Suggest books regarding the battle for heaven and hell

I am looking for books that deal particularly with Satan and his minions cast out of heaven.

I of course, know of references in the bible and Paradise lost is a given as well.
Any other book suggestions I should look into?

thank you in advance,

Osip

I have NOT read it, but have heard from people whom I respect, that Elaine Pagels’ The Origin of Satan is a super book on the subject. Of course, YMMV.

To Reign in Hell by Steven Brust is a fantastic take on the battle for Heaven. It’s easily my favorite of the genre

Are you looking for stuff describes religious cannon on the subject, or just interesting takes on the story.

If the latter, the young adult series His Dark Material’s is a pretty original take on the battle between God and Fallen Angels. Gods a tyrant, and a group of humans and other mortal creatures join with the fallen to try and oust him.

Its pretty edgy for a series thats supposedly written for children.

Well, if on the off chance you’re looking for a bit of comedy…

I’ve always enjoyed Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

One of the main characters is a quite entertaining minion of Satan’s.

But it seems you may be looking for something more serious.

Humans by Donald Westlake is funny, and the tables are turned. God is ready to give up on humanity kablooey, but Satan wants Him to stay in the game. :slight_smile:

What’s rather wierd is that I’ve been looking for somewhat the same thing for the past few weeks.

Thanks for posting this.

On a kinda-related note, I liked E.E.Y. Hales’ Chariot of Fire, wherein Antony and Cleopatra, among others, plot to take over all rings of hell…

well, maybe not your typical story of the devil book, but…

Memnoch the devil by Anne Rice.

Definitely His Dark Materials: deliberately invokes Milton {this is War In Heaven, Round Two}, with quite a bit of William Blake thrown into the mix. Don’t be put off by the idea that the trilogy are “kids” books: even the most erudite of teenagers would be hard put to keep up, and you really do need to be an adult to keep up with all the references - Pullman doesn’t pull any punches, and by God he can write. Harry Potter it ain’t.

Another recommendation for His Dark Materials here. Be warned though, Pullman really rips into the church, if you find that offensive you aren’t going to enjoy them.

“For Love of Evil” is one of Piers Anthony’s best books.
For whatever that’s worth.

A bit of both actually, I originally ran across this curiosity reading of all things “the Club Dumas” by Arturo Perez Reverte.

Much of this book does not deal with the devil or the war between heaven and hell. Thru out this book There is a character that makes brief mention (from a devils point of view) and as much of his storyline and characters conversation can be referanced back to earlier books (such as" Le Diable Amoureux" by Jacques Cazotte) A quote Paraphrased are “I fought with an angle for 100 days and 100 nights, I lost, but I did learn a few tricks from that encounter.”

So, having an idea whee to look forward to religious cannon on the subject is I feel a good place to start, finding more modern takes also help understand views and ideas of others diluted from the church cannon.

So, to make this short… Yes, I am interested in both.

thanks to everyone so far for contributing.

Osip

Tangentially related:

Waiting for the Galactic Bus and The Snake Oil Wars by Parke Godwin. Aliens set up heaven and hell on earth in a savage satire on religion.

Prophets for the End of Time by Marcos Donnelly. “The Heavenly Hosts, having decided the time has come for the Apocalypse, name two unlikely humans who will enable the fulfillment of ancient prophecies.” Equally satiric and well-written.

Not that original, actually. Much of Pullman’s plot in book 3 is cribbed from 3rd-5th century gnostic and Marcionite fantasies. (Disclosure: I liked the first book very much, and found it quite imaginative. The second was okay. The third seemed terribly derivative, and shallow. Obviously other people’s mileage varies.)

Slight hijack: I hated (make that hated hated hated) Pullman’s pretentious “Dark Materials” books. There, I’ve said it. And I still consider myself an intelligent, well-read person.

On the topic at hand, don’t think I have anything to recommend, though Mark Twain and C.S. Lewis (his Screwtape stuff) both wrote in interesting ways about the devil.

The absolute best work in this genre is not a novel, but Ray Russell’s short short story, “I am Returning.” It explains heaven & hell, and all human accomplishment in a mere 1500 words. I continue to be astonished by its brilliance every time I reread it.

Heinlein’s Job has Satan as a major character. He seems like a pretty nice guy…

Hehe, I came into this thread specifically to mention that one. :wink:

Likewise, most excellent satires about our humble beginnings and the eternal struggle between good and evil of religion. Such as it were. I have both these books, and I re-read em all the time. :slight_smile:

Not strictly about the battle for heaven and hell, but The Master And Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, gives a very interesting take on Satan: it also inspired Sympathy For The Devil, by the Rolling Stones.