# Recommend me a devilish book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-devilish-book/370453 "2006-08-27T21:08:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-devilish-book/370453/21 "2006-08-28T02:09:25Z")
Mikhail Bulgakov’s _The Master And Margarita_ is pretty much essential reading for anyone who wants an urbane, hip, witty Prince of Darkness: it’s also the novel that inspired the Rolling Stones’ _Sympathy For The Devil_. Result! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-devilish-book/370453/22 "2006-08-28T02:11:19Z")
[QUOTE=Ukulele Ike] [This](http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000EICQUU/sr=1-2/qid=1156726054/ref=sr_1_2/104-3524033-7479952?ie=UTF8&s=books) is a very nice little anthology. [/QUOTE] Thats reminds me of this anthology with the same title : [Deals With the Devil](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0886776236/002-3538326-9378409?v=glance&n=283155). Good one. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-devilish-book/370453/23 "2006-08-28T02:22:54Z")
[Moonchild](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0877281475/), by Aleister Crowley. Classic occult romp. Read the back cover for a great synopsis. ---
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-devilish-book/370453/24 "2006-08-28T05:57:27Z")
Thank you, thank you, everyone. Had no idea there was such a wealth of literature on this subject. I will be sure to check all of them out, with glee. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-devilish-book/370453/25 "2006-08-28T12:21:23Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] And I don’t know if this is really what you’re after, but C.S. Lewis’s \*Screwtape Letters \*is very readable. [/QUOTE] (And there’s a wonderful audio version—now, alas, out of print—done by John Cleese.) ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-devilish-book/370453/26 "2006-08-28T13:10:56Z")
Somebody already beat me to _The Master and Margarita_. I’ll just add that it’s a superb novel and well worth reading. Can’t imagine why nobody’s brought up C.S. Lewis’ _The Screwtape Letters_. Yes, it’s intended primarily as a moral guide for everyday life, but it’s still a fascinating fantasy. \*The Great Divorce \* is an excellent one by Lewis in the same vein. I’d have to say the second one is pretty close to how I conceive of the afterlife … Taylor Caldwell’s \*Dialogues with the Devil \* was apparently inspired by _The Screwtape Letters_ and consists of a series of letters between the archangel Michael and His Majesty Below. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-devilish-book/370453/27 "2006-08-28T13:13:36Z")
Well, that’s what I get for posting before I’ve finished reading the thread. Someone else already has mentioned _Screwtape_. But the rest of my post still stands. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-devilish-book/370453/28 "2006-08-28T13:32:29Z")
[QUOTE=LonesomePolecat] Taylor Caldwell’s \*Dialogues with the Devil \* was apparently inspired by _The Screwtape Letters_ and consists of a series of letters between the archangel Michael and His Majesty Below. [/QUOTE] You beat me to Caldwell’s DIALOGUES. While we’re on Lewis, also, certain diabolical characters get in some good lines in his PERELANDRA and THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH. I also recommend THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY by James BeauSeigneur, which stars a rather appealling Anti-Christ. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2006, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-devilish-book/370453/29 "2006-08-28T13:45:39Z")
For a more down to earth Lucifer try Louis Cyphere from _Falling Angel_ by William Hjortsberg. A unique detective story filmed by Alan Parker as _Angel Heart_ starring Mickey Rourke, Robert de Niro and Lisa Bonet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-devilish-book/370453.md?page=1)