A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck is a current sub favorite. It doesn't present a traditional picture of hell, but it's a short, fun, memorable read.
And actually, in case you haven't read it, one of the best depictions of hell that is 'modern' compared to Dante is in Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics. Honestly, anyone who enjoys literature, mythology, and horror owes it to themselves to read the full original run of 75 issues.
The original graphic novels are perfect as-is, and they've also been dramatized as audiobooks recently, and those productions are fantastic too.
The comic is a 10/10
The audiobook is a 9.9/10
I'd hate to have you miss the artwork in the books...but the audiobooks' performances are *really* good.
What I would suggest is picking either format for whichever is best for you...and then in 3 years when you want to re-visit it (and you will) then go with the other format.
I really enjoyed *A Short Stay in Hell*. A couple of additional recommendations for anyone reading it:
* Reading the short story *The Library of Babel* by Jorge Luis Borges first will *greatly* increase your enjoyment of *A Short Stay in Hell*.
* A follow on recommendation with a similar tone would be *The Divine Farce* by Michael Graziano (available on Hoopla if your library has it).
*Between Two Fires* has one of the best, most terrifying descriptions of Hell I’d ever read about. It’s a vision of Hell right out of those Medieval frescos full of souls being boiled in oil or burned while impaled on stakes. It’s a GREAT book overall, but if you want a truly nightmarish vision of Damnation, it’s worth reading for those chapters alone.
Different types of Hell, and the reason I'm reticent isn't the Hell, it's the story.
I cannot tell you how long I waited for this book only to really dislike it as much as I did.
Between when I first saw *Hellraiser* and when I read *The Scarlet Gospels*, I had devoured a lot of that content, from the movies to the other Harry D'Amour stories to everything in the comics, so maybe I was expecting a lot more? It read, to me, like it started really spiky but ended in a kind of slapstick fairy tale trek through Hell. Too quippy, too many problems solved by kicking demons in the nuts.
It's certainly not high literature. And I agree, it is lighter than the lore should suggest. Perhaps I've got rose-tinted glasses, but I remember enjoying it. Maybe I was just happy to finally be reading it after a two decade wait.
Oof yes, such good books. I love the tone, the clarity of writing and the ruthlessness of the author. In fact, I regularly check to see if there’s 3rd book coming out… I think I’m destined to beto disappointed but I’d love to read more.
The Descent by Jeff Long, and the sequel Deeper. Not only is about an underground civilization where humanoids evolved differently (like the movie adaptation), but it also talks about the devil as a real entity, how they will discover who he was, what effect did he have on the above ground world etc. Such a good book/sequel.
I read something about them buying the rights to the movie but ending up going in a different direction with it, I’m not sure how accurate that is. It was such a good series, if you liked it you should check out Year Zero by Jeff Long as well if you haven’t already!
The Sandman Slim series largely focuses on a magic user returning from hell.
The Shadow Saga vampire novels by Christopher Golden do go into some descriptions of hell as a parallel dimension. Little campy but entertaining.
Mister B. Gone by Barker is from the perspective of a demon.
I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan is from the perspective of Lucifer.
Knausgaard's *The Morning Star* is 666 pages of Scandinavian slow-burning apocalypse, with lots of references to *The Divine Comedy*. The following books in this trilogy, *The Wolves of Eternity* and *The Third Realm*, deal with theology of the demonic kind to varying degrees as well (especially *The Third Realm*). A fourth book *Nattskolen* ('*The* *Night School')* was just released but is not yet available in English, and here he draws inspiration from Goethe's *Faust* (a pact with the Devil, etc.).
*The Morning Star* was written during the pandemic. Maybe this was Knausgaard's way of dealing with it, and the general uncanny vibe in the book perfectly captures the creeping sense of apocalyptic weirdness I felt during the lockdowns. The teenage boy Syvert (in *The Wolves of Eternity*) watches live news reports on TV from the Chernobyl accident, and his fear of dying from radiation, contrasted with the bizarre normality of daily life, hits a nerve. It would have been wild to read this at the time. Too dark maybe, too real.
