Review for To Hell and Back, by Lilith Saintcrow

While I waited impatiently at the end of the previous book to finally return to this arc, now that the entire series is finished, I'm not sure what to say. Peculiar, isn't it? From the graphic descriptions of Dante's injuries in the first and second chapters, and the eerie silence that she keeps tightly controlled over her mind, we can infer what happened. It seems as though she has been broken, and compared to this rage-filled mournful silence, I'd somewhat missed the voice of the sarcastic pessimist through which she thought of everything. Because of this, however, the descriptions of the towns and cities that the characters travel are more noticeable to me, setting the stage for every few chapters, and honestly making me wish I were better traveled. The only reprieve Dante got this time was the chapter in which she and Leander Beaudry toured a city with Japhrimel behind them, stopping to buy goods.

It occurs to me now - should have before, really - that the changes in the names of cities are to reflect the way languages change, considering that this is set around several hundred years into the future. Given the historical outline that the author gives us about any city every time before any character interaction or action begins, it feels like an odd kind of reverse historical fiction. The way that differences in religion across the world hardly matters anymore in this picture, and the reliance on oil has become a reliance on atomic power, answers two of the most pressing concerns to the present political climate. (Though I take the author's word when she says that she is not trying to discuss anything controversial in these stories.)

Most of the character interaction between Japhrimel and Dante led towards the point where all her questions are answered when Sephrimel took the object out of her body. Danny now knows why Japhrimel refuses to answer any of the questions - it is shame. There is also a reversal in the way that when Sephrimel gave her the Knife, Danny is no longer helpless against demons. Now that he does answer the questions, it is like one of those old sayings about not asking questions that one doesn't truly want the answers to. Another thing is that the presence of Jace Monroe's voice in her head is gone after Sephrimel, and I didn't know that he and the others still existed until they fought Lucifer. Jace was there to reinforce Danny's humanity, and he still does.

Here is another question without answers: why were the Anhelikos hostile, and in that world, is there a Christian god - since there is a Christian devil?

Another silly idea that occurs to me is that Danny might be afraid of vampires because of the blood connection - like they are a race of nocturnal, incredibly charismatic, giant mosquitos. With fangs instead of the sucking tube. That object inside of Danny also made Lucifer remind me of the creatures from the movie Alien, the way wasps attack caterpillars and breed inside them. Perhaps the author wanted to reinforce the complete inhumanity - in either animal or in terms of evil - most demons really are, reinforcing Japhrimel's warnings for her not to stray from his suffocating protection.

He also seems to understand that she can't help siding with Eve, accepting their differences with a shrug, even as he is furiously possessive. A possessiveness that kept her alive, and made him jealous and suspicious ("Did you accept anything from Lucifer?"), and understanding because for the longest time, Lucifer broke him too. His explanations of his disobedience long before Dante was born seems to be the one thing they have in common: they are both stubborn, and even when broken, will never give in or give up, though his methods and subtlety must come from staying alive in Hell for so long.

It felt like all the books with arcs other than the main plot did not have to occur, until Danny fought Lucifer and a Necromance's natural protections came to the fore. It was also a set up so that Dante's relationships with her god and goddess - Sekmet was given much less time, but because of her temper I'm sure they would have gotten along anyway - can be developed. While Eve was a major player and someone Danny fought to protect, I am not sure she mattered in the end, given that Lucifer can remove all the traces of Doreen and Danny from her being.

Second question here I don't actually want answered: what is Japhrimel's true form?

It was a pity that Leander Beaudry never came back. Danny was half kidding when she said she regarded him a toy (to Japhrimel's relief), but even with his betrayal and indirectly working for Lucifer, I think she would have forgiven him enough for them to be friends, given that she forgave Lucas without much of a second thought. And Lucifer and Hell's agents controlling the world is a good fodder idea for any conspiracy theorist. McKinley may also be a good friend, despite his ideas of how Japhrimel's and Dante's relationship should be. (Why doesn't he smell like demon?) What's Kgembe's role? And now all Dante's living friends are Japhrimel's mutual friends.

Third question not to be answered: Why are demons physically bound to their human wives so much that time away from them makes them starved and gaunt? This happened to both Japhrimel and Lucifer. It seems as though it has an effect on the females too, as Danny longed for Japhrimel when he was dead. Should I suspect that Eve would have that same reaction as well, far into the future after that epilogue in which Lucifer has turned into an urn of ash? (Could the story have been wrapped up if Eve had not seduced Lucifer, thus robbing him of a good portion of his power?)

The one thing that Lilith Saintcrow unequivocably doesn't refrain from saying through these stories is that people change a lot in their relationships. They are never easy, especially romantic relationships, with a heavy undercurrent of bargaining for power and distrust that all parties involved must overcome. This one point makes this series unique to me, the complete lack of shying away from deep, detailed character interactions and their complete emotional consequences, an accurate reflection of many things that happen between people in reality.