Lucy, the Devil, wants to retire. Brian, the Business Advisor, hates his job. When Brian's jealous co-workers put him in Lucy's crosshairs, she makes him an offer he can't refuse: work for her and increase the productivity in Hell by 50% or suffer the cruel fate planned by his peers. To sweeten the deal, Lucy offers Brian the chance to be her successor if he pulls it off. Brian reluctantly agrees and dives in with both feet to the bureaucratic nightmare of Hell. To make it out alive, Brian faces Death, God, and Lucy's own twin children.
I love the idea of this - Hell as a business, calling in a business consultant - but the execution fell a little short for me.
I love the imagination here. Things appearing as needed, the descriptions of the rooms, the way Hell is laid out and works - all fantastic, and not things I've read anywhere else. It's clearly all been carefully thought out and planned, and it all makes sense as you read.
I did find some of the descriptions overly wordy; I know that's a personal preference, but for me it was a bit too much. Plus, as other reviewers have noted, the formatting is odd, with huge FOR YOUR EYES ONLY inserted every couple of pages and messing up the font sizes. That won't apply to the finished book, of course, but it did make things harder as I was reading.
It's a really clever idea, though, with some great twists and good writing. I'll be watching out for Brad's work in future, because I think he's only going to get better.
The Devil's Advisor publishes on the 21st of February, 2023. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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