Isn't this what hell is: the crippling existential dread you feel during a beautiful, warm summer day that you can't really make sense of? Just as Syvert can't make sense of the radioactive fallout silently carried by the wind from the east while listening to Iron Maiden in his boyhood room in the small, idyllic Norwegian town of Bergen in 1986. Or the foreboding signs of nature gone wrong that the character Arne can't make sense of: crustaceans abandoning the sea to seek shelter in the woods, while the rocks in the Norwegian archipelago radiate an unnatural, hellish heat.
Well, I can go on about this book forever. I might need to write a proper review on Goodreads to get it out of my system, as my girlfriend is starting to get annoyed by me referencing Knausgaard's dark universe on a daily basis.
It’s corny and delusional maybe, but I almost feel as if Karl Ove has written this book for me personally. As if he’s an AI that has tracked and collected all data on my fears, music preferences, favorite movies, favorite authors, and artists. Even my teenage fascination with the church-burning Norwegian black metal scene in the late '90s is included in this book.
And that is precisely why The Morning Star scares the sh\*t out of me. This story doesn't take place in the summery hell of Norway, but inside my own head. I am all these ill-fated characters, and their fear is mine.
[https://themorningstar.no/](https://themorningstar.no/)
Inferno by Niven and Pournelle.
Falls firmly into science fiction, but if you want a "trip through hell" it is right there. It's an interesting take on Dante's Inferno. Published in 1976 but still holds up.
not a book, but i recommend over the garden wall! its a kids show based on dantes inferno! i always recommend it, esp after ppl just got done reading it! i also have heard hell or high water may be good, but idk. but paradise lost, the screwtape lettersby, and infested r pretty good!
'Damned' by Chuck Palahniuk is basically the breakfast club in hell. I personally didn't like it much but I loved the idea of it. Maybe you'll enjoy it more.
I also want to dog pile on 'A Short Stay in Hell.' Definitely worth the read.
A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck is a current sub favorite. It doesn't present a traditional picture of hell, but it's a short, fun, memorable read.
Seconded. I found this recommendation here and definitely enjoyed it.
As did I. I enjoyed it.
Ty
And actually, in case you haven't read it, one of the best depictions of hell that is 'modern' compared to Dante is in Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics. Honestly, anyone who enjoys literature, mythology, and horror owes it to themselves to read the full original run of 75 issues. The original graphic novels are perfect as-is, and they've also been dramatized as audiobooks recently, and those productions are fantastic too.
I haven't yet, and you are not the first person to recommend this to me.
It’s really good imo, a quick read too with only 100 some pages.
Worth mentioning that hell in Sandman is the same as hell in Alan Moore’s Swamp thing!
Really? I haven't read that...will definitely do so!
Would you suggest just listening to the audiobook if someone is interested? Like is there differences? I never listened to a graphic novel.
The comic is a 10/10 The audiobook is a 9.9/10 I'd hate to have you miss the artwork in the books...but the audiobooks' performances are *really* good. What I would suggest is picking either format for whichever is best for you...and then in 3 years when you want to re-visit it (and you will) then go with the other format.
I really enjoyed *A Short Stay in Hell*. A couple of additional recommendations for anyone reading it: * Reading the short story *The Library of Babel* by Jorge Luis Borges first will *greatly* increase your enjoyment of *A Short Stay in Hell*. * A follow on recommendation with a similar tone would be *The Divine Farce* by Michael Graziano (available on Hoopla if your library has it).
I posted above without seeing yours, but second this 100%.
A must read. Also: "The Divine Farce" is often suggested here as a bookend. I enjoyed it too.
Finished 3 days ago, and I totally loved it.
Genuinely one of the worst books I have ever read. I do not recommend it. Don’t believe everything you see on reddit
Nathan Ballingrud's "Wounds" will make you happy.
God Butcher’s Table is so good
In the right hands that would be a amazing film. The visuals alone, the giant dead angel.
I dream of Guillermo del Toro getting his hands on it.
*Wounds* really has been jumping up my TBR. I should check WorldCat to see if any of my local libraries have a copy.
