For Love of Evil

*Book source ~ Home library

Parry was the adopted son to a very competent sorcerer. Even though he was not the sorcerer’s biological offspring he proved to have an aptitude for magic as well as having an uncommonly gifted singing voice. When his beloved wife Jolie and his father die in the Albigensian Crusade (precipitated by the mischief of Lucifer) he joins the Brotherhood to hide and plot his revenge against the Horned One. After thwarting a major plot of Lucifer’s a demoness is sent to corrupt Parry and corrupt him she does. In 1250, just as Parry’s ailing body was ready to give up, Lucifer appeared to claim his soul in person. However, Parry countered the spell Lucifer threw at him and with his dying breath he claimed the show more Office of Evil taking the name Satan.

After reading the first five books in this series, much of the middle part of this story is recapped from the other books, but from Parry’s POV. Where Parry came from and how he obtained the Office of Evil and became an Incarnation is an interesting pathway that is new though. And what happened to him at the end of Being a Green Mother is revealed. The setup is now complete for the final book in the series and I can’t wait to get to it!

Now, a few words on the story itself. There are a few inconsistencies and at times the writing is a bit simple, but the overall storyline is just as enthralling to me now as it was when I read it two decades ago. I love, love, love this series and I most especially love Parry/Satan. I mean, who doesn’t love a bad boy who isn’t all bad? show less

There was a fashion in the late 80s for fantasy authors, especially those published by Lester Del Ray, to write novels that recapped the series up til that point from the perspective of a different character. These days I find it a cynically commercial practice at best, but I was a total sucker for them when I was a kid. Rereading For Love of Evil, I find... I kind of still am.

The first two thirds of the book is original material about Parry, a 13th century sorcerer who does the Pygmalion thing on a peasant girl to get himself a perfect wife and loses her to the Albigensian crusade (in a scene, incidentally, that puzzled me for years with its offhand description of rape-ready bondage. I still don't think it would work as described.) He show more then becomes a monk, founds the Inquisition, foils Lucifer a number of times, and then falls to temptation in the form of first his ghostly wife in a willing and nubile body, and then the demoness Lilith. And then he defeats Lucifer and in doing so becomes his successor, Satan.

So. That happens. It's actually the least appallingly sexist book of the three I've reread, despite the ridiculous amount of sex. Partly this is because the time period makes things like arranged marriages marginally more palatable, partly because to make Parry ultimately sympathetic, he has to be an extra-good guy, and partly because the foes are the medieval Catholic church and/or Inquisition, against whom almost everyone looks liberal.

The last third of the book is the aforementioned recap section, where Parry describes his conflicts with the other Incarnations from his point of view. This is handy because the ones he focuses on are Fate and Nature, which always saved me from reading Anthony's unbearable attempts to write female protagonists. This section is chock-full of male-gaze ick, but Parry remains a sympathetic character as he struggles to understand his role as the devil while still being a fundamentally good, compassionate person. (In a series of minor scenes, he befriends the god of the Jews and arranges for the Holocaust to unhappen.) He also approaches God (the prime Incarnation of Good, the Christian god, which is finally justified by explaining that He has the most followers) and discovers that he is locked in narcissistic contemplation and basically out of action. This sets up the final book in the series...

...Which I am not reading. It contains, as I recall, a new female protagonist, Parry's ghostly ex-wife, and an urban prostitute of color. It goes about as well as you'd expect it to.

Really, this is the only book in the series that holds up at all. I'm not sure why it does, to be honest. Despite my crack about Del Rey above, the last two books in the series were published by Avon - perhaps the new editor filtered out the worst of it. It's still not really worth keeping around, but I am somewhat relieved that my 12-year-old self wasn't a complete moron. show less

I had nearly given up on this series after being thoroughly disappointed with Being a Green Mother. However, Piers Anthony salvages this train wreck with the sixth book, For Love of Evil. Parry, a sorcerer turned clergyman, spends his life in pursuit of foiling Lucifer only to find himself in a position to be corrupted by that which he is attempting to abate. Moments before Parry's death he is given the opportunity to assume the role of "Satan". Parry, now Satan, spends centuries running hell and trying to understand the rationale of good vs. evil. The reader finally gets a chance to hear the story of the last five books told from the side of Satan, which provides an entertaining twist on everything you thought you understood. The book show more also serves as a thought provoking theological counterpoint to the standard Christian view of good and evil. Evil is not so black and white; it is in all of us, but should we be doomed for eternity when situations force one down an "evil" path.

In For Love of Evil, Piers Anthony returns to what made this series so enjoyable in the first place: The mortal person coming to terms and understanding their new role as an incarnation. The first three books in the series accomplished this, but the formula went astray somewhere around book four.

This book could be read on its own, but I think is a stronger novel if you suffer through the first five books. On to the last: And Eternity. show less

Mr. Anthony always did a great job with the preceding Incarnations as the philosophical questions, suggestions, and revelations of Death, Time, Fate, War, and Nature. A few books were better than others, but ALL of the books were at least 4 stars, and were all excellent reads.

I was blown away by this sixth volume of Incarnations of Immortality and the development of Satan's character. It's a fantstic read, exploring good and evil and tackling some hard questions. The revelation that God simply wasn't listening anymore certainly makes a lot of sense when you think about how the world is today. Just like its five predecessors, this book is entertaining and thought-provoking. You just might get a few new views or ideas on things you show more believe in, these books are that good. show less

This is one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read. Anthony leaves behind the traditional notion that the devil is pure evil and instead attempts to portray Satan as a sort of governor of hell, who is trying to make it better for its denizens. Parry, the character who takes over as the devil is a nice guy who basically starts acting evil once he becomes Satan. Even as Satan however, Parry retains some of his good side. As in all of the books in the Incarnations of Immortality series, this book has superb character development and an enthralling plot. This book was very enjoyable to read and I would recommend it to all.

I was excited to pick up this book, to finally learn of how Satan--Incarnation of Evil--told his story (especially considering how Green Mother ended!). I am not sure I got what I expected, but I got an excellent tale.

Here is the tale of a man who had the love of his life taken from him by a powerful sorcerer working for the devil. This starts him on a new life in hiding--and he joins a church to eradicate evil. Seems an unlikely candidate for Evil, right? It was, until Lucifer sends a demoness to corrupt him...and he falls for it (for reasons best left to the book). Well, he tries to still do as much good as he can while doing evil the demoness demands of him, and it shortly turns out that when he is slated to die, he accidentally show more kills Lucifer instead. With the office open, and the guidance of the demoness, he takes over as Satan. (Every Incarnation of Evil chooses the name he be most known as.)

Much as he did on earth, he tries to restructure hell and organize it to make it more efficient (the bureaucracy is just as terrible in hell as in other places). But he doesn't seek to do undue harm, and in fact only acts ill to the other incarnations because of the way their predecessors treated him.

A very intriguing book that introduced concepts of religious natures and indeed of the concepts of Good and Evil.

I'm afraid that the next book, which I believe is about God will not be nearly as interesting or as intertwined with the rest of the series...we shall see! show less

This is my favorite book of the entire series. It is actually dangerous because it actually makes a lot of sense and will most likely make the reader see Satan in a different light. Personally, I like this angle very much. A good wizard, becomes a priest, rises in the clergy, is seduced by a succubus, and in his doting age assumes the role of the Lord of Evil and turns it into a rehabilitation center. In other words, a good man doing a necessary function to maintain the balance.

In For Love of Evil, the human who becomes the incarnation of evil, Satan, is troubled by the nature of good versus evil and decides to end it all in a death duel with God.