I’ve been having so much fun with this series – and finally it’s time for another review. The Wrongful Death, or The Great Devil War #3, sequel to The Devil’s Apprentice and The Die of Death was a really nice read.

What’s interesting about it is that it puts the old fun style adventures together with something much more serious and darker – these books grow along with Philip, the main character – and so we see him embrace his darker side more and more. It was a good read! Let me tell you more about it.

It’s been a little while since Philip returned from his second venture to Hell. His mom’s doing better than ever, he himself is as well – he’s quite popular now, making friends and maybe even developing a crush on someone non-demonic this time. Things could stay this way, and Philip wouldn’t mind – although he does still miss Satina, what with that unfinished business between them and hints at a relationship…

When suddenly, something unexpected happens. This time it’s Sam – the person Philip would have never expected to care about a few years back because Sam was his bully. In fact, the biggest bully in the whole school, a real menace to everyone.

Now Sam’s an odd sort of friend, but… something’s up with him. And what’s happening may be Philip’s fault, and he just won’t have that. He’s got to go back and figure it all out. Which means… Back to Hell!

The World-building Continues To Be Strong

I am constantly surprised by how detailedly the author built this world! It’s the third book, and you’d think he should start running out of ideas by this point – but nope. What’s even better than that, is that he seems to be picking up old threads that were set up in the first book – characters that were mentioned now come into play, or storylines you could kind of see coming actually start developing. I really love it when authors do that!

You'd think by book #3, the author may start to run out of ideas... But nope! #TheWrongfulDeath is just as imaginative + more – it picks up on old threads that were set up in Book #1! Learn more about this great series: Click To Tweet

Growing Up Means Accepting The Darkness Inside Of Yourself

Philip is deep in his teens now – struggling with his identity, as well as with the balance of good and evil within himself. Hell has become a lot harder to navigate as well, it appears. A lot of things have changed ever since the decisions at the end of book two, and a lot of demons left, leaving Hell even more antagonized than it was in the previous story. The ones left behind are struggling to keep it all together, and the story takes on a darker tone.

#TheWrongfulDeath takes a darker, grander turn and really sets the gears for The Great Devil War in action. More about this great read by @K_B_Andersen: Click To Tweet

This Time It’s Not Just Hell

In The Wrongful Death, we get to see Heaven and hear about how the world was built. Of course, it’s all thoroughly Biblical – although not without a lot of humor! For example, apparently god has to crank a handle every week so the planets keep turning – I found that quite hilarious.

An image of the fires of hell, stairs and the gates of heaven, courtesy of Pixabay

And while we’re on that point, I love it how these important and huge side characters are depicted – they’re adorable. You’d think the devil would be a scary guy, but he’s not. He’s charming and somewhat funny, he even shows a sensitive side towards Philip, although he is super short tempered and can act evil. But he’s also an old sap for Philip and probably hides from his own self that he loves him and cares for him. The Devil’s not supposed to care for anyone! I really liked his character, as well as the other secondary roles – such as those of God and Death. God is quite a comical, although powerful personage, and Death – an old guy who lives in a cold shack and drinks only cold coffee, but still has a warm heart – they’re all memorable characters and made for very good entertainment.

Apart from Heaven, in this book we also travel through other mythologies! Heaven and Hell isn’t the only heaven and hell out there anymore. Philip and his friends get to visit Hades, along with its own heaven and hell. Although they are quite empty at this time because it’s an old tradition that isn’t really followed religiously on Earth anymore. Even though we don’t visit other places, they’re hinted at and I think we might in the coming books. At least I hope so!

#TheWrongfulDeath by @K_B_Andersen takes us on a tour of the universe – Hell, Heaven, and even other 'Hells'. The charm of the characters of god, the devil and death will keep you entertained! More about this series: Click To Tweet

There’s A Cameo By A Childhood Influence Of Mine!

A double photo of the 1973 Lithuanian print edition of Karlsson Who Lives on the Roof by Astrid Lindgren and one of the lovely illustrations inside

I really loved this book for a very special reason close to my heart – there’s a cameo of Astrid Lindgren! (For those who don’t know, she’s a very famous Scandinavian writer – her books for children MADE my childhood.) You may know her as the author of Pippi Longstocking, but there’s so much more to her creations. I absolutely loved seeing Pippi with her, but I wish Karlsson the little flying man was included as well! (My absolute childhood favorite.) Gotta love it when there’s a good cameo in a book.

A good book includes a good cameo. #TheWrongfulDeath surprised me by letting me meet one of my favorite childhood authors, Astrid Lindgren, along with her children – Pippi Longstocking and other characters. Full review of this book: Click To Tweet

The Wrongful Death Takes On More Serious Themes

One of them is Philip’s endless quest for his father – that is thwarted again, and not just once. So many times Philip has already tried to see his dad in the previous books, but he never seems to be able to. The quest gets more and more desperate in this one – we see Philip taking stupid risks just because he can’t take it anymore.

His search for his dad uncovers a lot of pain – the pain of not trusting a god who lets accidents happen, the loneliness of growing up without even knowing who your dad was, the thought that even if you saw him you wouldn’t know much about him because you’ve never met him before.

But this isn’t all – Philip finds himself caring more and more for Satina too. Which may just push him over the edge when the time comes… I don’t want to say anything more for fear of spoilers, but the series gets much darker and all of the conspiracies finally take off. So now I’m off to pick up the next book (literally, now, after I’ve finished this sentence) because it left me hanging and I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!

I definitely want to keep this series in my life – I have to say, I’m quite strongly invested in it! So I can only recommend you to join me. Book #3 was just as strong as the others, so I can’t wait to see where the whole series goes.

Triggers

As usual, there is some gore and death – this is a story about hell we’re talking about. There will also be a lot about how Philip lost his dad in a car crash, and there’s also some bullying by Sam.

I thank the author and The Write Reads tours for giving me a free copy in exchange to an honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

More About The Author

Kenneth B. Andersen (1976) is an award-winning Danish writer. He has published more than forty books for children and young adults, including both fantasy, horror, and science fiction.

His books have been translated into more than 15 languages and his hit-series about the superhero Antboy has been turned into three movies. A musical adaptation of The Devil’s Apprentice, the first book in The Great Devil War series, opened in the fall 2018 and film rights for the series have been optioned.

Kenneth lives in Copenhagen with his wife, two boys, a dog named Milo, and spiders in the basement.

www.kennethbandersen.com

So have I convinced you yet that you need to pick this series up?