The second volume of the Gaiman-inspired, Carey-created Lucifer series picks up almost immediately from volume one. Lucifer has been given his requested gateway into the void, and now he simply has to work out what to do with it while simultaneously fending off the varied forces (including everything from ancient beings beyond time and space to the assembled might of the Heavenly Host) who wish to steal it from him, and optimally kill him in the bargain. As before, though, what makes Children and Monsters shine, for the most part, is Lucifer himself. He’s perhaps not evil, but unquestionably self-involved beyond all human measure. He never breaks his word, he practically never lies, and he mostly offers people what they want, freely. And yet, nearly everyone who deals with him comes out far the poorer and looking at least a little bit like the bad guy, to boot. That takes some pretty meaningful talent.

Unfortunately, I fear that I’m not making sense. Anyway, the story stuff continues to feel deeper than I’m going to fully comprehend on the first pass, but it certainly already tied together some things from the first book. Plus, it introduced a long-term (I presume) adversary and solidified a long-term ally, both of whom I look forward to seeing more of. Even if wanting to see the adversarial one is mostly based on a comeuppance thing. (Which is funny; I mean, the guy is a dick, but I feel obscurely bad about primarily disliking someone because he’s being a dick to, y’know, the Devil. Well-written character, is what I’m still trying to say.)