Working for the Devil (Dante Valentine, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Lilith Saintcrow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2006

When the devil needs a rogue demon killed, he calls Dante Valentine--a cross between Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake and Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan--in this sassy debut novel by Saintcrow. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tough-as-nails necromancer Dante Valentine has a problem: the devil wants her to catch a rogue demon and, for the duration of the task, she must be accompanied by a demon assassin named Japhrimel. If she refuses, she dies; if she accepts, she'll likely die in the process. Dante decides to take her chances with the latter, but her hunt doesn't get into full swing until the book's final third. Instead, she pauses to take a ride on a "slicboard" (a skateboard that glides on air), to wrestle cryptic information from an assortment of nonhuman and magical people and to argue with everyone from Japhrimel to her fellow necromancer friend, Gabe. Though Dante is as prickly as a wet cat and frustratingly adamant about maintaining her loner status, she's a brave, charismatic protagonist with a smart mouth and a suicidal streak. What's not to love? Fans of Laurel K. Hamilton should warm to Saintcrow's dark, evocative debut, though the story's weak relationship thread may disappoint aficionados of the paranormal romance veterans Christine Feehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon. (Mar.)
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Review

"Combines dark urban fantasy with a splash of cyberpunk, a pinch of paranormal romance. . -- ---Jacqueline Carey, author of Kushiel’s Avatar

"I have to say this book just blew me away. I ate it up! I loved, loved, LOVED the book." -- ---Gena Showalter, author of Awaken Me Darkly

"Pure fantasy and fun. . . a fantastic escape. I enjoyed it tremendously." -- --- Heather Graham, New York Times Bestselling author

"Working for the Devil works for me! This is one great read." -- ---Susan Sizemore, author of I Burn For You

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446616702
• ISBN-13: 978-0446616706
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,161,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lilith Saintcrow lives in Vancouver, Washington, with her two children and assorted other strays. She has been writing since she was nine years old. Find her on the web at www.lilithsaintcrow.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unexpectedly Good Read!, March 22, 2006

By 

MooncatX "aka lunafelis" (the Midwest) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Working for the Devil (Dante Valentine, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Warning, a few spoilers, but I try not to reveal particular details.

Okay, I just read "Working for the Devil" by Lilith Saintcrow. I almost didn't, because the author's pen name seemed a bit to obvious and overdone, and that didn't inspire great expectations for the writing. The main character also had a pretty obvious name, Dante Valentine, and my expectations kept dropping... oh my, I thought, it's going to be gooey and predictable and sort of sponge cake romance. Which only proves the adage "Don't judge a book by it's cover." or by overly mary-sue type names.

I really, REALLY, liked this book. It starts off pretty interesting, and gets KICK ASS fairly quickly. It does however have a rather dark and mixed 'win/lose' ending. And I really REALLY liked the main character, Dante "Danny" Valentine - and there is a good excuse for her name.

The world the story is set in was pleasantly unique and sort of spell-punk, near future, dark fantasy. It's where you can watch Indiana Jones on a holovid, and Necromances are a rare type of Psionic human, and those who have psionic powers are both known, and regulated. Demons can and do walk among humans, and in Dante's case, show up on her doorstep and invite her to go to Hell at gunpoint, so that the big boss can have a talk with her.

Dante is a Necromance for hire, and doing what she can to pay off her house mortgage by taking on Bounty Hunter work on the side. Her current client is Lucifer, who gives her a case she really can't refuse. Hunt down and kill a rogue demon whose escaped from Hell, and retrieve a certain item the rogue demon stole from hell. The rogue is someone Dante met before, a serial killer who almost killed her once, and did murder someone very close to Dante. Things don't look too bright for Dante, because she has no idea how she'll manage to kill a demon, even though Lucifer has given (without being asked) her a demon familiar of her very own to protect her until she can accomplish her mission. The rogue can't be killed by man or demon, as he won immunity from that by way of a promise from Lucifer long ago, but that doesn't cover a female necromance with a score of her own to settle.

Not a romance, though there is a predictable bit where the tough and arrogant and gorgeous demon who is bonded to Dante falls for her. But even though most readers of paranormal romances could see that coming a mile a way... it's not going to end up like a romance novel. Not at all. This is a much harder, more grim, and darker storyline than most of the paranormal romance ilk. Happy endings aren't a given, and Dante isn't a gooey type of heroine girl at all. This is a woman whose patron god is Anubis, and who swears by Sekhmet, and she doesn't let her heart become a bargaining chip.

This is one of those books where the unique richness of the world it's set in becomes apparent the deeper you get into the story. Dante is backed up by a great supporting cast of characters. This is book one of an ongoing series, book two is due out in September, and the author is currently working on writing book five.

I'm very favorably impressed with the work over all, and can't wait to read the next books of the series.

mcx

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Score One for Dante Valentine!, May 29, 2006

By 

Kelly Houser (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Working for the Devil (Dante Valentine, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Dante Valentine is a Necromance. She can raise the dead. Too bad for her that she cannot sense when a minion of Hell is standing on her doorstep. Dante receives a knock on her door from Japhrimel, Satan's chief assassin. He has a message for Ms. Valentine: She is coming with him, His Most Evilness wishes to speak with her. Wondering what she could possibly have done to turn up on Lucifer's radar. Japhrimel takes Dante to Lucifer. Lucifer, it turns out, wants to conduct a little business. A particularly nasty demon escaped from Hell. Dante has been recruited to slay this demon. Refuse and she dies. Take on the assignment and she probably won't live. These are Dante's choices.

Dante accepts the challenge and is given Japhrimel as a familiar. Together, they must figure out how to kill a demon that Lucifer himself could not kill.

This book is one of the most perfect examples of don't judge a book by its cover. The cover art for this book is total cheese. It's cheese with a side order of cheese. This is unfortunate, because the novel is quite good. The cover art almost kept me away from it though. I do believe there is a direct link between the quality of a novel and the quality of the cover art, but I digress.

Dante is a very interesting character. I am not sure why Lilith Saintcrow chose to use the grammatically incorrect term "necromance" instead of "necromancer" but whatever. The plot moved along well. The dialogue was shakey in certain parts, but by the end of the novel, the author was definitely improving. The plot was interesting. I can't wait to see what the author does with the next installment in this series.

I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a great new supernatural suspense series!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, April 29, 2006

By 

E. Sfetsos "Reviews by Yolanda..." (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Working for the Devil (Dante Valentine, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book hooked me in from the very beginning. From page one I wanted to keep reading, and reading so I could find out what would happen next. And there was absolutely nothing predictable about Danny or the world she lives in.

There are necromances, hedgewitches, healers, shamans, demons and even the Devil himself! Honestly, this paranormal world of the future was outstanding in description and the way it functioned. Danny Valentine is a necromance with outstanding power. One rainy afternoon she gets an unexpected visit from a demon called Japhrimel, claiming Lucifer wants to see her. He's got a job for her, one she has no choice but to take - she needs to kill a demon called Santino and retrieve something the Devil calls the Egg.

The adventure is great and Danny's past intriguing! I enjoyed every minute of it and loved all the wonderful characters introduced in this book. I truly can't wait to see what happens next in this series... absolutely awesome!

If you're looking for a terrific book with a tough heroine, terrific cast and interesting quest -- you have to check this one out!