The Other Side of the Story, Lucifer: Finally, I

Stepping into Lucifer's mind... I loved the idea behind this book and I love how the author pulled it off. I ate it up! It was funny, surprising and interesting. I loved reading it and would love to read more books just like it (books that dare to to make us laugh in a darker way).

Beautiful. Not exactly the first words you think of to describe Lucifer. And yet this is the only word that would register to my addled brain when I finished this book. As an avid bookworm, it's almost frustrating to see the generic list of "popular" books or "classic" books lining the top 10 lists of many readers. I, Lucifer takes a step out of the ordinary and gives us a brilliant and alien observation of the lives we take for granted.

The idea of Lucifer trying his hand in the mortal plane of existence has been done. That's a given. But they always retained it as it being his idea, and involved him not giving up his ability to do as he pleases along with his cosmological powers. For once, it was the Pompous One's idea and Lucifer decides to get in on the action. And another first, Lucifer has to go on with the life of the body he inhabits. He doesn't exactly stick to the agenda and he cheats a little to make things easier, but for once, Lucifer has been given the ultimate thought experiment: To be a fully functioning and thoughtful being who finds out what it's like t be human.

Lucifer of course can't help but tell us of his "life". Who he was. Who he is. And most of all, why. He points out that he isn't evil and gets no "joy" form it per se, but just wants to be himself. Wants to be free and unentwined from that which he came from. He also points out several misconceptions of the way we think of the devil. It all leads to a greater understanding of the emotions of the rebellious and the free. Because to be free and to live freely are entirely two different animals.

To truly appreciate this book, you have to put yourself in the mindset that you're looking for the idea behind it all while being entertained and that Lucifer is a character. A figment. It's almost hard not to love who he is. Charming, debonair, witty, indulgent, logical. That which all who have tasted freedom from restriction wish they could bring themselves to be. But he's not real. He was created in the first place to be put on a pedestal as an example, a character to portray an idea to Christians. Instead of saying "Don't think too much or you'll realize none of this makes sense" they said "DOn't think too much or you'll be damned to Hell for all eternity"

You could take this book from fiction, take the Bible from religion, and set them next to each other in the religious fiction section. Lucifer, if anything, gives us the ability to see ourselves from the other side of the mirror. TO see life form high above.

Though much of it is entertainment, rest assured, there are morals and messages. And much emotion. Lucifer comes down to zero hour and actually hits a snag. One placed just precisely right. Not too romanticized, not too cliche, just, right. No final joke. No grand haha. Just simplistic and honest emotion.

This is a thinking book. And there are those who feel they have been so intellectually stimulated that they cannot be so simply intrigued by a book life this (imagine them pointing their noses in the air at that point). The originality eludes many who look form too harsh a perspective. This is neither meant to be every second and thought of Lucifer nor is it supposed to be a continuous story. It's more like a collection of honest and bold thinking stories, told from just the right side of things.

Highly recommended. Finally a book you feel good about putting at the top of your reading list.

Glen Duncan is hilarious and serious, his usual mode of writing.
With humor and gravity, he winds his way thru the everlasting question, why would/did God let Satan have his own way, and any power at all? The strain to understand, from a Christian viewpoint, the black and white difference between right and wrong is at play here, in full force. Questioning the question itself.
The pivotal philosophical point is imbued with laughs, jabs and insight to the human catch 22 around good and evil. The thing I like the most about Duncan is when his writing gets a little 'thin' we can see his 'process' which is fascinating.
Go for it, read it and love it!

There have been many user reviews of this novel posted stating that it is brilliant, trail-blazing, the work of a fantastic new author who finds himself striding among the greats or capable of opening one's mind to the truth of dogmatic beliefs.
They are wrong.
There have also been many user reviews of this novel posted stating that it is difficult to follow, narcissistic in the extreme, devoid of all value and utterly incapable of entertaining the reader.
They are also wrong.
This novel is pop fiction done right, no more and no less. The author does indeed use an anagram of his own name to identify the primary character, or at least his host. The writing style can be best described as a stream of consciousness vomited forth by a madman. There is no real point or moral to the story nor is there any likeable character to be found between these covers.
Yet it entertains.
Lucifer is a right bastard. He also happens to be something of a wuss, a whiner, a petty little man trapped within the body of a very nearly all-powerful being. Lucifer is by turns cruel and pathetic, frightening in the depth of his rage and yet almost sadly impotent in it. He does not elicit sympathy or even empathy. He exists almost as the perfect antithesis of a sympathetic or likeable character, someone with whom virtually no one can identify, and it is this great failing on Lucifer's part that has garnered so many negative reviews for this novel.
And yet...
He entertains.
Lucifer's wit is nothing if not quick and is sharp enough to cut. Simple observations of characters, places and situations both past and present are given in a brutally sarcastic and crude manner that conflicts strongly with the sympathetic visage Lucifer attempts to construct for himself. The author's ability to string broken fragments of thoughts and sentences together in a such a manner as to showcase a convincing running inner dialogue of a madman should be applauded: The incessant lies and little deceits foisted upon the reader by Lucifer throughout the novel are nothing if not a convincing showcase of the broken mind of a being that would dare rebel against God. We are given excuses and explanations as to the true nature of Hell and the devil himself by Lucifer only to find these revelations betrayed by his own inconsistency and inability to keep a lie straight.
Ultimately the detractors of this novel have it right: It truly is quite shallow, the stream of consciousness style of writing can be difficult to follow if you are inattentive or are an inexperienced reader and the writer's own ego shows through in places. It won't make you question your faith nor will it make you pick up a Bible if you are already of the Atheistic persuasion.
However, the supporters also largely have it right: This is a marvelously entertaining novel. You don't have to like someone to be entertained by them and this novel showcases that simple truth beautifully. Much of this work can be said to be clever merely for the sake of being clever and yet that never harms the final product. This is popular fiction at its best: Relatively short, witty, clever almost to a fault, at turns hilarious and frustratingly pathetic and, above all, endlessly entertaining.
If you're on the fence about this book, take the plunge. It won't change your life or make you a better man but it will keep you better entertained and give you more laughs than whatever else it is you happen to be browsing on this site.

