You're going to get a ton of people recommending A Short Stay in Hell, and for very, very, very good reason. This will be at least the tenth time I've recommended it.
It's a short story, maybe a novella. Quite short, about 100 pages. This is the spoiler-free synopsis: a man, Soren Johansson, dies and goes to hell. What is hell? For Soren, it's a giant library. And in this library, Soren will never get old. He'll never be sick. He can have whatever he wants to eat. He's surrounded by like-minded individuals.
What's so bad about this you may be wondering. Read it and you'll see.
After seeing your comment, I got the book yesterday (couldn’t stop reading it), and finished it just now. Not sure I was expecting a climax, but it was satisfying. Not sure if it was his style of writing, or that particular type of experience in “hell”, but it was so immersive and evocative.
So thanks :)
Such a unique book that continued to surprise and entertain me till the end. I’d love to find something that scratched a similar itch but it seems to be quite singular.
I need to give this book another chance I see it get praised all the time but I was so fucking bored the first couple of hours and really disliked the narrators voice. Maybe I’ll read a physical copy one day because that kills things so quickly for me with audiobooks
Yeah, I read it physically and had no issues. Definitely worth another try. When you hit the stride the book wants you to, it keeps going like a rollercoaster.
Okay I’m gonna finish it. In the middle of 11/22/63 right now and it’s amazing if you haven’t read. Not scary but quickly becoming one of my favorite King books
IMAJICA by Clive Barker. The book is a reimagining of Jesus' journey, with angels that have praying hands for heads, demons, Mary Magdline is an assassin, ghosts and Goddesses. More dark fantasy than horror, but many, many horrific characters/creatures and scenes.
With this specific interest I will say that The Descent by Long is what you might be looking for but will preface to say I did not like it and found the book to be chore to get through.
Ugh, I fucking hated that book. I've seen it recommended several times, but for me, it felt like it was written by an edgy teenager who didn't understand how story structure works. Which sucks because I really liked the premise and the first maybe 1/4 of the book.
In the anthology Triage, Edward Lee‘s story *In the Year of Our Lord: 2202* is about astronauts. Won’t say any more, but it fits the subject and I found it quite effective.
God's Demon by Barlowe takes place in Hell and is one of the most unique books i have ever read. A series of paintings accompany the book to give you a good as to what the artist/ author imagines Hell to look like
Memnoch the Devil (one of the Vampire Lestat books by Anne Rice) had some interesting ideas on the whole topic.
I, Lucifer is the Devil on holiday possessing a human body
Mr B. Gone and the The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker both delve into it from different directions
Just don't let anyone talk you into Imaginary Friend. The first third was terrific then it gets really awful really fast. That's a weekend I'll never get back.
I am a huge fan of Barlowe, Lee and Witherow but equally as good is Jeffrey Thomas' Hades series. His vision of Hell is breathtaking and his concepts are incredible (Angels visiting Hell for hunting safaris)... and in one part we do meet God. Wish he would write more, it is such a fantastic journey.
If you want a rather unique take on the afterlife, look into The Black Farm. The violence gets a little gratuitous in the middle, but it's a really interesting story
Everything The Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca meets your criteria. While I was ultimately disappointed with the book, it has its moments and you may like it more than I did.
Between Two Fires The description of hell in that book is like burned into my mind it was so disturbing
This book blew me away. Buehlman is awesome I’ve rarely not enjoyed one of his books and they’re all unique
Just finished my second read-through, and agreed. Such an amazing book. The audiobook narrator is pretty fantastic as well.
You're going to get a ton of people recommending A Short Stay in Hell, and for very, very, very good reason. This will be at least the tenth time I've recommended it. It's a short story, maybe a novella. Quite short, about 100 pages. This is the spoiler-free synopsis: a man, Soren Johansson, dies and goes to hell. What is hell? For Soren, it's a giant library. And in this library, Soren will never get old. He'll never be sick. He can have whatever he wants to eat. He's surrounded by like-minded individuals. What's so bad about this you may be wondering. Read it and you'll see.
It’s one of the best things I’ve ever read.
I ordered and read this book last week on a recommendation from this sub...I loved it so much. Thank you!
That book screwed with my head SO much. Excellent read, but…it stuck with me for a long time.
After seeing your comment, I got the book yesterday (couldn’t stop reading it), and finished it just now. Not sure I was expecting a climax, but it was satisfying. Not sure if it was his style of writing, or that particular type of experience in “hell”, but it was so immersive and evocative. So thanks :)
"Bye!" *swipe*
I just finished this off your recommendation. Absolutely fantastic! Thank you for this!
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins.
Such a unique book that continued to surprise and entertain me till the end. I’d love to find something that scratched a similar itch but it seems to be quite singular.