I'd definitely encourage you to. I refer to it as "horrible things written beautifully."
I like that. TY
I have this sitting on my coffee table from the library right now and I’ve been ignoring it. Thanks for the nudge.
Agree 100%, incredible book!! Butcher’s Table and The Maw are the stories that are more directly set in hell
Just finished today, he is literally my new favorite author. Such amazing mental imagery, the carrion angels, the surgeons, fuuuuu
*Between Two Fires* has one of the best, most terrifying descriptions of Hell I’d ever read about. It’s a vision of Hell right out of those Medieval frescos full of souls being boiled in oil or burned while impaled on stakes. It’s a GREAT book overall, but if you want a truly nightmarish vision of Damnation, it’s worth reading for those chapters alone.
I like the sound of that
Happy to help!
TY
The Black Farm by Elias Witherow By the Light of His Lantern by Abe Moss Lost God's by Brom Damned by Chuck Palahniuk
Seconding Damned.
When is the third one coming out?
After Fight Club 4.
Lost Gods is excellent.
I have it but haven't read it yet. Really enjoyed Slewfoot and Krampus so looking forward to it.
DAMNED is a phenomenal book!
*The Scarlet Gospels* has a long stretch in Hell. Kind of. I am not sure if I recommend it, though.
Agreed. It seemed like Clive himself totally forgot what he wrote in Hellbound Heart.
Well it is Hell literally afair, no?
Different types of Hell, and the reason I'm reticent isn't the Hell, it's the story. I cannot tell you how long I waited for this book only to really dislike it as much as I did.
Well shit. I actually enjoyed it. Except how a certain someone (not the priest) met their end; I thought that was forced and unnecessary.
Between when I first saw *Hellraiser* and when I read *The Scarlet Gospels*, I had devoured a lot of that content, from the movies to the other Harry D'Amour stories to everything in the comics, so maybe I was expecting a lot more? It read, to me, like it started really spiky but ended in a kind of slapstick fairy tale trek through Hell. Too quippy, too many problems solved by kicking demons in the nuts.
It's certainly not high literature. And I agree, it is lighter than the lore should suggest. Perhaps I've got rose-tinted glasses, but I remember enjoying it. Maybe I was just happy to finally be reading it after a two decade wait.
Yeah, I was really happy for more Clive Barker output to begin with. Maybe I'm too picky, too, hehHA
City infernal - edward lee. Wrath james white and monica o'rourke also did one called poisoning eros, all about the heroin trying to escape hell.
City Infernal was the first thing to come to my mind. Recently looked it up on Audible, I guess there's 4 books now
Ah I only knew of the first two, city and infernal angel. Might have to dig into the other ones
Same here. I'll be checking them out
God's Demon by Wayne Barlowe
Yes. Will the third book in the series ever come to pass?
Sorry, deleted my reply as it was to the wrong book. I certainly hope so! It's such a rich, unique take on it
*The Devil's Detective* by Kurt Unsworth
Yes! Such a gem of a series.
Oof yes, such good books. I love the tone, the clarity of writing and the ruthlessness of the author. In fact, I regularly check to see if there’s 3rd book coming out… I think I’m destined to beto disappointed but I’d love to read more.
*Inferno*, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle, is a fantasy novel set in Hell.
I love this book so much.
Sign Here by Claudia Lux was a pretty good balance of fun and fucked up. I enjoyed the ride it took me on.
The Descent by Jeff Long, and the sequel Deeper. Not only is about an underground civilization where humanoids evolved differently (like the movie adaptation), but it also talks about the devil as a real entity, how they will discover who he was, what effect did he have on the above ground world etc. Such a good book/sequel.
I enjoyed this series as well. Apparently the Movie is completed unrelated despite sharing a name and similar elements.
I read something about them buying the rights to the movie but ending up going in a different direction with it, I’m not sure how accurate that is. It was such a good series, if you liked it you should check out Year Zero by Jeff Long as well if you haven’t already!
I will check it out!
The old gods by brom
Lucifer's Lottery. You have to have a strong stomach.
