Rating: 
Summary: A brief note
Review: A fiendishly clever and wonderfully subversive story (how could it be anything else?). In case it escapes notice, Declan Gunn, the (un)fortunate embodiment of Lucifer, is an anagram for the author, Glen Duncan.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Concept, Convoluded writing
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Good Concept, Convoluded writing
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars
Review: Awesome. If the idea of the devil as a guy with horns, wings, red scaly skin, a forked tail, and pitchfork makes you laugh and you appreciate some well constructed vulgarity you should give this a read. It felt to me like the author wished he could be the devil himself, and really enjoyed writing this book. The character he creates is every bit as mischievous and cunning as you would expect, and half the time you don't know whether to believe him or not. Particularly amusing are the potshots he takes at religious figures such as Adam, Eve, Gabriel, Christ, etc. Not recommended for anyone who actually believes that anything in the bible really happened (you know who you are).
Rating:
Summary: Tickles Both Sides
Review: Being a fan both of popular fiction and the meatier, more literary kind, I was delightfully surprised to find, at the end of this novel, that Mr. Duncan has written a masterful piece that ably straddles both sides of the fiction genre. It is an immensely entertaining read, with a tempo that varies like a classic symphony in four movements and a lead character that you will find, almost aghast and perhaps in spite of yourself, you carry around with you in your coat pocket, so charming is he! Mr. Duncan's insights into the human condition, through the eyes not only of Lucifer but also of the bona fide humans he interfaces with, enrich this work further. Wit, wisdom, sometimes lyrical, sometimes harsh and ugly (he IS Lucifer, after all), Mr. Duncan's novel encompasses it all. Don't miss this gem!
Rating: 
Summary: Paridise - regained in a time share
Review: Glen Ducan writes in a manic style, perhaps more suited to an internet blog than a novel. Of course, the writing style is intentional. The devil has taken advantage of an offer from the big guy (God) to inhabit a mortal frame for thirty days. Lucifer tries it all, drugs, sex, and the wild world of movie production. Lucifer shares with us all of his opinions and present sense impressions with his his readers. This book is not for the easily offended. Lucifer can be obnoxious and puriant. The book's galloping style of cutting back and forth from past memories to current events can be dizzying. It is not bad writing, but an attempt to show use the thought processes of his satanic majesty. At the end of the book, Lucifer is tempted by a number of people. What choices does Lucifer make? Does he stay honest to Milton's ending, "Better to reign........" The ending is interesting and not completely resolved. Do I smell sequel? I enjoyed the book, even if Lucifer gets to be a little too pedantic. It's a real pager turner. What will Satan complain about next? And yes Declan Gunn, the mortal vessel of Lucifer (and burned out and remorseful author) spells our real author Duncan Gunn.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, Fallen Angels *Do* Have More Fun
Review: Glen Duncan's "I, Lucifer," is an entertaining, hip-hop-be-bop riff on the existence of Satan and his role in the universe. Told in a witty, pell-mell screed that tears off down seemingly random tangents at a moment's notice and replete with parenthetical asides, "I, Lucifer" has moments of sheer brilliance. The plot is straightforward. Lucifer, whose very existence is a daily nightmare of pain, is offered the opportunity to get back into Heaven - all he has to do is occupy the body of a lowly writer (Declan Gunn -- one of the book's less successful attempts at wit) for a month without committing any major sin that would anger God. Lucifer, with no intention of returning to Heavan, thinks it would be a larf and accepts. Soon he has used his minions to create a flush bank account, obtained residency at a swanky hotel, and engages in a full-blooded orgy of wine, women, drugs, and an apparent assault on Hollywood in the guise of writing the next great screenplay. "I, Lucifer" is at its best when Lucifer drops some bombshells about the world as he sees it -- original sin, the concept of time, the truth about the Fall, etc. Duncan has actually done his homework, and the text is solidly grounded in its subject, and he makes some sense out of the various paradoxes in the popular conception of Lucifer. (Why, for example, would Lucifer want Jesus to sacrifice himself for our sins, thereby confirming and validating the Christian faith? Wouldn't the archetype of evil have better strategies than that?) "I, Lucifer" is also a lot of fun when it savages our modern world. Elton John's attorneys probably considered a lawsuit after the savaging he receives from Lucifer's savage typewriter. Here, Duncan's writing is at its most crisp and entertaining. Lucifer also goes to great, entertaining lengths to describe the wonders that are the human senses. The image of Satan "letting it all hang out" just to feel the breeze, thereby shocking the neighbors, is delightful. However, it is a bit inconsistent. Satan is repeatedly agog at the wonders of the senses, and regales us with tales of sniffing such wondrous items as dog manure, but yet Satan does not have much to say about the wonders of cocaine (does he really, really need the stuff?) or the details of his repeated appointments with London's high-end escorts? Considering the amount of snorting and wenching going on, Lucifer's reticence is a bit surprising. There is a sub-plot about Lucifer writing the next great screenplay, a true perspective on the Fall from Grace, but this doesn't really make sense, since there is no way that Lucifer is going to pull this off in the 30-day time period he has, and after Lucifer has left Gunn's body, there is no way that Gunn is going to know the story in order to sell it. This angle does allow for some good jokes at Hollywood's expense and we get to see the comeuppance of a rival of Gunn's, but it doesn't quite jibe. Also, the book kind of goes off-kilter when Lucifer, unable to keep Gunn's tics from affecting his behavior, exchanges a tender moment with Penelope, Gunn's ex-girlfriend. Even though it's interesting to see Lucifer experiencing a bit of a bout of conscience, the Lucifer of these scenes does not match the Lucifer of the rest of the story. A bit of a stilted ending, with the arrival of Rafael, sends this tale out with a whimper more than a bang, but a clever and chilling postscript nearly saves the day. If you are not familiar with first-person, stream-of-conscience writing, you may want to skim a few pages before buying the book. Apparently not everyone likes this writing style. Duncan pulls it off very well, and it's appropriate for the piece - is Lucifer the kind of guy who would allow anyone else to speak for him?
