For Love of Evil: Book Six of Incarnations of Immortality (Incarnations of Immortality, 6)

Of the seven books from Piers Anthony's Incarnation of Immortality series, For Love of Evil is better than all in the series with the exception of On a Pale Horse. Not to say that it is worse than On a Pale Horse but it is as least as good. For Love of Evil is a thought provoking and finely written piece of work for this genre. I do feel that some area of the book was left sketchy jumping years in advance leaving it up to the reader's imagination to fill the left out parts. But considering that Piers Anthony compacted 800 years into 383 pages it is understandable why some descriptive lead-ins were omitted. Piers Anthony was in top form when writing this installment. He is also an atheist, by his own admission, but has still used a very original view of how the age old deities conduct business. Piers Anthony's synopsis of Satan, AKA Parry, in For Love of Evil, is not necessarily evil, only evil by the accepted norms of the current society when the office is taken. Parry believes there is much evil in humanity that is none of his doing, and that the persons doing these atrocities slip though the bureaucratic cracks and end up in heaven. By the same turn people are going to hell for reasons that he does not believe to be sound. Because of these beliefs he creates a heaven in hell for these people, and sets out to try and work out a new set of rules with his counterpart who apparently is not paying attention. For Love of Evil has a storyline that could be read as a stand alone book and the reader would not loose any of the storyline not having read the other six books in the Incarnation of Immortality series. Sadly number seven, An Eternity, was a let down for a series of books that gave us an interesting idea, what if the immortals are just everyday Joe's.

I truely enjoyed this book. I actually read it when it first came out (circa 1989) and again now. Now I remember why I loved it so.I would suggest reading 'On a Pale Horse' first (as an intro to the series and illustrates how Satan is a jerk to the other Incarnations), 'Wielding an Hourglass' as optional (well written and gives more depth to Satan's character), 'Being a Green Mother' (Did not truely enjoy this one until I got to the last 4 chapters. When taking in the context of a supporting book to 'For Love of Evil' it enhances that story well.), and 'Love of Evil' last (the best one). (I did not read 'And Eternity').Pros: I enjoyed how Piers Anthony illustrated the humanity of Satan along with the reasoning and stuggles that comes with his role as Incarnation of Evil. Once you get past the first few chapters (slow story line) it just gets better from there. It really explains and ties togeather why Satan acted and did what he did in the previous books. It also ended in what could of been a extremely tragic and depressing ending on a high note. I put the book down after I've finished feeling good and that 'alls well that ends well'. I love how the main protaganist (hero of the story) was Satan.Cons: If you haven't read the previous books (or at least the ones I suggested) you can feel cheated as the author just summarizes the plots of the grand schemes the hero (Satan!) goes through in the 2nd half of the story. Do yourself a favor and read the others. Makes this book so much better.

In the world of what might be the future of mankind, the great showdown between Good and Evil is about to take place. And it is Satan's intention to win. In perhaps the best of his Incarnation works, Piers Anthony has taken the world's oldest Antagonist, Satan (aka Lucifer, Scrotch, the Devil) and turned him into a great Protagonist. One great aspect is that it can be read as part of the series or by itself. It contains enough of the plot of all the work that a novice Anthony reader would not get lost. However, it is not a rehash of what has already been written. Because of the acute difference in viewpoint, it is a completely new story. Anyway, read and enjoy!

The young sorcerer, Parry, lived with his adopted father (who taught him the ways of magic), and his love, Jolie. This was in the 13th century. A crusade swept the country of France, devastating it, and incidentally claiming Jolie's life. Thanatos came to claim her soul, but instead, he let her reside in a drop of blood on Parry's wrist. Parry soon became a Franciscan, than Dominican monk. He was guided by Jolie's ghost, whom no one else saw. Afterwards, he became an Inquisitor. Something unexpected happened. Parry was corrupted by a demoness sent by Lucifer, for foiling all of His plans. Parry was then enslaved by Lucifer, but eventually over threw Him. Parry then became Satan, the new Lord of Hell; the Incarnation of Evil.

I'll be straight-forward with you: this book was without a doubt the best book in the series, in my opinion. I was anxious to see how Anthony would pull off a story about Satan without seeming like a Satanist. Of course, he did a perfect job! I was very impressed with this book. He perfectly captured the atmosphere surrounding hell and the legend of the devil. He piqued my curiosity in each of the previous books by having Satan make his "cameos." He fully explains not only why Satan is evil, but why his role is important in the whole scheme of things. Very touching at times, and refreshingly brash at others, this book is one of the best you'll ever read, if you read it with an open mind.