Book Review- The Angel of Evil by Kenneth B Andersen

Book review– The Angel of Evil by Kenneth B Andersen

Title– The Angel of Evil

Author– Kenneth B Andersen

Publisher– Kenneth B Andersen

Publication date– Nov 2019

Comments- I received a free ecopy from the author and @the_writereads in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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Synopsis

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.

Review

Still reeling from his horrific actions in the Wrongful Death, Phillip  keeps to himself, trying to gain control of his demonic form. But when Grum is killed inside Lucifer’s castle, Phillip realises that he is the only one who can rescue Satina from the Outer Reaches. Using the information he gained from Grum, he makes his way into the Outer reaches and Aziel’s camp. But what he finds there is even more horrific and sickening than anyone thought and events turn darker as the battle for Hell continues.

So, in previous reviews of this series I have mentioned that it was dark and probably not for mid-grade readers. I’m going to add to that and say this is definitely more a YA read. Dark fantasy has taken a real turn here and some of the passages of description were so graphically horrific that even I was unnerved.  

Andersen is a  true master of description.  He uses the surrounding areas to add that deep level of fear and uncomfortableness to the situation which really give you a feel of the danger that our characters are in.

While Phillip is in Azriel’s camp we see the depths of depravity that Azriel is willing to go to and you can understand the sense of fear that he engenders.

As always the characters are fleshed out (a sentence that creeps me out now, thanks to these books) and the character growth is completely realistic and engaging. Phillip isn’t just a mindless demon, he has developed his own personality, via his experiences, into his new persona and none of it seems rushed or out of character.

Satina is more subdued due to her experiences during her kidnap and her new family issues and the side characters are similarly evolving in their own way.

I’m going to be completely honest now and say that however much I adored the book- and I really did, I was gripped- I decided to DNF at page 213.

This is entirely due to my own conscience. I had felt uncomfortable with the Christian theology mixed with Greek myths and legends and, even though I know that it’s a fictional world, the author has done so much research into biblical events  that it no longer felt fictional to me.

I wasn’t happy with his portrayal of Jehovah God and Lucifer’s relationship. Not was I easy with the casual light that the Devil was cast in, almost as if he were the ‘good guy’.

Personally I don’t believe that either Noah or Samson would have been in Hell and, although the plot point of how Azriel plans to break into Hell was clever (no spoilers but that idea was brilliant!), the use of Lilith as Cain’s wife (which is part of Jewish Mythology and not based in Biblical record) was what decided it for me.

Summary

So it is with sadness that I leave the series unfinished but if you are into dark fantasy and the struggle between good and evil in all of us then I would recommend this as a fascinating book and especially as a masterclass of how to write descriptive passages that truly engage the reader and immerse them in the world.