Tag: Kenneth B. Andersen

Blog Tour: The Angel of Evil (The Great Devil War IV)by Kenneth B. Andersen

Published on by Hedwig's World4 Comments

Good evening everyone. Welcome to my stop today on The Write Reads blg tour for The Angel of Evil by Kenneth B. Andersen!

Nothing will ever be the same. Satina is gone, kidnapped by the enemy. Disobeying Lucifer, Philip heads out to find her, journeying into the deep darkness of Outer Reach. But nothing can prepare Philip for the horror that awaits—or the demons he will face.

Meanwhile, Lucifer’s kingdom is threatened as the Great Devil War draws closer. All Hell is about to break loose.

The Angel of Evil is volume 4 of The Great Devil War series

‘But he had. And did he regret it?
No. He was no longer an angel and he’d sworn never to be weak again.’

Anyone who follows my posts on a regular basis will know how I’ve been following along with this series. Especially how the last book tore out my heart and totally blew up my expectations. Needless to say, the mood for this was set before reading the first page and things are getting real.

Things kick off directly from the get go. It picks up directly after the explosive ending of the previous story and how the characters are dealing with that. The world building isn’t something I’ll be discussing much here since we are now four books in and the world is very well developed, especially after the third book expanding to other hellscapes and other parts of these planes of existence. This book kind of links them all together in anticipation of this unavoidable war. Either way, it’s good to be back.

The main focus of this book is a mix of conflict and the trauma it leaves in it’s wake. As well as the consequences of our own conflict and how we deal with that. But this is Philip’s story so we are watching him deal with these struggles. Philip has a very different character arc in this book compared to the others. His inner struggles are more present than ever since at this stage, he does want to stay in Hell and it’s clear how he feels for Satina by now. But this war he has internally between his potential devil self and his “human” self is really put on display here and I really liked that. The humor of the first two books is definitely toned down to make room for this and I appreciated that.

Philip at the end of the day is a human and no amount of dies, summoning pills and accidental deaths are going to make him the devil he wants to be. He has to be Philip and that’s how he will triumph in the end. There are some very emotional moments between him and the other characters. Mostly Lucifer and Ravine but I do feel that he and Satina are more central to the plot with him having these decisions to make.

Satina takes a bit of a step back in the story which I wasn’t thrilled about (sorry, I love a demon lady) but something that was touched upon a good but is her recovery after being abducted by Aziel. There is a very good discussion that not all damage is done physically even when you are a non human being but it was good to see that as a main point of discussion. Spells could do as much damage as whips. However, it didn’t get brought up again much and that would have been amazing but I still loved seeing this on the page.

The story never fails to deliver on anything. The tension, the big reveals and the way it all wraps up at the end is as great as the last few have been. I will not deny after the last one, I was dreading the last few pages and I will have trust issues with the next book as a result but this felt like a perfect delivery of everything we have been teased about in the series so far. I really enjoyed it and was totally satisfied with how this all wrapped up. However book five is out now, so noone is safe.

Thank you as always to Dave from The Write Reads for having me on the tour and to the author for a copy of the book in exchange for review. The Angel of Evil is out now!

★★★★.5/5

Blog Tour: The Wrongful Death (The Great Devil War III) by Kenneth B. Andersen

Published on by Hedwig's World3 Comments

Hello fellow readers and yes, I did accept all my blog tours for one single week it seems! My organisational skills aside, today on the blog I am on the tour for The Wrongful Death, the third book in the Great Devil War series!

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.

Well this one really took me by surprise. This is a series I have really enjoyed since the first book and this being the third, I was worried that I was going to have to expect the same plot beats but kind of hoped if it was, it would be in the way that this book was parodying itself. Holy shit I was so wrong.

WE GET TO GO TO ANOTHER UNDERWORLD. I’m sorry, did I say that out loud? Yes. I was thrilled. I am not even mentioning where or why or how but this is something my little heart jumped for. I am a long time fan of chthonic Gods, Goddesses, underworlds, necromancy (GIDEON!!!) and just anything like that, my gothy soul calls for it. This was such a great surprise and I hope we get to visit more.

The characters as always are a dream. I’m delighted Sam finally had his moment. I always found his and Philip’s relationship both fascinating and very real. Yes Sam is a bully who is utterly horrible to other kids but it’s like Philip brought out an element of warmth in him somehow. It is comedic as well at times how well they work too and how they balance each other out. Also can I please have dinner with Satina’s parents? They are so wonderful.

Now, the main event. Out of all these books I have read so far in this series, I did not expect this one to go how it did. Like I mentioned at the beginning, I expected something similar where each book might be a Groundhog Day/Spinal Tap and their drummer style set up where the same thing happens but that is part of the enjoyment. BUT NO. NO. I’m not saying how or where but this story and how it all wrapped up has me so pumped to read book four.

