Despite the volume's title, the highlight here is clearly the story of Lilith and her children. Every other time I've seen her written about, she's treated as a forgotten character who managed to slip out of the story, so it's nice to see her reverse the process here, coming out of nowhere to take over as the chief instigator of the coming war.

That said, I like the Fenris story too, and the way that an entirely different religious system is grafted into the otherwise Judeo-Christian story. Strangely, the image of Charlie Gilmour staring at Yggdrasil, bloodied and missing an arm, is one of the things I always remember about this series. ( )

The feature of this volume is obviously "Lilith."  Just like its mother series, the 50th issue of Lucifer is an extra-long flashback story gorgeously drawn by the legendary artist of Killraven, P. Craig Russell.  It looks great, of course, better than most of the art we see in Lucifer, but I was a little disappointed in the story.  It tells the story of the construction of the Silver City (thus firmly establishing that Lucifer is not set in the same continuity as Murder Mysteries) and the rebellions of Lucifer.  But with an absent God and a lot of bickering, it all feels so... petty.  It's not as interesting as I think the beginning of Lucifer's rebellion should have been, nor as high-minded.  I did really like seeing young Mazikeen, though!

There's also a short side story called "Neutral Ground," where demons from Hell and from the Disapora meet for negotiations being held within a man's soul-- poor him.  This one was fun, in a black comedy sort of way.

Most of the volume consists of "The Wolf Beneath the Tree" itself, where Fenris of Norse mythology decides to take advantage of God's continuing absence to do... well, something devastating.  I think he wants to destroy the universe, though I'm not sure why.  Like the fight between Lucifer and the comedy Titans in the previous volume, it feels like a sidetrack, a failure to capitalize on the potential of a universe without God.  And then it doesn't end so much as stop.  

There's a cameo by Delirium of the Endless, but the best part of the story is definitely the frustrating conversation between Destiny of the Endless, Lucifer, Michael, and Elaine Belloc, where we learn that even Lucifer can lose his cool with sufficient provocation.

Lucifer: « Previous in sequence | Next in sequence »

(Amy) So, a couple of visits from the old Sandman crew, further metaplot development, mayhem of assorted sorts, and barely even a reference to, let alone progression of, the plotline introduced at the end of the previous book. But that's OK, I don't mind leaving plots to languish in the background a little. My tolerance for same has been built up by years of reading the Wheel of Time, after all.

I do think I'm just about ready for the end of this series, though, despite having enjoyed it so far. So it's good that there are only two of these trade collections left, though I'm sure they can manage to subject me to quite a bit more emotional strain in two more volumes. I would expect - and accept - nothing else.
( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/zenos-library/2009/07/lucifer_the_wolf_beneat... ) ( )

I *think* there's a plot hole in Lilith (weren't we told earlier that angels other than Michael are sterile?), though I did like the story. Also really enjoyed the Neutral Ground stand-alone. The last part of Wolf Beneath the Tree is the bit where I stopped reading last time I read Lucifer, so I've no idea what comes next. ( )