Ray Bendici, Satan and the Adventure of the (Other) God

In this second installment of Ray Bendici’s series of satanic adventures, sports writer/Satan-in-human-form Nick Brooks and his troop of unusual associates, including his better half, have to save the world—within five days. The book is clever as heck, riddled (but not cloyingly) with cultural allusions and the odd oddly apt observation:

"He then adjusted his mirrored sunglasses and lumbered out of the vehicle with the urgency of Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka trying to stop Mike Teavee from broadcasting himself."

"Despite raising a flag redder than anything flying over Beijing on National Day, I simply texted back the standard Brady Bunch 'Something suddenly came up' regarding dinner, and that we would catch up with her later."

"Tonya's arm firmly went across my chest like Frank Costanza trying his move, only without the sophistry."

"'Nyx,' I whispered, my gut clenching more awkwardly than the drawstring of a store-brand trash bag."

If these references aren't in your wheelhouse, others that went over my head no doubt will be.

The book is part adventure, part romance, playful and even philosophical. Readers inclined to think ill of the devil going in may come away thinking he's a likable guy who's gotten a bad rap (although, admittedly, the story is told from Satan's perspective, so there may be a pro-diablo slant at play). I read the first book in the series (Satan and the Adventure of the Blue-Eyed Freak) a couple years ago and don’t remember its making me question whether the story—only purportedly published by Satan’s human vessel—was in fact something more than fiction. But there is now legitimate cause to think it may be autobiographical, which is a nice twist. (Has anyone ever seen Satan and Ray Bendici in the same room? [Confession: I have actually seen Ray Bendici in a room, and Satan was not there, so.... Also, Ray's mode of discourse is not dissimilar to that of Satan's. Make of that what you will.]) Anyway, recommended—but read the first book first! You'll laugh, you probably won't cry, you'll look things up.