This book, the classic epic novel by John Milton, was a bit of a surprise. I mean, I knew it was about the Fall of humankind as described in Genesis 3, and I knew that Satan was the main character - but that's pretty much the extent of what I knew about it going in. Little could have prepared me for how truly, deeply, epic it actually is - and I'm using that word "epic" not in the modern sense of "yeh just really great" but in the traditional sense of scale and scope. Here we have depicted, in floral prose and incredible monologues, the war in Heaven that precedes the rebellion of Satan against God - and this war is descriptively depicted at quite some length, as are the metaphysical realms in which it takes place. A powerful work of imagination that has had an immense impact on the subsequent developments not only in poetic form but actual theology. I would recommend this book to anyone with a modicum of interest in what I will term "moral-theological" poetry, with no caveats as to the beliefs of the reader - even non-Christians will find Satan a compelling, if still ultimately evil, character. Adam and Eve likewise are well-developed and the reasoning around their being tempted by the Devil (and obviously succumbing to this temptation) is extremely cogent. This book wholly deserves its status as a classic. The only real gripe I have with it that I can think of is that Milton makes heavy usage of references that you basically need a degree in Classics to understand, so get a version with explanatory footnotes.
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