Review for Working for the Devil, by Lilith Saintcrow

Very suspenseful, with a lot of thought put into planning the plot and the whole enterprise. That was my first impression upon finishing the book. Lilith Saintcrow - it's kind of an obvious pseudonym, in my opinion - also excelled at describing her action scenes, which is a talent reserved the good multitaskers who can simplistically keep track of all her characters' whereabouts and quick-one-over reactions. It felt more like an expensive action film than fantasy or romance, because of all the futuristic technology involved and the lack of pornographic descriptions. I wonder if I should say satisfying read, because I definitely want more.

Surprisingly, none of the characters stood out all that much this time, aside from their quick outstanding characteristics. It makes me think that the author plans in bullet points. That's not to say that the characters don't have personalities, but that development didn't really happen yet. Which is understandable, given that this is the first book of a series, and a fourth to half the time, there are paragraphs where the protagonist has to lap deep into thought so that readers get a background story. The dialogue is also a bit clipped, with a lot of attitude thrown in, which consistently reminds me of the pop star Pink. Now personally, I like Pink, so I think of that as a favorable and somewhat fun impression, but I know that's not the case for everyone else.

Having a polytheistic world with a bisexual main character is kind of complicated. Aside from a singular love triangle that was there this time, I anticipate a whole lot more of romantic confusion. I suppose the protagonist's, Dante's, honor complex might simplify that a bit. At the very least, I assume it means one sexual partner at a time. With the polytheism, there's the assumption that aside from the Christian devil and the Egyptian god of Death, that there are far many more gods to be trifled with. The classical humanist belief system here is kind of set in - determinists shouldn't read this book, not that I imagine there to be a lot of American determinists out there. That kind of mindset is not really for the modern age, anymore.

I have to wonder at the linguistic choice of altering Christian to Christos, when everyone reading can obviously see which religion she is referring to. Maybe it's to enforce that this is a fantasy book, and not to take offense at anything if any of it steps on anyone's religious beliefs. I know that it would offend monotheists, probably, if they're very strict about it. Then again, I don't know if a strict monotheist would touch the book after reading its title. There's also the question of whether classical humanism interferes with monotheistic religious beliefs, but the theorists will puzzle that one out for me. Even though the author uses classical humanist stories and beliefs as a basis for her protagonist, this book is not a rewriting of Dante's Inferno, merely a tribute.

I was surprised that there was no Latin, given that it is an old dead language often used in novels as part of magic. However, I understood that since Danny's god is Anubis, that Egyptian is spoken out of relevance and respect. Depending on the god, each must speak a different language. This book is a suitable offering for the ancient stories and gods. However, I will have to keep reading to see if all parts of the series are as good an offering.