- Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: Monkeybrain (15 Feb 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1932265252
- ISBN-13: 978-1932265255
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.7 x 1.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 596,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Escape From Hell! (Brain In A Jar Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
A hitman, a hooker, a homosexual kid, and a hobo suicide make the ultimate prison break...escape from Hell itself! But when news of their attempted escape gets out, the souls of the damned are transformed into a rioting mob, and all Hell truly does break loose. It's Escape from New York meets Jacob's Ladder, by one of fantasy's rising stars.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A short novel that packs an awful lot in, Escape from Hell is a metaphysical fantasy recast as a Hollywood blockbuster, and packs a powerful punch.
The central thesis is one that is restated several times in the book itself - "nobody deserves to be here". Not even a killer deserves to be tortured for all eternity.
To this end you find yourself cheering on cold-hearted hitman Seven as he breaks his bonds of punishment and runs rampant through Hell, collecting a group of others who also don't deserve to be there.
Apart from Seven, who we learn was offed by his employers after defaulting on a hit, we find in the prologue a range of characters who deserve nothing but our sympathy - Eli, a suicidal tramp tormented by an undisclosed episode in his previous life as a university professor, Matthew, a gay teenager beaten to death by a bigoted mob, and Belle, a heroin-addicted prostitute who is, as we later learn, little more than a child herself.
All are consigned to Hell, in this book envisioned as eternity in the worst situation of your life - forever. Their fates in the first section of the novel are so horrible that you'll be cheering them on as they escape, shoot guards, blow up helicopters, all that good Michael Bay stuff. And there's a kicker of an ending too. I'd love to see the sequel.
In short - well worth your time. And if you don't like it, well, it is quite short.
The central thesis is one that is restated several times in the book itself - "nobody deserves to be here". Not even a killer deserves to be tortured for all eternity.
To this end you find yourself cheering on cold-hearted hitman Seven as he breaks his bonds of punishment and runs rampant through Hell, collecting a group of others who also don't deserve to be there.
Apart from Seven, who we learn was offed by his employers after defaulting on a hit, we find in the prologue a range of characters who deserve nothing but our sympathy - Eli, a suicidal tramp tormented by an undisclosed episode in his previous life as a university professor, Matthew, a gay teenager beaten to death by a bigoted mob, and Belle, a heroin-addicted prostitute who is, as we later learn, little more than a child herself.
All are consigned to Hell, in this book envisioned as eternity in the worst situation of your life - forever. Their fates in the first section of the novel are so horrible that you'll be cheering them on as they escape, shoot guards, blow up helicopters, all that good Michael Bay stuff. And there's a kicker of an ending too. I'd love to see the sequel.
In short - well worth your time. And if you don't like it, well, it is quite short.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A lot of people found Hal Duncan's first book, Vellum, a challenging read and pretty hard going. Not so this book. This is a slick, fast-paced romp through a futuristic post-punk hell that is just screaming out to be made into a film. I loved it. If you didn't dig Vellum, give this a go. If you did dig Vellum, give this a go. You won't be disappointed.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A gloriously indecent B-action movie thrill-ride!
27 April 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am forced to admit to a terrible shame. I am yet to finish Hal Duncan's amazing Book of All Hours. I got stuck halfway through Ink and it still awaits my return to its impossible multiverse. That said, I loved Vellum and what I read from its sequel. It was just too much, too fast, and at the wrong time, but I have every intention of finishing it. I consider The Book of All Hours to be one of the very few truly unique and genius pieces of speculative literature out there.