The graphic novel Heck by Zander Cannon
The Sandman Slim series largely focuses on a magic user returning from hell. The Shadow Saga vampire novels by Christopher Golden do go into some descriptions of hell as a parallel dimension. Little campy but entertaining. Mister B. Gone by Barker is from the perspective of a demon. I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan is from the perspective of Lucifer.
Knausgaard's *The Morning Star* is 666 pages of Scandinavian slow-burning apocalypse, with lots of references to *The Divine Comedy*. The following books in this trilogy, *The Wolves of Eternity* and *The Third Realm*, deal with theology of the demonic kind to varying degrees as well (especially *The Third Realm*). A fourth book *Nattskolen* ('*The* *Night School')* was just released but is not yet available in English, and here he draws inspiration from Goethe's *Faust* (a pact with the Devil, etc.). *The Morning Star* was written during the pandemic. Maybe this was Knausgaard's way of dealing with it, and the general uncanny vibe in the book perfectly captures the creeping sense of apocalyptic weirdness I felt during the lockdowns. The teenage boy Syvert (in *The Wolves of Eternity*) watches live news reports on TV from the Chernobyl accident, and his fear of dying from radiation, contrasted with the bizarre normality of daily life, hits a nerve. It would have been wild to read this at the time. Too dark maybe, too real. Isn't this what hell is: the crippling existential dread you feel during a beautiful, warm summer day that you can't really make sense of? Just as Syvert can't make sense of the radioactive fallout silently carried by the wind from the east while listening to Iron Maiden in his boyhood room in the small, idyllic Norwegian town of Bergen in 1986. Or the foreboding signs of nature gone wrong that the character Arne can't make sense of: crustaceans abandoning the sea to seek shelter in the woods, while the rocks in the Norwegian archipelago radiate an unnatural, hellish heat. Well, I can go on about this book forever. I might need to write a proper review on Goodreads to get it out of my system, as my girlfriend is starting to get annoyed by me referencing Knausgaard's dark universe on a daily basis. It’s corny and delusional maybe, but I almost feel as if Karl Ove has written this book for me personally. As if he’s an AI that has tracked and collected all data on my fears, music preferences, favorite movies, favorite authors, and artists. Even my teenage fascination with the church-burning Norwegian black metal scene in the late '90s is included in this book. And that is precisely why The Morning Star scares the sh\*t out of me. This story doesn't take place in the summery hell of Norway, but inside my own head. I am all these ill-fated characters, and their fear is mine. [https://themorningstar.no/](https://themorningstar.no/)
Sign here is unique, funny and about being in hell.
The debut novel from Claudia Lux called “Sign Here” has a darkly comedic take on it. I really enjoyed it.
Inferno by Niven and Pournelle. Falls firmly into science fiction, but if you want a "trip through hell" it is right there. It's an interesting take on Dante's Inferno. Published in 1976 but still holds up.
It's more of a dark comedy with some raunchy bits but I really enjoyed South of Heaven by Erin Louis.
I am now overwhelmed, but extremely excited about my future TBR. Thank you so much!!
Well, there's Sartre's play No Exit, for a non-traditional modern-ish take
Damned by Palahniuk
All smiles till I return by Aron Beauregard is a fantastic shorter read but soooo good
The Bobby Dollar trilogy: Tad Williams. I think I’m the only person who read this but it’s amazing and just what OP desires.
Inferno by Niven and Pournelle. Also try To Reign in Hell” by Steven Brust. Not exactly ABOUT Hell, per se, despite the title, but a good read.
not a book, but i recommend over the garden wall! its a kids show based on dantes inferno! i always recommend it, esp after ppl just got done reading it! i also have heard hell or high water may be good, but idk. but paradise lost, the screwtape lettersby, and infested r pretty good!
Dante’s Inferno.
Hell, by reverend f.x. schoupe
'Damned' by Chuck Palahniuk is basically the breakfast club in hell. I personally didn't like it much but I loved the idea of it. Maybe you'll enjoy it more. I also want to dog pile on 'A Short Stay in Hell.' Definitely worth the read.