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A review by spookysoto
A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck
3.0
Rating: I liked it
Format: Ebook
I liked it, but I expected more.
It started very well and was funny, but I felt it dragged towards the middle. The hell reminded me of Supernatural's Crowley, so I set my expectations too high.
In this hell, there is no permanent pain; you can eat whatever you like; all people are young and the same (all white Americans); you have a bed and clothing. That becomes boring soon enough.
I'm not sure what the point of the story is; maybe the only thing that matters is the search?.
I didn't like the ending either, but it made for a nice, quick read.
Soren Johansson, a Mormon, finds himself dead and in hell, run by a corporate demon and actors who pretend to drown in a sea of fire to scare the newcomers. The demon (let's call him Crowley for my spn fans) doesn't explain why Soren is in hell. He explains that true religion is Zoroastrianism and thus Soren must be sent to hell to learn a lesson, without telling him what that lesson is. Soren is sent to hell based on the Library of Babel, where he is given the task of locating a book detailing his mortal struggle in a library full of books.
This hell is based on Jorge Luis Borges’ short story, “The Library of Babel,” which concerns a library that contains not just every book that has ever been written but also every possible book that ever could be written, including all configurations of letters, numbers, and symbols.
Every day is the same; he passes thousands of years, having different partners, until he falls in love with Rachel. A radical, cruel group arises, believing they must bring suffering to hell's inhabitants. They attack, and Rachel jumps into the bottomless pit. Years later, Soren also jumps and falls for years, until he manages to land on a floor. Years later, he falls in love again. He loses that woman also, and then he realizes he is never going to find the book he needs to get out of hell.
Format: Ebook
I liked it, but I expected more.
It started very well and was funny, but I felt it dragged towards the middle. The hell reminded me of Supernatural's Crowley, so I set my expectations too high.
In this hell, there is no permanent pain; you can eat whatever you like; all people are young and the same (all white Americans); you have a bed and clothing. That becomes boring soon enough.
I'm not sure what the point of the story is; maybe the only thing that matters is the search?.
I didn't like the ending either, but it made for a nice, quick read.
Spoiler
Soren Johansson, a Mormon, finds himself dead and in hell, run by a corporate demon and actors who pretend to drown in a sea of fire to scare the newcomers. The demon (let's call him Crowley for my spn fans) doesn't explain why Soren is in hell. He explains that true religion is Zoroastrianism and thus Soren must be sent to hell to learn a lesson, without telling him what that lesson is. Soren is sent to hell based on the Library of Babel, where he is given the task of locating a book detailing his mortal struggle in a library full of books.
This hell is based on Jorge Luis Borges’ short story, “The Library of Babel,” which concerns a library that contains not just every book that has ever been written but also every possible book that ever could be written, including all configurations of letters, numbers, and symbols.
Every day is the same; he passes thousands of years, having different partners, until he falls in love with Rachel. A radical, cruel group arises, believing they must bring suffering to hell's inhabitants. They attack, and Rachel jumps into the bottomless pit. Years later, Soren also jumps and falls for years, until he manages to land on a floor. Years later, he falls in love again. He loses that woman also, and then he realizes he is never going to find the book he needs to get out of hell.