Title– The Wrongful death
Author– Kenneth B Andersen
Publisher– Kenneth Bogh Andersen
Publication Date– March 2019
Blog Tour dates– 26th April- 4th May
Comment– I received a free copy from @the_writereads but I had already purchased a complete set of these novels for my library as I thought they were awesome. All opinions are totally my own and therefore valid.
Synopsis
An unfortunate chain of events makes Philip responsible for the untimely death of the school bully Sam – the Devil’s original choice for an heir.
Philip must return to Hell to find Sam and bring him back to life, so that fate can be restored. But trouble is stirring in Lucifer’s kingdom and not even Philip can imagine the strange and dark journey that awaits him.
A journey that will take him through ancient underworlds and all the way to Paradise.
Review
After the chaotic events of the last book, Phillip Engel is ready for a rest. But dark dreams about the death of his friend Sam follow him until they suddenly become a reality. Dragged back to Hell in order to save the boy, Phillip finds all is not as he left it in the underworld and dark forces are beginning to rise.
Also, Sam is not where he expected him to be.
This leads to a search through the layers of the afterlife, from Heaven to Hades, confronting new fears and old enemies.
Although his adventures are recapped to some degree I do think that you have to have read the first two books in order to understand a lot of the back-story.
Review for Book One: The Devil’s Apprentice
Review for Book Two: The Die of Death
I really enjoyed this instalment of Phillip’s adventures. It’s fascinating to see his character grow from the angelic little do-gooder in the first book to the young man who can rise to the occasion and take on the denizens of Hell. However, it isn’t like he is suddenly all-powerful or all evil, as we see when he is attacked by the cannibals. Phillip has his flaws and needs rescuing on occasion.
The return of some of our favourite characters is also nice to see. Watching Satine’s powers grow was great and, as always, Ravine was a true delight.
I wasn’t as fond of Lucifer’s character this time (If you should be fond of him). He seemed much less like the Devil; the original serpent and demonic ruler of Hell. He was afraid of the rumours and tumult and was popping antacids rather than fighting for his realm. It was hard to be afraid of him, or even regard him as a character you should fear. Aside from his torturing of Lucifax, he doesn’t seem to have much of a demonic side at all.
The story is very centred on Phillip as our protagonist, so we don’t get full accounts of everyone’s dealings but there is enough information there to keep you interested in these side-characters, even if they are not fully fleshed out.
There are many guest star appearances from famous people throughout history and they always seemed to add something to the story, they weren’t just thrown in with no reason which was lovely.
My only quibble, and this is totally my own, is that the few chapters where we met Jehovah REALLY made me feel uncomfortable.
As a very religious person; including Him, having characters call him “Old Fellow”, and questioning His actions and powers, made me super uneasy. At one point I did question whether or not to actually finish the book.
The Author was never disrespectful as such and having interesting discourse on the ethics of things like the flood and the eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, is a wonderful thing to have, especially in a children’s book. (You don’t get much theological debate in Horrid Henry.)
But for me, it was a little close to the cuff. Again, that is a purely personal opinion and didn’t really detract from the amazing plot or writing style.
The story moves at a good pace and there is plenty of intrigue, action, and humour to keep you going.
This series has never shied away from the darker things and this is no exception, there are some truly gruesome descriptions and the final chapter of the book is pretty damned dark.
It does end on a cliff-hanger and boy what a cliff-hanger! I’m very much looking forward to reading the last one.
Summary
Very much a recommended series for anyone. I’d probably offer it to early horror readers, like those who have read R.L Stine and Anthony Horowitz but are a bit too young for Stephen King.
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 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.
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