thoughts in the comment section below. If you are yet to read the book then grab it up asap!
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