This book was provided as an e-copy by BookGlow.net in exchange for an honest review. 

The Story of Satan’s Many Struggles, Across the History of Human Existence, to Unshackle the Human Mind, and Open the Gates to Forbidden Knowledge.

From the moment of his first emergence as a single spark in the dimness of prehistory, to the more enlightening force into which he evolves across the full span of human existence, Satan has been urging human beings to open their eyes to the world around them, and to continue seeking, with unfettered minds, for ultimate answers. To do so he must struggle against the persistent attempts to stifle that urge by the “spoon feeders,” as he calls them, individuals who have insisted, within every age, and often with a bloody fist, that they, and they alone, are the possessors of the only beliefs that every human being should accept and live by, without question.

As Satan traces the history of their many attempts to stop human beings from thinking for themselves, he also takes his readers on a search for the ultimate source of all evil in this world. Readers will obviously enter the book with the standard concept of Satan as a supernatural figure of evil. They will leave the book, however, with a better understanding of how such mind-twisting concepts have been used to keep people away from the “forbidden” knowledge that lies beyond the borders of entrenched beliefs.

I’m not quite sure what I was expecting when I began reading The Autobiography of Satan, but a metaphorical think piece was certainly not it. And while it is certainly not a bad thing, again it just wasn’t what I was expecting.

Though it claims itself to be an autobiography, it comes across as more of a kind of history of religion. Satan himself – in whatever form he currently inhabited – is a only a minor character, watching from the sidelines and giving only minimal “nudges” to the humans he encounters. There were some good points made though – ie. that many of the major religions share basic mythology and clearly borrowed from one another in some point in time.

For every “serious” chapter following the path of Satan’s life, there are also more humorous chapters. These are little outtake chapters with Satan speaking to his assistant Wag, who is doing the writing while his boss talks. These are cute little chapters that perhaps make an effort to show a more human side to Satan. Funny and interesting, they however add little to the story itself.

As much as I enjoyed the story, the ending left me scratching my head. It felt disconnected and not even part of the preceding pages. Like perhaps it was tacked on at a later date. While I won’t divulge too many details for fear of spoilers, I’ll let the reader decide how they feel on the subject should they read the book themselves.