Blog Tour - THE DIE OF DEATH by KENNETH B. ANDERSEN

Out of This World SFF Reviews is extremely pleased to be one of the many blogs participating in The Write Reads #UltimateBlogTour featuring Kenneth B. Andersen and his book THE DIE OF DEATH!   Today marks Day #8 of the tour and I couldn't be more excited to be one of the stops.  I will be reviewing Kenneth's book next as well as providing you with some biographical info after the review, so be sure to check that out before you go.  But first, here is my official review of this entertaining and fun second installment in Kenneth's Great Devil War YA fantasy series!

The story picks up not too long after the events that concluded The Devil's Apprentice.   Philip is back above ground, so to speak, after his adventures in Hell.   In the first book, Philip was accidentally sent to the underworld in a case of mistaken identity and found himself being groomed to take over the top job by the head honcho Satan himself.  Philip learned a lot about himself during the time he spent in Hell, including his capacity to shed his goodie goodie persona for one that was a little more devious.

Turns out he will need to harness all of the evil skills that he learned during his first sojourn as he is called back to the fiery pits of Hell to solve a mystery.  It seems that Mortimer, who is actually "Death" has a bit of a problem that he needs fixing and 14 year-old Philip is the only one that can undertake the mission.  The mission in this case is to try and recover the stolen Death's Die.  If the Die is not recovered soon, immortality will spread across the globe in the living world and nobody will ever experience death, they will just live forever.  You can see how this would cause a huge overpopulation problem right?

Philip undertakes the quest with not an insignificant amount of reservation, but what choice does he really have?  When Death comes calling everyone must answer or face the consequences.  But the mission is not without its travails and Philip soon discovers more about himself than he ever bargained for along the way.  It's a race against time and death itself in this humorously enjoyable Satanic sequel.

I enjoyed THE DIE OF DEATH even more than I did its predecessor.  This is such a fun romp through the underworld and along the way we encounter various historical figures of dubious renown, which really lent a lot more to the story this time around.  Whereas the first book dealt a lot with Philips situation and his training, this book focuses more on a mystery that is pretty exciting and engrossing and Philip just gets to be himself.  We experience everything that happens through his eyes and what a fun journey it is.

Kenneth B. Andersen truly has written a very accessible YA fantasy series that any age group of reader can enjoy.  The wonderful biting humor and satire are what make this book and series such a joy to sink yourself into.  I found THE DIE OF DEATH to be a fast read with great world-building and a main character in Philip who you can really see maturing before your eyes.  I look forward to getting to read book 3 very soon and reviewing that one on the next Blog Tour!

(My Rating: 7.8/10)

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 of 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.

You can connect with Kenneth on these various platforms:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

BookBub

Here are just some of the things that people are saying about The Great Devil War series:

And there you have it!  I'd like to thank Dave and the gang over at The Write Reads for hosting this amazing blog tour and also author Kenneth B. Andersen for allowing me the opportunity to read and review THE DIE OF DEATH.  I hope you have all enjoyed my stop on the tour and be sure to check out all of the other brilliant bloggers who are taking part as well.  Happy Reading!
-Nick