Customer Reviews

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dayne Kuttner has made a challenge to God that the deity cannot refuse. To give the damned souls of Hell another chance to repent. The ineffable deity has responded to Dayne's challenge in an unexpected way releasing several thousand Hellspawn into the State of North Carolina. And while heaven may be offering them a chance to repent, Hell has other plans. They are to tempt more souls into hell, starting with the soul of Dayne. Holly Lisle delivers a book that is full of fun and hilarity, and some food for thought as well as she takes a look at the institutions of heaven and hell and the world of humanity in between.

As with most of Holly Lisle's writing, there's a good dollop of humor in this story, keeping it from becoming darkly serious and overdramatic. This allows the story to be thoughtful without becoming overly preachy. Our heroine Dayne is delightfully tough and intelligent, a strong adversary for the fallen angel Agonostis. And while most of the devils and demons remain more comical than outright darkly evil, and some even downright likable, the characterization feels appropriate to the tone of the story.

Despite the humor, there are moments of true poignancy and epiphany that keep this story from being merely fluff. It's the reason I keep re-reading this book even though it's beginning to fall apart on me and I'll need a new copy soon. While the look at religion is not necessarily the traditional one (Holly Lisle plays fast and loose with some of the conventions) there are still profound messages that Ms. Lisle conveys about the essence of faith, the nature of good and evil, how Heaven can exist if there is a hell, and what does it truly mean to be a human being.

One of my few complaints with this book is that while it offers a satisfying conclusion to the protagonist's story, it leaves an open ended teaser ending for the next story in this trilogy-and these books are a bit difficult to get a hold of. Readers who enjoy humor, fantasy and romance and don't mind a rather tongue in cheek look at the denizens of Heaven and Hell are encouraged to give this book a try. If you enjoy this one, the second book in the trilogy is THE DEVIL AND DAN COOLEY, and the third is HELL ON HIGH. And you may also want to check out GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

Happy Reading! Shanshad ^_^

This is a deceptively simple book; the basic story can be set up in a few sentences: in agony over her life as a nurse, the death of her husband and theological platitudes, Dayne Kuttner tempts God to give the damned of Hell a second chance--and he does, though not quite in the way she expected. What follows is an oftentimes funny helter-skelter ride of escaped demons and other assorted damned-souls loose in North Carolina. Of course, Lucifer (Puissant Lord of Evil, Utmost Originator of All Things Foul, Master of the Netherworlds, Purveyor of Anguish) sees the opportunity and grabs it: he sends his lieutenant Agonostis into the mess to tempt more mortals to their doom--and to seize Dayne herself for Hell.

Lisle's rewritten the Bible and Christianity here. Don't expect every event or presumption of the book to follow rigorous doctrine. Instead, look for the mass of real-life medical and theological questions bubbling under the surface. She covers issues like euthanasia and the responsibility of medical practitioners to their (dying and nearly-dead) patients. But the philosophical meat is the theology: how can Heaven and Hell co-exist? Is this even morally possible if God is wholly good? What sends a person to Hell? Does anyone ever deserve to be there? And what exactly _are_ good and evil? How close together can they get?

I'm making the book sound heavy, but on the surface you can view it as a light-hearted comedy. This level was enjoyable on the first read, but I found myself returning later to the questions couched between the lines and the allegory they create. If you're just after a good, fun read, go for it; but if you want more, you'll definitely find it. I haven't read anything quite like it before or since; I even created a new personal category for it, which is the title of this review.

Just pick up the book and read the first page. If you're not laughing out loud enough to embarrass yourself, then this is not the book for you.

Doubting and disgusted, heroine Dayne challenges God to let the demons in Hell have a chance. Just like physics, for every action Hell's got an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, Satan sets demons loose in North Carolina to claim as many souls as they can including Dayne's.

The story examines good and evil, heaven and hell, but with a light brush. "Sympathy" is both amusing and thought-provoking. IMHO, the best of Holly Lisle's work so far.

Convinced her ex-husband is burning in hell, Dane asks God why he could allow such a thing and begs him to give the souls of the damned a second chance. God answers, and frees a number of souls into the world. They may do as they will, provided they do not harm anyone or coerce them into harming anyone. That, and they have to stay in North Carolina.

If you go to Holly's website, you'll find that she was under a lot of duress while writing this. The anger and angst she went through shows here and makes for a wonderful examination of religion in general. It starts off very bitter, but becomes something greater. In the end, she does not hate God, but it seems she comes to terms with him.

Sympathy for the Devil is funny, introspective, and even romantic. This is a hard book to find, but if you can get it I strongly recommend it.

I recently read the Hell books by Holly Lisle (or at least the first three). The books are concerned with the presence of the hellraised on Earth and the interplay between Heaven and Hell.

In SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL a young woman who is convinced that her ex is in hell offers up a prayer to give everyone in Hell a second chance. The request is so pure that it must be answered. Since everyone in Hell already has a chance for redemption, Heaven sends residents from hell to North Carolina. These hellraised equal one percent of the population of the state. The woman is made a target for temptation while the rest of the state has to get used to its new residents.

Overall a pretty good story and an interesting handling of Heven and Hell and they way they interact with the mortal world.

This is a deceptively simple book; the basic story can be set up in a few sentences: in agony over her life as a nurse, the death of her husband and theological platitudes, Dayne Kuttner tempts God to give the damned of Hell a second chance--and he does, though not quite in the way she expected. What follows is an oftentimes funny helter-skelter ride of escaped demons and other assorted damned-souls loose in North Carolina. Of course, Lucifer (Puissant Lord of Evil, Utmost Originator of All Things Foul, Master of the Netherworlds, Purveyor of Anguish) sees the opportunity and grabs it: he sends his lieutenant Agonostis into the mess to tempt more mortals to their doom--and to seize Dayne herself for Hell.

Lisle's rewritten the Bible and Christianity here. Don't expect every event or presumption of the book to follow rigorous doctrine. Instead, look for the mass of real-life medical and theological questions bubbling under the surface. She covers issues like euthanasia and the responsibility of medical practitioners to their (dying and nearly-dead) patients. But the philosophical meat is the theology: how can Heaven and Hell co-exist? Is this even morally possible if God is wholly good? What sends a person to Hell? Does anyone ever deserve to be there? And what exactly _are_ good and evil? How close together can they get?

I'm making the book sound heavy, but on the surface you can view it as a light-hearted comedy. This level was enjoyable on the first read, but I found myself returning later to the questions couched between the lines and the allegory they create. If you're just after a good, fun read, go for it; but if you want more, you'll definitely find it. I haven't read anything quite like it before or since; I even created a new personal category for it, which is the title of this review.

My title about sums it up. Although you always have a few of an author's rabid fans show up with 5's, to maintain that this book is a work of great literature that deserves the highest rating is just ... wrong.

Holly Lisle has an interesting concept, and she pulls it off in solid, but not brilliant fashion. Once the main event comes off that sets up the story for the rest of the book, the events are pretty predictable. A LOT more could have been done with this plot idea.

It has amusing moments, but its not the laugh riot some of these other reviews claim. I'm under the impression that this book was a relatively early effort for the author. She definitely improves in this series as it moves along.

In fact, if I had the read to do over again, I would skip the first and second books of the series and go straight to book three, "Hell on High". It had a couple of problems, but is definitely the most engaging of the three books. Since the stories are only connected by the basic premise (minions of hell turned loose in NC by God), you don't really miss any important prerequisite information by doing so.

In "Sympathy for the Devil", I kept feeling like she was pulling scene ideas from some of her favorite soap operas and filling in her story. To flesh out her primary plot device, I felt that deeper and more powerful plot elements were called for to truly bring this story to life. For a story about minions of hell living legitimately on Earth, I felt there should be some surprises in store, and I found none here.

This effort wasn't bad enough to make me put the book down mid-read, but neither did it really draw me along with any fascination. I like a book to make me sad that I've hit the last page, in this case I was a bit relieved to get there.

When I read this book, it was quite apparent that Holly Lisle's writing style and insight into our present day society was unique and superb. I laughed at her views of the computer in not only our world, but in Hell (which is to say a little of Hell will be ever present though out the rest of our lives.) This book also shows in the difficulties of and choices we must make on the basis of our feelings. I think that Holly Lisle is one of today's greatest writers, and all of her books have brought the delight of fantasy into my small literary collection. Any person, who is a fan of fantasy and humor, would do well to read this novel, or any of her other fantastic books.

Holly Lisle's Sympathy For the Devil is great book focused on the inherent conflict and paradox of a Heaven and hell existing simultaneously. The story is set in modern times reflected not only on Earth, but in Heaven and hell as Satan and God spend their days reading flow charts on incoming souls and researching wishes on their computers. The action begins when nurse Dayne Kuttner makes a perfect ten wish; one of the truest sincerity and challenges God to give all of hell a second chance. Holly Lisle masterful intertwines comedy with seriousness and makes even the strangest possibility seem completely normal. This is a simply wonderful book and great way to escape on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Also, for anyone enjoying this type of satirical "fantasy" then I would also recommend Simon Hawke's The Reluctant Sorcerer series.

This book combines just the right amounts of soppy romance, silly humor (the best kind) and Good & Evil. For the first time that I know of Holly Lisle's main character isn't an idiot. That doesn't mean her other books aren't great, but they are a little more gut-wrenching. The author creates an Hell you can believe in, and a God you want to believe in. It brought to mind Piesr Anthony's book "For Love of Evil" - in the sense that "Love of Evil" was the How Not To Do This, to "Symapathy"'s How To Definitely Do This.