This entire book can be summed up thusly: "Look how clever I am. Just look how cheeky; I am so delightfully progressive. Admire my cunning and originality, for I am wit personified!"

It gets old. Fast.

I've got no issue with the reality the book lays out, and take no offense to the very loose metaphysics the author constantly espouses. It's just that tone - that infuriatingly smug tone that isn't backed up by real writing prowess - that drove me nuts. Were it the tone of the character alone, I would not mind, but the character felt like a thin veneer over the author's obvious need to publish his oh-so-clever rants.

The story itself is slow and asks little emotional investment; I put this book aside easily about 3/4 of the way through, leaving it just outside the john in case I didn't have time to grab anything more engaging on the way in. The characters are interesting in background but flat in execution. The main characteer of Lucifer is no execption, though he serves as the author's mouthpiece, and can occasionally be witty.

If you've just got an itch for the occidental mythology, read this book. If you're one of those self-proclaimed clever people who thinks that a book starring Lucifer as an anti-hero is totally original, read this book (and then expand your library, please). Otherwise, skip this and hope that Mr. Duncan has gotten this out of his system in time for his next book.

Hard biting with gentle and not so gentle humour. Extremely well written (if a tad crude in places), it's a(n otherworld) history lesson you shouldn't miss. This amusing look at heaven and hell, and everything in between, will certainly make you think. You'll be wiping the tears one minute and clenching your teeth the next!

In a novel that starts with a brilliant idea, this story falls drastically short of its potential. The storytelling is incoherent and impossible to follow at places, it goes off on utterly disconnected tangents, and seemingly ignores all basic conventions of good story telling. While certain leeway has to be given due to the story's premise, this story takes that leeway, rips it open, rapes it, and skips rope with it.

Some enjoyable parts, such as Lucifer's recollections on Heaven and Eden, made me keep reading, but only to be terribly disappointed with the story as a whole. IF you're looking for a good read, or even a read that makes sense, do not turn to read this book.

The cover art caught my attention as I scanned the book shelves. But only a few pages in, I realized I had been duped. The story offers nothing new or interesting. The humor can barely be considered humor. Half way through the book I was ready to put it down or attempt to get a refund. The story is all over the place, which would not be a problem if any of the story lines were interesting. I was glad to finish the book so I could move onto something more interesting. Please save your time and money and buy anything else.

The concept of I, Lucifer is a great one. Lucifer sets the story straight and God gives him a chance to redeem himself by living out a good life in the body of an unsuccessful writer Declan Gunn (an anagram for Glen Duncan, the author is also witty). The beginning of the book was so entertaining, if nothing else Lucifer definitely has a wicked sense of humor. However toward the middle and end of the book I found my self annoyed by the constant tangents that Lucifer went off on. I mean "I get it your evil" but does it have to be this scattered?

A good concept. Walking through the book store I saw the same old story. This book grabbed my eye as possibly something different.
Unfortunately, the concept was undermined by writing that resembled a deposition. Perhaps the book is written well for a drugged out, middle aged Satan, but I found it difficult to follow. The narative was more of an inside joke for the writer than an explanation or good storytelling.

Its merely an ok book. The writing is passable The humor is dry and attempts to be witty and high brow but ends up tripping over its own pretentiousness. It tries to re-create the atmosphere of Letters From the Earth by Mark Twain but seems to have missed the point completely.
I recommend this book only as a conversation piece. For the most part the conversation ends up being "hmm a book about Lucifer" "Yeah, surprisingly a poorly written book".

You know how people just try way too hard sometimes? That was the feeling I got when I read this book. Duncan used 27 words when he could have used 3. Next time, just use the 3 words and save us 200 pages.

I bought this book because a friend recommended it to me. The premise seemed interesting enough to read during the commute. The beginning was good, but just as I started to get to the middle, it occurred to me that the author is clearly writing himself into this book. The human the devil possesses for the purpose of this story has a name that clearly resembles the authors. Also, the character of the Devil is clearly what he wants or wanted to be, a confident, successfully romantic character. If I want to read books where authors hide themselves in books, I'd get the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, which I also couldn't read for the same reason, so I guess I don't want that....stuff....
Anyway, I could see how some people might like it but it's just not my cup of tea.

Book starts out very strong. The author tends to get hung up trying to use an elevated diction, and often loses the reader. The story gets very strange towards the end, as if even the author didn't quite know where to go with it.