The Devil May Care by J. Lyndon Hickman

A laugh-out-loud novel about a debut author who offends Lucifer himself, J. Lyndon Hickman’s The Devil May Care is a hellishly smart book of comic brilliance.

Ted Granville works a horrible newspaper job and has a terrible boss, so he decides to write a Freudian text called “The Devil and the Id” to try to prompt a career change. But when his Devil-denying book becomes a hit, Satan and his followers have a bone to pick with Ted. Enter Chester Ambrose, one of Lucifer’s lackeys, who’s tasked with convincing Ted to write a second book praising the Devil. Chester will do anything to achieve his goal, including enlisting the help of a female devil temptress and showing Ted a good time at an elaborate nightclub. Will Ted fall for Chester’s promises of fame and fortune, or will he defend his original book to the grave?

The Devil May Care is a goofy and brash social commentary about a writer’s tendency to mess everything up, with metatextual humor similar to the work of Chuck Palahniuk, albeit with a broader satirical pen. While the book has violent moments, J. Lyndon Hickman’s writing is always pitched toward humor and wit, which hits the vast majority of the time. It’s a tall order for a novel to be hysterical, and the novel is truly funny, especially if you’re a writer.

Told expertly from two points of view with well-crafted prose throughout, The Devil May Care is a delectable, boisterous read that is at once outlandish and relatable.