The son of a magician, Parry is following in his adopted father’s footsteps when he woos a timid village girl, Jolie. With nurturing and some good food, she blossoms into a true beauty, and they fall in love. But though they practice white magic, sorcery is considered evil in the time of the Crusades - soldiers set their cottage on fire, and are even prepared for Parry and the Sorcerer to change forms, shooting the Sorcerer with a crossbow. Parry just manages to escape, and he and Jolie flee for their lives. Time after time they seem safe, only to find the soldiers reoriented on their path, until Parry realises that their pursuers are being informed by a magic wielder who is tracking him every time he casts a spell. His discovery comes slightly too late – Jolie is mortally wounded. When Death comes to collect her, Parry learns about the Incarnations and pleads with Death, who agrees that though she is destined for Heaven, Jolie’s soul can stay with Parry, in a blood drop on his wrist.
Desolate and heart sick, Parry joins a party of monks, as Brother Grief. Over time Jolie develops the ability to manifest as a spirit, and gives him insights he would never have had access to otherwise, allowing him to rise in rank until he becomes one of the head inquisitors in the Inquisition. He uncovers corruption and abuses of power, and lives a righteous life, until he is forced to spend a night in a peasant’s cottage. With her permission, Jolie’s spirit takes over the body of the cottager’s daughter and, for the first time in a score of years, Parry indulges in the sins of the flesh.
The discipline of his life is now breached and, the path now open, Parry is approached by a demoness who, after token resistance, Parry sleeps with. Lilah has been sent by Lucifer, but she is honest with Parry, and helps him in his ongoing quest to root out evil. But by association Parry’s own balance tilts toward evil. When Parry dies, in 1250, he appears before Lucifer. Angered by Lilah’s defection to Parry, Lucifer attempts to smite him but, because the spirit of Jolie, who cannot be sent to Hell, the act bounces on to Lucifer. Spurred on by Lilah, Parry assumes the position of the Incarnation of Evil, now known as Satan.
Distressed by both the disorganisation of Hell, and his discovery that the sorting process seems irrational and ineffective, Parry tries to seek clarification and assistance from the other Incarnations. Death, War and Fate refuse to see Him at all, and Nature makes him submit to a series of humiliations before laughing at him; Parry vows that they will all pay. He then tries to speak with God, in order to work out a more equitable and rational system, but God is self-absorbed and doesn’t even notice Parry’s presence.
Despite God’s oblivion, Parry is undaunted. No administration runs itself, and Parry meets with Gabriel, Heaven’s chief administrator. They come to an agreement – if Parry cannot corrupt an individual of Gabriel’s choosing, or their child, or their grandchild, Parry must abate His efforts forever. Parry agrees, then learns that Gabriel has chosen a woman in the late twentieth century, some seven hundred years hence. The woman’s name is Niobe Kaftan.
I found this the most satisfying of the series thus far – we get a deeper insight into the other Incarnations, from a wholly different perspective, Parry’s character arc is believable and engrossing, his desire to do good convincingly undermined by his human desires, and the inequities of Hell convincingly displayed. Anthony raises some interesting questions, including the purpose of the Incarnation of Evil: “Is it to generate evil in the mortal world, or merely to locate existing evil? Am I here to encourage greater evil, or discourage it by the threat of infernal punishment? Am I supposed to defeat God, or be defeated?” As Satan noted, these are very different things. Anthony also comes up with a creative reason for why Milan and most of Poland were spared from the Black Plague. I greatly look forward to revisiting the finale, And Eternity. – Alex
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