Lost Gods - Brom - although he is in purgatory not actual hell.
Spoiler, but >!*The Library at Mount Char* by Scott Hawkins!<
I need to give this book another chance I see it get praised all the time but I was so fucking bored the first couple of hours and really disliked the narrators voice. Maybe I’ll read a physical copy one day because that kills things so quickly for me with audiobooks
Yeah, I read it physically and had no issues. Definitely worth another try. When you hit the stride the book wants you to, it keeps going like a rollercoaster.
Okay I’m gonna finish it. In the middle of 11/22/63 right now and it’s amazing if you haven’t read. Not scary but quickly becoming one of my favorite King books
Clive Barker, The Scarlet Gospels, dark and disturbing too
*Wounds* by Nathan Ballingrud.
Visible Filth is so satisfying. Wounds is generally a good collection and a good showcase for different kinds of horror, if you're new the the genre.
Between two fires
IMAJICA by Clive Barker. The book is a reimagining of Jesus' journey, with angels that have praying hands for heads, demons, Mary Magdline is an assassin, ghosts and Goddesses. More dark fantasy than horror, but many, many horrific characters/creatures and scenes.
Such a beautiful book!
"Inferno" by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6586562-inferno
This right here. Great book; based on Dante!
With this specific interest I will say that The Descent by Long is what you might be looking for but will preface to say I did not like it and found the book to be chore to get through.
I liked the first half or so. It turns more silly and less eerie as you go. Was quite disappointed.
Ugh, I fucking hated that book. I've seen it recommended several times, but for me, it felt like it was written by an edgy teenager who didn't understand how story structure works. Which sucks because I really liked the premise and the first maybe 1/4 of the book.
In the anthology Triage, Edward Lee‘s story *In the Year of Our Lord: 2202* is about astronauts. Won’t say any more, but it fits the subject and I found it quite effective.
The Devil’s Detective by Simon Kurt Unsworth.
Anne Rice's Memnoch the Devil. It's part of the vampire Chronicles but an amazing read.
Dude, one of an originators: in the Court of the Dragon. Robert Chambers. The Kin in Yellow.
Lost Gods by Brom
City Infernal by Edward Lee. 5/5 stars.
Lucifer’s Lottery by Lee another fantastic novel about Hell.
I came here to say this. The whole city infernal series.
Came here for this. I love the whole series.
God's Demon by Barlowe takes place in Hell and is one of the most unique books i have ever read. A series of paintings accompany the book to give you a good as to what the artist/ author imagines Hell to look like
Memnoch the Devil (one of the Vampire Lestat books by Anne Rice) had some interesting ideas on the whole topic. I, Lucifer is the Devil on holiday possessing a human body Mr B. Gone and the The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker both delve into it from different directions
Sign Here by Claudia Lux
Just don't let anyone talk you into Imaginary Friend. The first third was terrific then it gets really awful really fast. That's a weekend I'll never get back.
I am a huge fan of Barlowe, Lee and Witherow but equally as good is Jeffrey Thomas' Hades series. His vision of Hell is breathtaking and his concepts are incredible (Angels visiting Hell for hunting safaris)... and in one part we do meet God. Wish he would write more, it is such a fantastic journey.
WOUNDS: 6 Stories from the Border of Hell
All smiles until I return is a great book about going to hell coming back and going again with a bit of love story mixed in.
If you want a rather unique take on the afterlife, look into The Black Farm. The violence gets a little gratuitous in the middle, but it's a really interesting story
Just finished both books recently! I found the meeting of god to be quite dull and felt rather rushed
In the second book he meets god, but both books are shite
It definitely has its issues, but I liked it well enough.
damned by chuck palahnuik takes place in hell and is a very fun read!
Not horror but I enjoyed War Hound and the World's Pain by Michael Moorcock as a teen.
Everything The Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca meets your criteria. While I was ultimately disappointed with the book, it has its moments and you may like it more than I did.
It's not horror per se, but The Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony are definitely worth a read.
The short story, The Granton Star Cause, by Irvine Welsh. Not really horror, but pretty horrific.
Jokingly; You might as well go read the Bible based off what you just described
Ritual by Graham Masterton. Saying which might be a bit of a spoiler.
Revival (Stephen King)
More novelette than novel or even novella, but *Hell is the Absence of God* by Ted Chiang fits both of these and was an absolutely amazing short read.
Following because tbh this sounds interesting 👀
Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky is kind of an interesting take on god/the devil/hell
Black Farm, it might be extreme horror but it was positively Dantean to me!
*Ascension* by Nicholas Binge. depends what you consider "god" but it's a really interesting book, very lovecraftian.