This book bills itself as “Horror Fiction” and “for fans of Good Omens“; and I think they were incredibly far off the mark on both counts. Other than it being set mostly in Hell I have no idea how it could be considered “Horror”, and the writing is in no way anywhere close to being even one-tenth as funny or well-written as Good Omens.
Brian (the main character) is unlikable, or as unlikable as someone who has all the personality and character development cardboard can have. He gets told he is being offered the job as the Devil’s replacement because when a chain email was responded to, his name came up the most as the person his coworkers want dead, and Brian’s entire reaction is. “well, my job has gotten too easy and my manager won’t promote me because if I stay where I am she can get a bigger bonus; so sure, let me just take over Hell! Plus the Devil and her daughter are both hot and into me, so maybe one of them will let me do her.” And end plot motivation.
Death being the Angel Gabriel being originally Eve was just too much; and to have Adam being the Angel Michael on top of that? Lucy Fair (the Devil) being in love with Death despite Lucy’s love affair for orgies? Fine; apparently Tom Ellis isn’t the only Devil that thinks copious amounts of drinks, sex, and house music is a requisite for ruling Hell.
The Devil being the sister of Alannah, aka God, I can deal. Alannah starting to call Lucy “The Prince of Darkness” because their father was a king and even if he is dead Lucy is still just a Prince and it angers her? Okay, complicated familial relations are pretty much a necessary part of anything involving Christianity (though I would like to know who their father was exactly when he was at home). And Alannah being an even larger b***h than her sister is interesting; very Old Testament there. However, I draw the line at the Devil naming her children “Dahlia” and “Dallas”; that is the part where my b.s.-meter just wouldn’t stop going off.
The writing was boring and simplistic, and reminded me far too much of The Last Temptation of Mary, another book that was not only vastly different from what I thought it was going to wind up being, but also really, really sucked. I didn’t find a single “character” (cardboard, all of them) relatable or likable. And the big third act battle and the character changes that occur there are just so far-fetched they’re cartoonish.
I am tempted to read the sequel, Death’s Successor, though just to see where that premise is going and how bad it’s going to wind up being. Though on the whole I am sorry I read this book; when a 215 page is a slog to get through you know it’s bad.