What would Latrina Emerson, unassuming librarian and church organist, have in common with an agnostic physicist and a bunch of occultists over 2000 miles away? Absolutely nothing if she could help it. Some not-so-benevolent "Forces of Light", alas, won’t let her help it. She’s part of their plan save their credibility after some recent embarrassments (Y2K failing to end the world on prophetic schedule, increasing distrust of authority, etc) and shut up those smart alecks in the Forces of Darkness.
But the Forces of Darkness have never followed the Light's rules—like the ones that say they have to be totally evil or always lose in the end—and they're not about to start now. A faction of Hell, in fact, has decided that despite religious and philosophical differences, Latrina is too decent a person to be martyred "for the greater good". Warning her, however, gets a bit tricky.
And the real wild card may be Latrina herself, who may not be as... More > “manageable” as the Powers-That-Only-Think-They-Be would like.< Less
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By Hydra M. Star
Apr 2, 2012
This book blew me away the first time I read it. Mr. Anderson is a truly amazing talent and he is brave to boot. This book takes on a type of character few satirical writers are willing to approach without relying on media and social stereotypes; Satanists. Being a Satanist myself, another disclaimer I suppose, I’m use to us being portrayed in fiction either as out to kill everyone and everything that crosses our paths or as deem-witted losers who make deals for power with beings we ultimately can’t trust. This book not only doesn’t fall back on such stereotypes it actually gives a clever rationale for why such misconceptions exist and goes on to give the reader a glimpse into the lives of several Satanic characters that, for the most part, aren’t anything like what you have most likely seen before and a handful that are just what you’d expect. It is a fair balance and I found it extremely refreshing... those Satanist who take themselves and all things Satanism super seriously might... More > not agree, but I can laugh at myself and this book will make you laugh. The storyline, and it’s a rich one, follows the lives of Latrina Emerson, a librarian and devout Christian living in the heart of the Bible Belt, Nathan Lovejoy, a physicist living in Portland who believes in nothing outside of science and math, the remaining members of “The Lodge”, a group of Satanists and magical practitioners Nathan use to be a part of, and various angels, demons, and spirits who work for either Heaven, Hell, or in some cases both. At times this might all get a bit confusing for some readers, but those with even a basic knowledge of mainstream theology shouldn’t have any problem keeping up as the book has a nice pace and flow to it that doesn’t overwhelm nor over explain. The greatest shortcoming of this book is that nothing much is resolved by its ending and some matters, such as Colin’s back story of having already once died and gone to Hell, are seemingly only to be glossed over. Those who are frustrated by this can take comfort in the fact that it is the first book of a series of books in which most of these loose ends, I am promised, will be tied up.< Less
