To Reign in Hell

By: Steven Brust

Narrated by: Jiraiya Addams

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

The time is the beginning. The place is heaven. The story is the revolt of the angels - a war of magic, corruption, and intrigue that could destroy the universe. To Reign in Hell was Stephen Brust's second novel, and it's a thrilling retelling of the revolt of the angels, through the lens of epic fantasy.

©1984 Steven Brust (P)2019 Steven Brust

A highly engaging novel

I think this was a brilliant book. Highly ambitious and well written. The author tackles Christian mythology with brilliance and wit. The narrator did an excellent job with the characters giving each a distinct voice. This is the first of Steven Brust’s novels that I have read and it was a wonderful introduction to a writer of quality.

A great read

This book keeps nudging my mind even days after I finished it. This is how I know I really got into a book.
I got caught up in the characters and the scheming was devilish!

great

this is my first audiobook. and it has got me hooked. highly recommend this biblical fantasy for anyone

Thought Provoking Concepts with a bit of Whimsy

Some very intriguing imaginings of what might have been going on in Heaven. Theologically, don't even try and decompile this. It's not that kind of story. The Holy Spirit is missing, Lucifer and Satan are different people, and Lilith is the love interest instead of a plurality of monsters as the original Hebrew clearly indicates. This is a very light-hearted take on Heavenly affairs in some ways and if you approach it from any fundamentalist view you will find it entirely heretical. As a good story though, it does the trick and has some very fantastic exploratory eschatological concepts that are worth mulling over. It held my attention very well. The narrator does an excellent job overall, except maybe between Lilith and Leviathan. I couldn't tell these voices apart. I don't think that's worth dinging a whole star though. The subtleties of most of the other voices are incredible, especially Kyriel and Sith. For some reason I really found their interactions entertaining.

Not what you're expecting.

Probably one of my all-time favorites. If not a must have, then certainly a must read.

Brust Dips His Toes Into New Wave

I loved this book from the time I found it, right after reading Cowboy Feng's Space Bar & Grill. It's a text easily enjoyed on several levels, refusing to be locked into a category, able to be interpreted as historic fantasy or alegory or supernatural romance or satire.

The narrator does an excellent job of reading across those lines, playing some characters with depth and gravitas and others with whimsy and mirth. It's especially surprising when he manages to make his rather resonant baritone lilt with wistfulness.

I'd recommend the book to anyone. I'm happy to say that I can now also recommend the audiobook.

Terrifyingly great read!

First, I have to start off by stating that I got this book free of charge in exchange for a review, but as I always state, this does not in any way impact my review. My reviews are always honest and my own.

Brust is a writer primarily of fantasy and wow is he good. While telling a good story is always foremost, he also seems to enjoy challenging himself and doing things that are interesting. His Vlad Taltos series, about an assassin, is what he's known for, but To Reign in Hell is actually a re-telling of the story of the Fall, of the creation of everything and how Satan got kicked out. Not to give away too much, but in this version, it's not really Satan's fault.

It's one of those things that you would ordinarily want to avoid recommending to the extremely devout for fear of offending a sensitive nature (unless the title is just a nonstarter) but the truth is there's little here they'd recognize and if you were looking to stir up controversy and trouble at your local Bible study group then you'd probably have to worry less about them chasing you away with pitchforks and more about being accused of not having very interesting taste in fantasy literature.

I recommend this book!

This is a great book and the narrator Jiraiya Adams brought a lot to this reading.

Everyone in Heaven were friends, and well loved to begin with. Then there's doubts, a misunderstanding, and a friend that's trying to figure out how he feels and some jerk is causing problems just to get a promotion.

Brust also examines more philosophical points, such as should you do the right thing no matter what, or should you do something the right way even if you won't be guaranteed the best result?

I love this book because of the way Brust shows that neither side was exactly wrong, and gives some foundation to their actions. Ultimately, do you do the right thing or act the right way? This is a book I will always recommend.

Fantastic

A brilliant fantasy reinterpretation of the War in Heaven. Every character is well-defined and fleshed out, it was a delight to read. Five stars.

Story was amazing, narrator sold it.

I loved the narrator! I'll be looking for his other works. Brust is also amazing.