Lord Foulgrin’s Letters

Book Review

Lord Foulgrin’s Letters
Randy Alcorn

Lord Foulgrin’s Letters is an intriguing work of fiction inspired by C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.

Randy Alcorn gives us a panoramic view of the diabolical plans of the enemy’s strategies, demonic passions and utter disgust for the children of God.

Lord Foulgrin is a Chief Demon with a pedigree in destroying human lives, he has been assigned a subordinate, Squaltaint, and Lord Foulgrin sends letters instructing Squaltaint in the fine art of the demonic.

On the flip side, we are given an alternating narrative of Fletcher, Squaltaint’s human assignment. We then are immersed in a dual view of the Demonic attempt to destroy Fletcher spiritually and physically.

Lord Foulgrin’s Letters is such a great book to read because it gives us two views of one reality. Fletcher is like most men: driven, passionate, focused and deeply flawed. Lord Foulgrin is unlike any other demon: cunning, wise in evil, dominating, strategic and focused.

Lord Foulgrin’s Letters offers us an insight into the mind of the enemy. These devils are anything but little-red-horned-pointy-tail followers of Satan. They are organized and focus on strategies that evolve and change according to the individual. They are prideful in their work and that gives them a passion to destroy the Objects of Christ love, humans. They are shown to be intelligent spiritual persons—intelligence marred by pride—strategic in their pursuits.

Though this is exposed in a fictional setting, it doesn’t take long to realize that Randy Alcorn has dove straight into the mind of both Man and Demon. Every bit of this book is edifying to the believer, even the Afterword where Randy Alcorn details the Biblical grounding for his story.

One of the most eerie and revealing letters is when Lord Foulgrin tries to keep his lesser demon apprentice in his place when Squaltaint forgets to address him as Lord Foulgrin.

“Don’t underestimate me, Squaltaint. I was Eshmon of Sidon, the intimate associate of Chemosh, god of Moab. I’ve sat in council chambers with Baal and Meqart of Tyre…I was a prominent god of the Incas in ancient Chile. Children were sacrificed to me. Sometime the priests stole the children. Usually their families offered them up for sacrifice…I recall an eight-year-old boy…He bore a gift for the gods—for me…a chief mountain god… I was there on Cerro Llullaillaco, at twenty-two thousand feet, when they offered him to me…It was glorious.”

The spiritual darkness is loose on this earth and in this rare occasion we can see into that spiritual darkness and use this knowledge to help us spread the light of Christ into our lives and the lives of others oblivious to this darkness.

Warning, this book is mostly written from the view point of demons. So Christ is referred to as the Enemy and humans as Sludgebags. The content of this book is intense, especially if you can see the reality to it, but is definitely for older teens and adults.

Topics approached: Teen violence, Adultery, work ethics, pornography and many others.