Synopsis: Disgusted with God’s plan for Judgment Day, Satan has quit his job and abandoned Hell in favor of a quiet retirement in Washington, D.C. But life on Earth is tricky for an ex-angel with a short fuse and no impulse control. When a parking attendant mysteriously bursts into flames and a weight-challenged woman somehow ends up in low-Earth orbit, Satan finds that he has attracted the attention of several meddlesome federal agencies. Even worse, there are signs that the governor of Texas has somehow gone ahead and started up the end of the world without him.
Review: The title of this book most definitely is striking, and my first thought upon seeing it was “oh boy this title is going to get a reaction”. However after reading the synopsis I decided it was worth a read. I haven’t read a lot of comedic books, so my only hope going in was that it maintained the same level of funny that the synopsis has. Thankfully, Miller delivered, and the book was hilarious.
Satan as a character is really amusing to me. The book starts off with Satan already abandoning hell to live on earth, and it turns out Satan is passing his time, or rather amusing himself, by being a professor teaching Introduction to Religion. To say Satan’s take on religion is interesting would be understating it.
The Satan we all know about is the one who wants to bring about the end of the world, but not Miller’s Satan. Satan has got it all figured out, if he starts the apocalypse, he loses, so Satan says screw it and goes to earth. Turns out someone else had other ideas, and starts everything without him.
Throughout the book Satan is trying to figure out what is going on and essentially how to stop the end of the world from happening. Although you shouldn’t go thinking of Satan some great guy looking out for humanity, Satan often leaves bodies and more than one fire in his wake. Satan does everything with his own flare.
The book includes a lot of interesting and amusing characters, a ex-CIA guy, a “dirty” hippie, a hot FBI agent, a power hungry governor, and of course a televangelist. Miller’s take on how the world works is a hilarious commentary on our society. As a native Texan myself I also love how so much of the story takes place here in Texas; there were so many instances of me thinking to myself, “I know exactly what he means”.
Overall, this book is great fun read. And while there is of course the humorous element, there is a lot of great commentary on our society. The writing is smart too, which is a huge plus. I think this is a great read for anyone who is wanting to escape the world for a little while and have a little fun, it will definitely make you laugh.
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