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!
Thats reminds me of this anthology with the same title : Deals With the Devil. Good one.
Moonchild, by Aleister Crowley. Classic occult romp. Read the back cover for a great synopsis.
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.
(And there’s a wonderful audio version—now, alas, out of print—done by John Cleese.)
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.
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.
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.
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.