This series is definitely taking a wonderful turn that I think is necessary but also right up my alley so if you wish to know which book is the best in the series is so far? It’s definitely this one. Thank you so much to Dave at the Write Reads and Kenneth Andersen for having me on these tours and an ecopy of this book for review!

The Wrongful Death is out now!

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 both 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

Blog Tour: The Die of Death (The Great Devil War II) by Kenneth B. Andersen

Published on by Hedwig's World1 Comment

Good day fellow readers and welcome to my stop on the Write Reads blog tour for The Die of Death by Kenneth B. Andersen!

Philip’s adventures as the Devil’s apprentice have changed him—in a good way. 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.

This book was exactly what I needed right now if I am being perfectly honest! This is the smashing sequel to the already perfect The Devil’s Apprentice which I was lucky enough to review back in December last year. That book took everything I loved about a good Satan story and turned it upside down into something wonderful. The sequel is no different.

When we meet Philip he is dying (get it?) to get back to hell and see Satina, mostly, but also just to see everyone. What has happened to him in the mean time is what I think is a great development of character but also a very realistic shift in Philip’s personality. He’s a normal teenager who has discovered the joys of skipping homework, the advantage of lying at that age but also how to stand up for himself. He is still a genuinely good kid but he is definitely more savvy.

One of my favourite figures in culture is Death. Aside from my Discworld favourite (this book also has echoes of Mort) there are many incarnations and re-imaginings of the character that I do love. So you can see why I enjoyed this. The author never fails to appeal to my geeky interests! Besides Philip there are some wonderful character arcs here, including Satina, Lucifer and even Mortimer himself. It is an all round, wonderful follow up to the first book as well.

I will say without spoiling the actual ending and reveal of the plot that the message this book was hitting home was really relevant and I really do appreciate it being discussed in a fantasy book like this. Handled very well and am totally onboard for the next book in the series.

I want to thank Dave from the Write Reads for including me on the tour and to the author Kenneth B. Andersen for having me on board as an ARC reader as well as for the copy of the book in exchange for review!

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 both 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

Blog Tour: The Devil’s Apprentice (The Great Devil War 1) by Kenneth B. Andersen

Published on by Hedwig's World2 Comments

Good evening all and welcome to The Write Reads blog tour for The Devils Apprentice by Kenneth B. Andersen!

Philip is a good boy, a really good boy, who accidentally gets sent to Hell to become the Devil’s heir. The Devil, Lucifer, is dying and desperately in need of a successor, but there’s been a mistake and Philip is the wrong boy. Philip is terrible at being bad, but Lucifer has no other choice than to begin the difficult task of training him in the ways of evil. Philip gets both friends and enemies in this odd, gloomy underworld—but who can he trust, when he discovers an evil-minded plot against the dark throne?

If there is one thing I love is good, old fashioned devil tale. As a figure of mythology and a commonly used figure of evil in popular culture, the devil’s greatest trick has been making us all so obsessed with him. I’m a massive fan of Neil Gaiman’s Lucifer from the Sandman comics, Angelheart is one of my favourite films and my dream is to have a cat named after him. Yep. A bit of a thing here.

So obviously this a is a far cry from the Lucifer comics and neither does it have Mickey Rourke but this book is wonderful. I really enjoyed the entire premise of the devil choosing a new successor but somehow choosing the wrong one. There is a sense of irony throughout the story such as Philip’s second name being a play on the word angel, the method of how he arrives in hell and a couple of other’s that are genuinely funny. It’s so hard to find good fantasy books with humor these days and this one is just that.

We obviously spend pretty much the entire book in Hell. It’s a Hell we know with condemned souls being tortured for all eternity but this is a Hell you also have never seen before. This is a far more mundane Hell. I mean that entirely as a compliment. There are teenage devils, devils that are part of a family unit, there’s festivals, people have jobs. It’s just a Hell that makes a lot more sense to any of us who work, go to school and lead everyday lives.

Philip is eternally wonderful and is a precious sweet lad who Lucifer intends to corrupt no matter what it takes. His gentle nature makes for a hilarious contrast with those who surround him. Lucifer especially in his weakened state reminded me of Rasputin from the Anastasia movie which I know shows my age but only made me enjoy it more. Any of the scenes between them both are highly entertaining and bring to mind the strangest jedi/padawan type relationship that I thought really improved the plot.

There were some tiny pacing issues for me, but then again the ending of the story does work to explain this but in places I did feel the plot could be a little inconsistent. The overall story is very readable and I found it so easy to get wrapped up in the whole world of the book and the every day (or should I say night) we get to see of Hell. I would like to have spent more time with Grumblebeard but that might just be me as a person.

I would like to thank Dave from The Write Reads for offering me a place on this fantastic blog tour and providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this book for any fans of what I’ve discussed above and anyone who is in need of a fun fantasy with an fun twist on a typical story.

★★★★/5