BEST DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DEVIL IN LITERATURE

mokey · Post by **mokey** » 23 Sep 2009, 17:08

FAUST?, DANTE?, MODERN CHRISTIAN FICTION?

KreativeACT · Post by **KreativeACT** » 26 Sep 2009, 19:36

I have to go with Dante. I think not so much with the way he describes it physically but the feeling of overwhelming power Dante gives him at the very end of your travels through the inferno. I don't know, maybe, my understanding of it is wacko!

mokey · Post by **mokey** » 28 Sep 2009, 14:46

I have just started reading this. I am not a zealot either way; just like to read other points of view. Pretty believable.

ryan2 · Post by **ryan2** » 18 Oct 2009, 14:55

I am just finishing Memnoch the Devil, and I like that Devil description even though I could just sum it up pretty quickly by saying that...

*spoiler included*
in this book, the major disagreement between God and the Devil is that God doesn't care about people who don't believe in him. He only really cares about his followers. Contrarily, the Devil cares about everyone which is the reason he runs Hell. He can't stand seeing souls lost, hopeless, and abandoned by God. He tries to teach them about Heaven so that hopefully they can one day get there.

The Devil described in this book is not the one normally described as full of hatred and deception. This Devil loves humans so much that he basically abandons God to save them. Also, I would not really consider this a vampire book. Lestat, the vampire and the character from which the story is told, puts in a three word question. Then his conversational partner fills a page with a near monologue. For the most part, this is how the story is told. I thought it was a good book.

SoggyPeanutPatrol · Post by **SoggyPeanutPatrol** » 18 Oct 2009, 23:22

Paradise Lost!
If you read this from a secular point of view, it's real easy to make Satan the protagonist. William Blake claimed Milton was a closet devil-worshiper. A lot of people read Satan as the epic hero. Milton's Satan is the most interesting devil there is. Of course, this is really dense poetry, but everyone should read it anyway.

avadrianna20 · Post by **avadrianna20** » 20 Oct 2009, 08:32

Sorry I know what I am going to say is not in literature..but a description that I personally like...I would say...read the lyrics of "Sympathy for the Devil" Rolling Stones

Moore · Post by **Moore** » 21 Oct 2009, 09:24

i think Faust or even Voland by Bulgakov. Voland for example was perfect, as he knew all the vices of the people and he knew how to tempt to throw people. Thanks to the author for such a devil's picture. i think it's one of the best.

ChrisSamsDad · Post by **ChrisSamsDad** » 21 Oct 2009, 11:30

'Job' by Robert Heinlein. In it, the devil's quite a nice guy, whereas god is an officious petty-minded bureaucratic type.

If you know the story of Job from the bible (god makes a bet with the devil that one of his followers will never give up faith in him no matter what they do to him) this turns it on its head.

marvelmite · Post by **marvelmite** » 23 Oct 2009, 15:03

Im kinda partial to Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown or even The Man in the Black Suit by Stephen King. I like the less openly evil, more human but more conniving and controlling. He's the man who comes to you and makes deals and takes it all away. When hes ready he comes for you and you must always be on the look out. A little robert johnson or Devil Went Down to Georgia in there too

ChrisSamsDad · Post by **ChrisSamsDad** » 26 Oct 2009, 12:06

marvelmite wrote:Im kinda partial to Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown or even The Man in the Black Suit by Stephen King. I like the less openly evil, more human but more conniving and controlling. He's the man who comes to you and makes deals and takes it all away. When hes ready he comes for you and you must always be on the look out. A little robert johnson or Devil Went Down to Georgia in there too

Sounds like the Devil in the TV programme 'Reaper' - he is just so perfect in that!

Lainey1978 · Post by **Lainey1978** » 24 Nov 2009, 14:20

"For Love of Evil" by Piers Anthony.

I'm mad at Piers Anthony at the moment, because he's such a flippin' perv, but I remember really liking that book. Of course, it's book 6 of the "Incarnations of Immortality" series, so you might want to read the others first. You'll either love it or be like, "WTF am I reading this *&^% for!?"

Seraphy · Post by **Seraphy** » 29 Mar 2011, 06:59

You mean devil literally? Paradise lost by Milton. He portrayed Satan as a hero against God.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » 29 Mar 2011, 09:11

Seraphy wrote:You mean devil literally? Paradise lost by Milton. He portrayed Satan as a hero against God.

I don't fully agree with you in that IMO Milton's portrayal of Satan is more 'human' and thus easier for us to identify with. Not sure if that's what he intended though!

Artdude · Post by **Artdude** » 25 Jun 2011, 18:09

Matthew Lewis's the Monk has a great devil depiction.
I put this just above Milton's.

Bighuey · Post by **Bighuey** » 29 Jun 2011, 20:44

I was going to mention Lewis's The Monk and also Young Goodman Brown they are good ones. Another good one is The Devil And Daniel Webster by Steven Vincent Benet.

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