Book Review: To Reign in Hell

Okay, so my journey to reading this book took about 12 years all told.  Back in 2000 I was playing a lot of White Wolf role playing games (RPG) (Vampire, Werewolf, Changeling, etc.) and was really getting into their Anime-inspired series Exalted, which may have actually eclipsed my childhood love of Dungeons & Dragons for sheer coolness.

Anyway, a huge part of what I've always loved about the White Wolf games was the recommended reading sections in the introductions of their various books.  Through those lists I found all sorts of now dearly held novels of dark fantasy and horror that have  been added to my collection over the years (and are honestly a big part of why I still own all those RPG books years after I stopped playing them.

So in 2002 there was an Exalted spin-off series focusing on the villains of the world, a militaristic, caste based group of warriors who spend all their time hunting down the Exalted (the protagonists of the main game) and in the third Caste book (Twilight), the recommended reading list included Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla, the first three novels of something called the Vlad Taltos series by a fellow called Steven Brust.

A few years later White Wolf comes out with the series Demon: the Fallen, and wouldn't you know it, sitting in the recommended reading section is a 1984 book called To Reign in Hell, also by Steven Brust.

So when I came across it in a used-bookstore run, I picked it up and for the next nine years it sat on my "to be read" shelf.  Then I spent a month waiting for my next horror book The Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor part 2, to show up, and when I had finished my other books for the month, I went to that shelf and grabbed the first thing that caught my eye.

So I've just finished To Reign in Hell, and you know what?  It was pretty great - it's a fantasy-themed retelling of the War in Heaven (as described in John Milton's Paradise Lost - where the original fall of Lucifer from heaven is described, and you know what?  I really liked it.

The author starts with the conceit that "From all of [his] readings on the revolt of the angels, two things are clear: God is omnipotent and Satan is not a fool.  There seems to be a contradiction here…" and then goes on to tell a very moving story in which these beings, these angels end up in the story we all remember from Sunday school.

Definitely worth reading.

Top Five books I want to read in 2010

As New Years is just around the corner, this is usually the time of year when I start to think of things I'd like to get done in the next year. 2010 for me will likely include doing some more University courses, hopefully writing some more stories and hopefully dropping more than a few pounds.

The resolutions I would like to talk about here however, are the book I will definitely want to be reading at some point in the next year, and as I usually read more than a hundred a year, I think I'll just stick to my top 5.

Bookmonkey's top five books to read in 2010

5. The Fall: Strain Trilogy #2, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

One of my very first blog posts was about the first book in this trilogy, wherein Vampires began their plan to take over the world, and a few dedicated humans did everything they could to stop it. The sequel comes out in May, and even though I'll have to wait until February 2011 to finish the trilogy, I will be reading this book as soon as I can. (Sorry - couldn't find an image of the cover!)

4. Fury on Sunday, by Richard Matheson

Over the years I've read a number of books by Richard Matheson, Hell House, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Somewhere in Time, and I am Legend. This guy can really get under your skin. This year I'm going to try my best to read all of his books in publishing order. That starts with a 1953 novel I may have a lot of trouble finding, but as I love this guys books, I'm really gonna give it my best try.

3. The Glass Teat, by Harlan Ellison

As I'm working towards getting a Bachelors degree in Professional Arts, majoring in Communicates Studies (TV, Movies, Internet, etc.), sometimes I'll hear of a book that both interests me personally and might give me good arguments for upcoming university courses. Ellison's book, a non-fiction look at America's dependence on Television written back in the 1970s, appears to be just this kind of book.

2. Queen & Country, by Greg Rucka

I started reading these graphic novels from my public library a few years ago and loved them, basically they follow British MI-6 and specifically a spy named Tara Chase. The writing was tense, sometimes brutal, and felt totally real. Unfortunately for me me, the library had only the first 5 collections so I had to wait. But for Christmas this year I got all 4 Definitive Edition of the series, which means I finally get to finish this incredible series.

1. Paradise Lost, by John Milton

Every year I try to read something that is not only good, but good for me as well. Last year it was The Iliad of Homer, this year, I'm going to attempt Paradise Lost. It's kind of funny as a big part of why I am reading this book is the fact that I've had a novel called To Reign in Hell sitting on my "To be Read" shelf for the last couple of years, and it is a modern retelling of this classic. I'm doing the same thing with Dan Simmon's Hyperion and the Canterbury Tales, but I think that that book will have to wait for 2011.