Sympathy for the Devil [Paperback]

As with most of Holly Lisle's writing, there's a good dollop of humor in this story, keeping it from becoming darkly serious and overdramatic. This allows the story to be thoughtful without becoming overly preachy. Our heroine Dayne is delightfully tough and intelligent, a strong adversary for the fallen angel Agonostis. And while most of the devils and demons remain more comical than outright darkly evil, and some even downright likable, the characterization feels appropriate to the tone of the story.

Despite the humor, there are moments of true poignancy and epiphany that keep this story from being merely fluff. It's the reason I keep re-reading this book even though it's beginning to fall apart on me and I'll need a new copy soon. While the look at religion is not necessarily the traditional one (Holly Lisle plays fast and loose with some of the conventions) there are still profound messages that Ms. Lisle conveys about the essence of faith, the nature of good and evil, how Heaven can exist if there is a hell, and what does it truly mean to be a human being.

One of my few complaints with this book is that while it offers a satisfying conclusion to the protagonist's story, it leaves an open ended teaser ending for the next story in this trilogy-and these books are a bit difficult to get a hold of. Readers who enjoy humor, fantasy and romance and don't mind a rather tongue in cheek look at the denizens of Heaven and Hell are encouraged to give this book a try. If you enjoy this one, the second book in the trilogy is THE DEVIL AND DAN COOLEY, and the third is HELL ON HIGH. And you may also want to check out GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

Happy Reading! Shanshad ^_^

Lisle's rewritten the Bible and Christianity here. Don't expect every event or presumption of the book to follow rigorous doctrine. Instead, look for the mass of real-life medical and theological questions bubbling under the surface. She covers issues like euthanasia and the responsibility of medical practitioners to their (dying and nearly-dead) patients. But the philosophical meat is the theology: how can Heaven and Hell co-exist? Is this even morally possible if God is wholly good? What sends a person to Hell? Does anyone ever deserve to be there? And what exactly _are_ good and evil? How close together can they get?

I'm making the book sound heavy, but on the surface you can view it as a light-hearted comedy. This level was enjoyable on the first read, but I found myself returning later to the questions couched between the lines and the allegory they create. If you're just after a good, fun read, go for it; but if you want more, you'll definitely find it. I haven't read anything quite like it before or since; I even created a new personal category for it, which is the title of this review.