Rating:
Summary: Yes, Fallen Angels *Do* Have More Fun
Review: Glen Duncan's "I, Lucifer," is an entertaining, hip-hop-be-bop riff on the existence of Satan and his role in the universe. Told in a witty, pell-mell screed that tears off down seemingly random tangents at a moment's notice and replete with parenthetical asides, "I, Lucifer" has moments of sheer brilliance. The plot is straightforward. Lucifer, whose very existence is a daily nightmare of pain, is offered the opportunity to get back into Heaven - all he has to do is occupy the body of a lowly writer (Declan Gunn -- one of the book's less successful attempts at wit) for a month without committing any major sin that would anger God. Lucifer, with no intention of returning to Heavan, thinks it would be a larf and accepts. Soon he has used his minions to create a flush bank account, obtained residency at a swanky hotel, and engages in a full-blooded orgy of wine, women, drugs, and an apparent assault on Hollywood in the guise of writing the next great screenplay. "I, Lucifer" is at its best when Lucifer drops some bombshells about the world as he sees it -- original sin, the concept of time, the truth about the Fall, etc. Duncan has actually done his homework, and the text is solidly grounded in its subject, and he makes some sense out of the various paradoxes in the popular conception of Lucifer. (Why, for example, would Lucifer want Jesus to sacrifice himself for our sins, thereby confirming and validating the Christian faith? Wouldn't the archetype of evil have better strategies than that?) "I, Lucifer" is also a lot of fun when it savages our modern world. Elton John's attorneys probably considered a lawsuit after the savaging he receives from Lucifer's savage typewriter. Here, Duncan's writing is at its most crisp and entertaining. Lucifer also goes to great, entertaining lengths to describe the wonders that are the human senses. The image of Satan "letting it all hang out" just to feel the breeze, thereby shocking the neighbors, is delightful. However, it is a bit inconsistent. Satan is repeatedly agog at the wonders of the senses, and regales us with tales of sniffing such wondrous items as dog manure, but yet Satan does not have much to say about the wonders of cocaine (does he really, really need the stuff?) or the details of his repeated appointments with London's high-end escorts? Considering the amount of snorting and wenching going on, Lucifer's reticence is a bit surprising. There is a sub-plot about Lucifer writing the next great screenplay, a true perspective on the Fall from Grace, but this doesn't really make sense, since there is no way that Lucifer is going to pull this off in the 30-day time period he has, and after Lucifer has left Gunn's body, there is no way that Gunn is going to know the story in order to sell it. This angle does allow for some good jokes at Hollywood's expense and we get to see the comeuppance of a rival of Gunn's, but it doesn't quite jibe. Also, the book kind of goes off-kilter when Lucifer, unable to keep Gunn's tics from affecting his behavior, exchanges a tender moment with Penelope, Gunn's ex-girlfriend. Even though it's interesting to see Lucifer experiencing a bit of a bout of conscience, the Lucifer of these scenes does not match the Lucifer of the rest of the story. A bit of a stilted ending, with the arrival of Rafael, sends this tale out with a whimper more than a bang, but a clever and chilling postscript nearly saves the day. If you are not familiar with first-person, stream-of-conscience writing, you may want to skim a few pages before buying the book. Apparently not everyone likes this writing style. Duncan pulls it off very well, and it's appropriate for the piece - is Lucifer the kind of guy who would allow anyone else to speak for him?
Rating:
Summary: I laughed and laughed!
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting...
Review: I enjoyed this book, but the main character was a little too simple for my tastes. supposedly the incarnation of evil spends his time on earth writtingg his meoirs and a screenplay? i wolud give Lucifer more credit than that. still, the book has many interesting ideas on good, evil and the role of God and the devil in our lives. there is also the added layer of the fact that the narrator lies to us blatantly on several occasions. just what else written is a lie?
the helter skelter stream of conciousness that is Lucifer's mind is also difficyult to read at times. sometimes i think i understood what was being said. others i know i missed the point completely. still, i did have fun reading this book. however i expected more.
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