Escape From Hell! is a completely different work. It is a small book, almost a novella, in which Duncan pays tribute to a very particular brand of B-movies. It is the ultimate "escape from..." story, in which four characters die and are sent to Hell - a demonic, twisted version of New York City. A hooker, killed by her pimp. A homosexual boy, beaten to death for his orientation (his name is Matthew btw). A hitman, done in by his competitors. A hobo suicide. They couldn't be more different and the places they find themselves in Hell have nothing in common. The hooker is locked into a cheap motel room, where a never-ending stream of Hell's brutal sadistic policemen come to use her as they please. The kid is sent into a "hospital", to be "cured" from his homosexuality. The hitman is constantly beaten and tortured in an underground facility, while the hobo becomes part of Hells homeless community, who are - literally - invisible, except for the special scanners of the police force that raids the streets mercilessly. But as the four of them manage to break away from their personal horrors, something draws them to each other and finally they decide to do the impossible. But the media quickly starts following their progress, and as every denizen of Hell focuses their attention on the escapees, the four find a secret, hidden in the bowels of the city - the reason for Hell's very existence.
Escape From Hell! is disarmingly camp and funny, but it is also bloody, vicious and somewhat disquieting. The blending of B-movie action scenes with character studies and the very real and complicated relationships between the four heroes of the story makes for a really interesting experience, and while the plot is ridiculous in its extremity, it is still intense and compelling. Hal Duncan - a fervent attacker of Christianity's hypocrisy (the way he perceives it) - does not shy from uncomfortable topics, and his book has some very interesting thoughts on the nature of faith, religion and dogmas.
Still, Escape From Hell! is by no means any sort of propaganda. It is a work of pulp art, elegantly executed, flamboyant, charming and disturbing. The characters are likable with all their flaws, and even though the story is short, I truly cared for them by the end. If you are into intentionally campy entertainment, this one is a must. Even if you aren't though, it still offers a lot more than many other "serious" books out there.
9/10
[...]
Escape From Hell! is a completely different work. It is a small book, almost a novella, in which Duncan pays tribute to a very particular brand of B-movies. It is the ultimate "escape from..." story, in which four characters die and are sent to Hell - a demonic, twisted version of New York City. A hooker, killed by her pimp. A homosexual boy, beaten to death for his orientation (his name is Matthew btw). A hitman, done in by his competitors. A hobo suicide. They couldn't be more different and the places they find themselves in Hell have nothing in common. The hooker is locked into a cheap motel room, where a never-ending stream of Hell's brutal sadistic policemen come to use her as they please. The kid is sent into a "hospital", to be "cured" from his homosexuality. The hitman is constantly beaten and tortured in an underground facility, while the hobo becomes part of Hells homeless community, who are - literally - invisible, except for the special scanners of the police force that raids the streets mercilessly. But as the four of them manage to break away from their personal horrors, something draws them to each other and finally they decide to do the impossible. But the media quickly starts following their progress, and as every denizen of Hell focuses their attention on the escapees, the four find a secret, hidden in the bowels of the city - the reason for Hell's very existence.
Escape From Hell! is disarmingly camp and funny, but it is also bloody, vicious and somewhat disquieting. The blending of B-movie action scenes with character studies and the very real and complicated relationships between the four heroes of the story makes for a really interesting experience, and while the plot is ridiculous in its extremity, it is still intense and compelling. Hal Duncan - a fervent attacker of Christianity's hypocrisy (the way he perceives it) - does not shy from uncomfortable topics, and his book has some very interesting thoughts on the nature of faith, religion and dogmas.
Still, Escape From Hell! is by no means any sort of propaganda. It is a work of pulp art, elegantly executed, flamboyant, charming and disturbing. The characters are likable with all their flaws, and even though the story is short, I truly cared for them by the end. If you are into intentionally campy entertainment, this one is a must. Even if you aren't though, it still offers a lot more than many other "serious" books out there.
9/10
[...]
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Engaging and original
18 Nov 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This story is more linear than Hal Duncan's other books, which makes it easier to follow. (I liked his other novels too, but they are not quick reads.) It features engaging characters and an original approach to mythology along with flashes of humor and exceptional descriptions. It's easy to forget about most books once you close the cover but this novel has lingered in my mind. The author had something to say and he said it beautifully. Highly recommended.
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