Title: The Die of Death Book 2 in The Great Devil War
Author: Kenneth B Andersen
Publisher: Høst and Søn
Publication Date: 15 Oct 2018
Comment: I received a free ecopy for Review in exchange for honest opinions from @the_writereads and Kenneth B Andersen
Synopsis:
Philip’s adventures as the Devil’s apprentice have changed him for the better and, although he misses his friends in Hell, he has made new friends in life.
But when the future of the underworld is threatened once again, Philip’s help is needed: Death’s Die has been stolen and immortality is spreading across the globe.
Philip throws himself into the search–and discovers a horrible truth about his own life along the way.
Review:
Philip’s adventures in Hell have changed him. No longer such a goody-two-shoes, Philip now enjoys life as an average boy, getting into mischief and gaining new friends along the way.
Philip is taken back to the underworld when Death’s Die (dice) is stolen to help discover the thief and restore mortality to the human realm.
However, when Philip discovers a personal connection to someone who might be dying soon, he has to decide whether he wants humans to be mortal after all.
I genuinely enjoyed this book. Sometimes the second in a series can be a letdown but the growth of Philip as a character and the new adventure/ risk really helped to bring it alive. We get to see the recurrence of many of our favourite characters from book one and see how they have grown.
In addition, I especially loved the glimpse into Satina’s family life where her mother has discovered feminism and has set her demonic father to work doing domestic chores. I thought those scenes were hilarious.
It was also great to see Grumblebeard and hear more of his backstory. Many things from first book were linked in and really made the story flow.
As with the first book, there are some fantastically disgusting and graphic descriptions of hellish torment and punishments. The description of purgatory and the Valley of Gallows was especially grim. Andersen has a wonderful way with words and is able to really paint a picture with words that allow you to visualise the surroundings (whether you want to or not).
However, I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed.
There is barely any time between the discovery of the villain and their inevitable thwarting. The final chapter could have been much longer as there was some brilliant dialogue, flashbacks, and explanation. I would have liked to have more time to enjoy the revelations before the ending. It was a little villain-exposition-defeat-boom.
Other than that, I find no fault with it at all and look forward to getting into the third in the series.
Oh, wait. One more thing.
THE COVER!!
I had this with the first book as well. For a book where the audience is between 13-17 the cover is far too graphic and far too adult. I bought a set of these for my library and have had several comments about how the cover looks more for adults than teenagers.
Several parents asked about the content because they weren’t sure that it was suitable for their child based entirely on the cover art. I know we aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, but the artwork does give a very different vibe than the actual book itself.
Summary:
An excellent read. Gripping and full of twists, turns and excellent description. I’ve recommended it to horror lovers and thriller lovers alike. If you have a kid who is done with R L Stine and Horowitz and maybe a bit too young for Stephen King I think Andersen is a great gap-filler.
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