To Reign in Hell
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"All right, old friend," said the other. "I'll stay the night. Have you brandy?" |
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To Reign in Hell is a 1984 fantasy novel by Steven Brust that retells the story of Yahweh's creation of Heaven and Earth, and Satan's creation of Hell. It is notable for its simple, yet compelling cosmology, its witty use of language, and its depiction of the War in Heaven as an avoidable catastrophe that was tragic for all concerned.
Tropes used in To Reign in Hell include:
- Brainwashed
- Deadpan Snarker (Mephistopheles, among others)
- Dirty Coward: All of the manipulation and civil strife in Heaven is caused by Abdiel's fear of dying during the execution of the Plan.
- External Retcon
- Flowery Elizabethan English: most of the angels speak modern English, but Beelzebub seems to prefer the flowery Elizabethan flavor, like a character from Shakespeare.
- Foregone Conclusion
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope
- Gender Flip: Raphael is generally considered male but is female in the novel.
- God Is Evil (or at least horribly misguided)
- God Karting with Beelzebub: God, Lucifer and Satan (all of them, really) start out as friends and brothers.
- Historical In-Joke
- It's Personal
- Literary Allusion Title
- Manipulative Bastard (Abdiel)
- Not in This For Your Revolution
- Our Angels Are Different
- Painting the Fourth Wall
- Primordial Chaos: Yaweh and the Angels are fighting to save Heaven from incursions of the formless, chaotic, destructive Cacoastrum from which they all originally sprang.
- Poor Communication Kills
- Really Gets Around (Lilith)
- Satan Is Good (or at least good-intentioned)
- Stealth Pun (Spear Carriers)
- Those Two Guys: Kyriel and Sith, a pair of lesser angels who show up throughout the plot to have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-style conversations about the events.
- Villainous Breakdown: Abdiel is too frightened when Mephistopheles finally corners him to put up any resistance or even speak.
- World of Cardboard Speech
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit