To Reign in Hell

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This book should not be confused with the Star Trek novel To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh by Greg Cox.

To Reign in Hell (ISBN 0-312-87049-3) is a 1984 novel by Steven Brust detailing the revolt of angels in Heaven from a point of view that is primarily sympathetic to Satan. The novel appears to be heavily influenced by John Milton's Paradise Lost and Anton LaVey's book, The Satanic Bible.

[edit] Plot summary

In the beginning, there was cacoastrum, the stuff of chaos. As the flux shaped itself, it occasionally created illiaster, the fabric of order. A being of illiaster was spontaneously created, imbued with self-preservation, and this being fought against the cacoastrum. In the struggle, six more beings were created, and together, the seven created a vast hollow orb that temporarily sealed out the chaos. These were the Firstborn: Yaweh, Satan, Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, Leviathan and Belial.

During the Second Wave, the walls of Heaven collapsed, and the Firstborn fought again, rebuilding their stronghold, and in the process, hundreds of archangels were created. This happened yet again, and the ordinary angels were created.

In the peace after the Third Wave, Heaven has been divided into four regencies. Belial, half-mad and trapped in the form of a dragon, rules the mountains of the Northern Regency, and few dare disturb his slumber. Leviathan, a kindly woman in the shape of a sea serpent, oversees the Western Regency. Satan rules the deserts of the South with his loyal servant Beelzebub, trapped in the body of a Golden retriever. Lucifer rules the plains of East, with his consort Lilith, who has recently left Satan's side. Yaweh oversees all of Heaven from the center, aided by his healer Raphael and warrior Michael.

Other important angels include the blind musician Harut, the poetry-quoting Ariel, the craftsman Asmodai, the smirking Mephistopheles, the dour Uriel, the sneering Abdiel and the coolly competent Zaphkiel.

Trouble arises when Yaweh, worried about the imminent Fourth Wave, devises the Plan: the blueprint for a new, larger Heaven, with walls that the cacoastrum cannot destroy. Unfortunately, at least a thousand angels will die during the construction of his new Paradise. Yaweh charges Satan with securing the cooperation of every angel in Heaven, and Satan finds himself wondering if they have the ethical right to coerce anyone into participating.

Exacerbating matters is an angel named Abdiel who craves Satan's rank. Abdiel begins playing Satan against Yaweh, telling each of them that the other will no longer discuss matters. Step by step, the factions escalate. Abdiel attempts to wound Beelzebub and accidentally kills the innocent Ariel. When Satan and Beelzebub attempt to avenge this murder, Raphael and Michael misinterpret this as proof their opponents have abandoned all decency.

Yaweh, attempting to rally his side, convinces his supporters that he is not only the eldest of the Firstborn, he is God. This announcement stuns not only his opponents, but even Michael, his closest supporter. Using the energy of his newfound worshippers, he creates a new angel, Yeshuah, who he proclaims his son and heir.

As the war continues, Zaphkiel intercepts Satan and brings him directly to Yaweh, where the two discover that Abdiel has played them both for fools. Unfortunately, Satan will not acknowledge Yaweh's dishonest claim to Godhood, so the war goes on.

Abdiel, now on the run from both sides, begins digging a hole in the wall of Heaven, but Mephistopheles strangles him before he can finish the work. As the battle swings in Satan's favor, Yaweh, a sore loser, smashes open the hole Abdiel began, flooding Heaven with cacoastrum. Yeshuah, seeing an opportunity to enact the Plan, sacrifices his life, and apparently creates the second stronghold: the universe. Meanwhile, as the rebels fight for Heaven, Satan is captured and cast out; his followers join him in the abyss and create a third stronghold: Hell.