To Reign in Hell

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Summary: To Reign in Hell is a great read!
Review: This is the first novel of Steven Brust's that I have read, and after reading it, I will certainly go out and buy the rest of his novels. To Reign in Hell is an amazing read--I couldn't put it down. I read it cover to cover in a sitting. I borrowed it, but I now feel the need to buy it so I can re-read it at my leisure and lend it out to everybody!

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Summary: Shades of Three's Company
Review: Well, we all know about the revolt in Heaven, but what's the "real" story? Steven Brust provides you with the answer by depositing the characters in a fantasy setting, sort of a redefined Heaven. You don't get any winged angels with halos - this is more of a Middle-Earth setting. It's certainly an interesting concept, but Brust takes an easy way out.

To explain the title of my review, think back to how most "Three's Company" episodes built a plot... a character would misinterpret something (overhear a fraction of a conversation or misunderstand somone's intentions), the character would act on their misinterpretation, and wackiness ensues through more incidents of misinterpretation and a major lack of communication.

That's what this book is - a bunch of zany misunderstandings and incidents of bad timing between angels that serve to destroy the order of heaven. I had hopes that Brust could provide a well-formulated reasoning for the angels' rebellion, but it didn't happen. Instead, I'm treated to a divine sitcom.

The story attempts to present Satan as justified in his leading the revolt, due to multiple factors. If Brust wishes to clean up Satan's image and paint him as a victim of another's arrogance, instead of a troublemaker, then fine. But then to have ANOTHER bad angel skulking in the background, causing all the problems??? What does this solve? To show Satan as innocent instead of ambitious, and then stick the ambitious Abdiel into the story to spark the plot, doesn't make sense.

This flimsy plot really irritates me, because Brust does a superb job of characterization and setting, and I hate to see these outstanding bits ruined by a bad story.

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Summary: One of Brust's most interesting brought back into print
Review: Steven Brust is a phenomenal writer and if you have not read any of the Vlad Taltos series, I cannot recommend them highly enough to you. They are swashbuckling character studies of the finest regards. That said, "To Reign In Hell" is a fantastic story about the War in Heaven seen with a non-judgmental point of view. Devout Christians and Catholics may have some troubles, as to understand the text, a reader should put aside all preconcieved notions of the concepts of Good and Evil, God and the Devil and other Christian mythos. I am very glad to see "To Reign In Hell" brought back into print. I bought my copy, used, in a Minneapolis bookstore and found out a few months later that the scrawl in the front of it was an autograph from Brust. I am picking up another copy soon so I can afford to lend it out to friends. "To Reign In Hell" isn't Brust's best work by far, but it's also a marvelous read and well-worth your time if you can go into it with an open mind. If your concepts of religion are inflexible, read some of Brust's other material (I recommend starting with "The Book of Jhereg," a reprint of the first three Vlad Taltos books in one volume), but do not miss this terrific author. Brust is one of the greatest writers working today.

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Summary: Nice concept, plain writing - slow going.
Review: Burst's story is indeed a prequel of sorts to Paradise Lost, and in its own way is just as difficult and boring a read as the text I tackled as a college sophmore. The writing and plotting are very simple and the book reads more as a well developed outline than a novel - there is little characterization and little exposition and little motivation to warrant the events depicted.

Interesting book, but you are better off visiting a library.

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Summary: More of a prequel to Milton than Genesis, folks.
Review: As usual, at least for fantasy novels, the reactions to this book seem to range from "The best I ever read!" to "Complete drivel!" with little space between (unless you count "Satanism! Burn! Burn!"). The fact is that this is NOT Brust's best work. The strong characterization in the Vlad Taltos books are less strong here. The plotting is at once more convoluted than strictly necessary and not terribly interesting to untangle. The dialogue is good, but not his best. Et cetera. It's a solid book and a fun read, in the Zelazny/Gaiman let's-mess-with-God(s) mode, but it's not as strong as either of those notables in, say, Lord of Light, Sandman, Good Omens, or the first Amber chronicles. It does, however, compare favorably with Piers Anthony's execrable Incarnations of Immortality.

Given the title, I'm surprised none of the reviewers I've read have noticed that this is not so much a prequel to Genesis as to Paradise Lost. FYI, the title is a direct quote from Milton, and the events of the book lead up to the events (and to the odd slant on Satan)in Paradise Lost. It has about the same relationship to scripture as Niven and Pournelle's Inferno; it's based on a text that's based on the Bible.

But then, who in his right mind reads Milton anymore?

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Summary: Inspiring writing... not divinely inspired.
Review: I have had trouble describing this book to people. Is Steven Brust a good writer? Most definitely. Is the story unique and engaging? Yes. Is it worth reading. I don't know.

Many who review this book comment on it in a Biblical fashion. There is no comparing 'To Reign in Hell' to Biblical text. One reviewer comments that "...this book challenges our collective ideas about the revolt of the angels." Really? Steven Brust wrote an interesting piece of fiction, but I highly doubt that it was divinely inspired.

I enjoyed the story, but I hold no delusions that it "could be" true or that any of the story holds religious merit. At times I was put off by the fact that Mr. Brust departed so much from established Christian belief. He is allowed his artistic freedoms and I'm not here to judge his motives.

I am, as a practicing Christian, biased. I don't want a fiction author dinking with my scripture. That being said, Steven Brust is excellent at character development and his ability to get across so much while saying so little is truly the work of an artist.

My recommendation would be to read this book as it was more than likely intended: as a work of fiction. Don't go combing through the pages looking for new insights into the Bible and the revolt of the angels, you'll be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: pathetic atempt at a novel
Review: when i start a book i finish it.A mistake with this book.Dont read this satanic devil worship novel

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Summary: Boring and hardly original
Review: After all the gushing praise I had heard for this book, the actual story was a major yawner. Essentially, there's A Lot Of Miscommunication that results in a Farce, uh, I mean, Epic Battle. Really, this read like one of those Frasier episodes where anyone with sense would have spent two minutes ironing our a misconception or two and the whole thing would have been resolved happily, but instead, a comedy of errors leads to farcical misadventures.

YAWN.

If this book challenges your ideas about the War In Heaven, then you haven't given it any thought at all. I've seen the idea done much better and with a much tighter, interesting story than "Gee, I'm just going to go kill a bunch of people instead of opening a simple line of communication!" Heck, go read something by Gaiman instead (Sandman or Books of Magic).

Two stars - one for the fact that at least I got through it, even if I was wondering why I bothered.

Rating:
Summary: A slight counterbalance
Review: I only write this so that there is a balance against all the rave reviews this "classic" novel received on these pages. Without getting too much into detail (ultimately, how much of the buyer's choice actually is made by these reviews?), I simply want to say that this book is not as wonderfully written as many here claim. While it does have its strengths, particularly in detailing the way in which most wars (whether terrestrial or heavenly) actually start, it lacks in some fundamental areas. The characterization is not unique; rather, the angels who populate these pages seem hardly removed from a well-defined and time-tested roles. The plot, though quick, is basically nothing more than a beginning and an end padded with a lot of walking: everyone in this book is walking somewhere, though never seeming to get there. The dialogue (which constitutes a good 2/3 of the book) is quick and sometimes witty, but those speaking lack certainty. Just as everyone walks without arriving, everyone talks without deciding upon anything.

This is a book worth reading, I think, if only to see Satan's Rebellion in a new light, but I would have a hard time justifying spending the money on the trade paperback. Borrow it from a friend. Or ignore this review.

Rating:
Summary: Thank you for reprinting this!!!
Review: I read this in high school and (much to the dismay of some of my friends parents) quickly had passed it around to many of my friends to read. This book challenges our collective ideas about the revolt of the angels and Who was really in the right, much less to blame. Thought provoking entertainment. Christian or not, this one is worth the time and I encourage everyone to give it a look. Enjoy! =)