Russell links postpulp literature and the Grand Guignol tradition with the modern sensibilities of America in the 1960s . . . [He is] a fascinating combination of the liberal and the heretic.

A sleek, compelling tale of diabolical possession that prefigures Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby

[A] sincere and subtle tale of ultimate evil that feels less dated than many of the works it inspired.

With gripping clarity and incisive wit, Russell weaves a suspenseful plot that's more of an intellectual thriller than a horror yarn . . . The Case Against Satan retains its harrowing, relevant edge.

Magnificent...splendid... I hope The Counterlife felt, as Mr. Roth wrote it, like a triumph, because that is certainly how it reads to me