Customer Reviews

And the Devil Will Drag You Under

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of my all-time favorite books. An attempt to mine a passing asteroid has gone wrong, and the 'roid is now headed for earth (and this was written long before the current string of things-heading-for-earth disaster movies). As Earth prepares to die, a drunken demon summons two people to a bar in the middle of nowhere, and sends them on a series of impossible quests through alternate planes, in a desperate attempt to save the planet. But. . .it's always dangerous to make a deal with the devil. . . .

I first recieved this book as a gift when I was 6 or 7 years old. The cover of the devil scared me and I put it away in a drawer and forgot about it. Years later, as an early teen-ager, I read, and reread and reread it so often, I wore out the cover.

Its a great sci-fi story about populating different worlds and energies, interesting characters, and humourous situations. This is the one that got me into pop sci-fi. I think its his best, but that may be because it was the first one of his many I read.

This is the first book in this genre I ever read when I was a kid (12). It opened a whole new world to me and I still think it's number one of all the books I've ever read. I wish there were parts 2, 3, 4.... If you can ever find this book, it is definitely worth reading. -Mindy

Bought this book brand new in a bookstore when I was 15. Wore it out. Found another copy in a used bookstore when I was 30. Lent it to a friend and didn't get it back. Bought another copy on Amazon when I was 45. I'm getting older, but this book isn't. Timeless story and a great read. If you buy it, you will finish it in one sitting and then start it again. I imagine I'll be buying another copy at 60!

I found this book in a used book store and figured I could not go wrong after spending $2.48 for it. I enjoyed the book until the end. The ending was commonplace and it obliterated the entertaining buildup. The characters were well developed, especially Asmodeus Mogart! The imagery was vivid and the humor was always on time. The pacing was a little off-kilter: at some points the story would zoom by at breakneck speeds; but at odd moments it would slow down and give you a kind of "literary whiplash".

So had the ending not been so horrible, I would have given the book 3 stars. But as it were, the ending was so wretchedly unoriginal it destroyed the rest of the book. I got the impression that Chalker might have just been so tired of writing the book that he just wanted to end it ASAP . . . no matter how!

Notwithstanding the two stars, I would still recommend a glance at this book because the beginning and middle were quite amusing and the book is short enough to take the chance. . . but only if you are a forgiving person. You need to be to overlook the ending. If you are the type of person who absolutely cannot forgive a horrible ending, skip this book.