Review: The Fallen Devil (The Great Devil War, #6) by Kenneth B. Andersen
Some characters quietly wrap themselves around a piece of your heart. Philip is one of those characters for me. After years away from Kenneth B. Andersen's Great Devil War series, returning to Hell for The Fallen Devil felt surprisingly familiar-and reminded me just how much I had missed this strange, imaginative world.
I first met Philip in The Devil's Apprentice, when an extraordinarily good boy was accidentally sent to Hell and found himself training to become the Devil's heir. I went on to read the entire series, reviewing the first four books along the way, and watched Philip grow while Andersen continually blurred the lines between good and evil, Heaven and Hell, and right and wrong.
Now, years later, I've returned for The Fallen Devil, the sixth and final book in the series. I didn't reread the earlier books before jumping back in, yet Philip's story came rushing back remarkably quickly. So did my affection for these characters-including, rather improbably, the Devil himself. Apparently, after all these years, I still have a little "Sympathy for the Devil."
Philip returns to Hell, as expected. From there? Almost nothing went the way I expected.
The Fallen Devil is dark, emotional, action-packed, and nearly impossible to discuss without giving away something that matters. So this will be a deliberately spoiler-free review of a finale filled with difficult choices, high-stakes consequences, emotional goodbyes, and one epic final battle.
And if this truly is goodbye to Philip and the inhabitants of Andersen's Hell, I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for it.
The Fallen Devil By Kenneth B. Andersen
Series: The Great Devil War VI
on June 2026
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Formats: eBook
Pages: 263
Book 6 in the Multi-Award-Winning Series • The Epic Conclusion to The Great Devil War
Philip has returned to Hell—but he’s not the only one who’s back. An ancient and merciless evil has risen, and something terrible is looming. The Great Devil War is far from over, but this time the battle is waged in the shadows.
And it’s not only Hell that’s under attack. The threat reaches far beyond anything anyone—even the Devil or God—can comprehend.
This is the end.
The Great Devil War concludes in this dark, emotional, and explosive finale where nothing is what it seems.
Winner of the Karen Blixen Award.
Reader Resources
Reader Info at a Glance
| Best For | Older YA and adult fantasy readers who enjoy morally complex stories, imaginative worldbuilding, and battles between good and evil |
| Pacing | Fast-paced and difficult to put down |
| Themes | Identity, choice, redemption, good and evil, life and death, and the consequences of our decisions |
| Series Reading | Book 6 of The Great Devil War; strongly recommended to read the series in order |
| Overall Feel | Dark • Emotional • Thought-provoking • High-stakes • Bittersweet |
| Rating | CAWPILE 8.75 • ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ |
Curious how I rate books? Read my full rating system here.
Quick Take: The Fallen Devil brings Philip's journey full circle in a dark, emotional, and action-packed finale. Kenneth B. Andersen once again challenges the boundaries between good and evil while exploring identity, choice, redemption, and the consequences of the decisions we make. It's a fast-paced conclusion that tied up the story beautifully-and still left me wishing for more.
Things to Know: Best read in series order. Recommended for older YA and adult readers due to fantasy violence, battle scenes, death, torture, and nightmarish imagery, and complex themes surrounding good, evil, morality, and the afterlife.
Now let's get into what made this book memorable.
My Thoughts
Returning to The Great Devil War after several years away reminded me just how unusual this series is-and how much I had missed it. These books fall far outside my normal reading lanes, yet Kenneth B. Andersen drew me into his imaginative version of Hell from the very beginning. Six books later, Philip has wrapped himself around a piece of my heart. Somehow, so has the Devil himself. Sympathy for the Devil, indeed.
The Fallen Devil begins with Philip returning to Hell, which was about the only thing that happened as I expected. From there, Andersen took the story in directions I didn't anticipate. There is plenty of action, increasingly dark moments, emotional goodbyes, and high-stakes consequences. The pace rarely lets up, making this a difficult book to put down.
I don't want to say much more about what actually happens. At this point in the series, nearly every character, event, and seemingly small detail matters to the resolution. Andersen brings threads from the earlier books back into play and ties up the loose ends while building toward an epic final battle. Discussing the specifics would take away too much from the experience of discovering them for yourself.
What I can talk about is what lies underneath all that action. For me, The Fallen Devil is ultimately about identity, choice, and redemption. Those themes have been present throughout Philip's journey, but they come together beautifully here. From the beginning, Philip has been surrounded by questions of good and evil. Is someone simply good or bad? Can goodness survive in Hell? Can evil contain a spark of something better? And what happens when the right choice isn't nearly as obvious as we'd like it to be?
By the end, I began to see just how much Andersen had been leading us toward the idea of balance. Good and evil. Right and wrong. Life and death. One doesn't exist in quite the same way without the other. What began several books ago as a seemingly straightforward battle between opposing forces became something much more complicated.
Perhaps what stayed with me most is the importance Andersen places on our choices. A life isn't defined by one grand decision. It's shaped by countless choices-some small and seemingly insignificant, others enormous and life-altering. Together, those decisions shape who we become. Philip's goodness matters because, again and again, he has to choose what kind of person he wants to be, even when every available choice carries a cost.
This is also a dark book. Some scenes are difficult to process even as an adult, with violence, battles, death, and disturbing imagery. But then again, much of the story takes place in Hell. It's supposed to be nightmarish, right? The darkness never felt gratuitous to me; it belongs to the world Andersen created and to the stakes of this final confrontation. It's one reason I consider the series better suited to older teens and adults who can appreciate the moral questions beneath the fantasy and violence.
Andersen gave me the resolution I wanted. The loose ends are addressed, the stakes couldn't be higher, and Philip's long journey reaches a satisfying conclusion.
The problem?
I still want more.
This is supposed to be the final book in The Great Devil War. Maybe it's simply wishful thinking on my part, but after everything Andersen has created here, a little piece of me hopes he might someday find another reason to open the gates of Hell.
Final Thoughts
The Fallen Devil is a fitting and satisfying conclusion to a series that surprised me from the very beginning. Kenneth B. Andersen gave me an imaginative world, unforgettable characters, plenty of darkness, and far more to think about than I ever expected from a trip through Hell.
After six books, what I'll remember most isn't the epic battles or even Andersen's wonderfully creative vision of the afterlife. It's Philip and the choices he made along the way. His journey reminds us that who we become isn't determined simply by whether we are good or evil, but by the choices we continue to make when the answers aren't easy.
I'm going to miss Philip-and, much to my surprise, the Devil, too. The Fallen Devil may close the gates on The Great Devil War, but I'm very glad I walked through them.
Before we move on, here's a little more about the author behind the book.
Meet the Author
Learn more:
Website | Amazon | Goodreads | Author Hub
Where to Buy
Ready to add The Fallen Devil to your reading list?
The current edition is available on Amazon.
If you'd prefer to support independent bookstores or explore other great reads, you're also welcome to browse my recommendations on Bookshop.org or discover ebooks through Kobo.
Happy reading-and thanks for supporting authors, reviewers, and independent bookstores.
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