A Smaller Hell

by A.J. Reid

Tony Black is a lonely thirtysomething, lost in the grey wasteland of modern Britain. His lust for life gone, he sleepwalks to and from work each day, barely even able to conjur a daydream on the journey.

Dianne Doyle is an insatiable fortysomething in a playground of corruption, with each game becoming increasingly bizarre. Some would say that she is simply a businesswoman trying to make a success out of her inheritance, but those who know her best know that her interest in profit margins ran out a long time ago. Her pampered, flawless appearance belies a dark history of perversion and violence ... and the worst is yet to come for Tony Black: Tanner's Department Store's newest employee, and Dianne Doyle's chosen playmate for her most enigmatic and dangerous game yet. This Christmas, the mundane will be a warm, distant memory for Black, as he finds himself pinned down by Doyle's trident of blackmail, sex and violence.

A Smaller Hell is a tale of collisions between the normal and the perverted; the workaday and the surreal; the logical and the absurd; and of course, good and evil. It will keep you guessing as Black negotiates his way through the darkest corners of this once-splendid shipbuilding town, guided by strange characters and the distant voice of his own morality, right up until the shocking climax at the Christmas party.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 8, 2012

About the author

Writer dancing on the edge of sanity between the Mersey, Dee and the Irish Sea.

Genres: psychological, adventure, horror, sci-fi, speculative, dystopian, mystery, dark comedy ...

Likes: boxing, heavy/psychedelic blues/soul/rock, absurdism, surrealism, fires on the beach, teaching, debating, films (David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, Peter Mullan, Mike Leigh etc.) and cooking.

Influences: J. G. Ballard, Mary Shelley, Iain Banks, Franz Kafka, T. S. Eliot, Aldous Huxley, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells, Roald Dahl ...

Find out more at ajreid.carrd.co

Reviews

[Shell Swinscoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing story, one of those books that gets you withjn the first few pages & drags you too quickly to the end!!

[John Hinchliffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time listening to both A. J. Reid and narrator Matthew Wudotun, and I was very impressed. A Smaller Hell is full of strange but interesting characters that kept me engaged throughout. The story has a dark, quirky edge that makes it stand out, and the narration really brought it to life. Matthew Wudotun's performance was a spot on fit for the tone of the book. A very good listen, glad I gave it a chance and I hope to listen to more of Tony's work in the future!

[Helena Bordone · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this free on Amazon recently and it took me around three days of intermittent reading to complete the whole novel.

While it is clear that the author has tried hard to emulate and reproduce certain elements of storytelling within his work that he admires in other published works or classics, this, (unfortunately, as I really wanted to like it) is essentially just a rather rambling piece of amateur fiction.

The characters, for the most part, are well-formed and basically interesting (some more so than others), but the dialogue between them falls down at several key moments, with verbal text becoming trite - even tacky - in places.

The plot itself seems rather rushed, even for a short novel, and what comes across as a somewhat 'afterthought' ending is very disappointing. It would appear that the author became tired of writing and wanted to wrap things up quickly - interesting, since one gets a strong impression when reading the rest of his story that he has spent quite some time studying and following writers' 'recipe books' in the hope of constructing the perfect tale. Sadly, though, he has failed to realise that a great piece of art comes naturally - no amount of emulation or information will ever lead to something truly original.

With regards to the story as a whole, on the one hand, A.J. Reid has neglected several important aspects of storywriting that make for a rich plot, preferring instead to only focus in great detail on the dramatic elements he has included in his tale (namely sex and violence), perhaps in an attempt to shock, or appeal to, the less sophisticated reader. On the other, he has clearly very much 'overthought' his piece, infecting it with a mechanical undertone that doesn't flow well on the page.

It is my theory that perhaps Reid became too 'connected' with his characters (after all, elsewhere on the web he states that this story is based on real-life experiences). I see this novel, perhaps, as one man's mission to portray himself through fiction in the way that he would like others to see him in the flesh - a common 'trigger' among some of our very best-loved authors, sparking various truly inspired works. This attempt, however, sadly falls flat. The overall impression I get of A.J. Reid is one of confusion and frustration, and I am sorry to say that this shines like a beacon through the plot holes in his work.

Saying that, there are good things to be remarked upon too. The idea behind the story, with a lot more work, could be a very promising one. There are several fairly amusing moments, some nice descriptive images and an overall good understanding of the English language; A.J. Reid would certainly make a decent columnist. 'A Smaller Hell' is not, however, one that will 'go the distance' in my opinion. Two stars. **




I'm a learning critic and this has been my first Goodreads review - please contact me at helenabordone76@yahoo.com if you would like an honest personal review of your work. Thankyou!

[Debbie Zahurones · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have been encouraged to explain my one star review. It has been brought to my attention that it is not helpful to potential readers or the author if the lowest rating is not explained. It has been a debate as to if it is fair to rate a book even though I was not able to finish it after several attempts and chapters. This in itself, should have been explanation enough, but I feel compelled to add on due to the views of the author.

I found it interesting that an author would feel compelled enough to defend his work, and ask for an explanation, but then refuse to take constructive criticism without sarcastic and underlying belittling in his responses to his inquiry.

This explains the over descriptive areas and under explained writing in this book. It is if the author loved the idea of one scene but didn't care to elaborate on the next. Almost skipping to what is liked and skimming over the areas to get to the next part to complete the book. Which, by the way, I could not complete. Granted, it was not the book for me. I was hoping that the description or "written trailer" of the book was what I was about to read, but it fell short for me.

[Leslie Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sort of enjoyed this book. It was confusing at times as to who certain characters were (unless that was because I was reading while tired when they introduced the characters. It was a weird premise, but pretty unique, which can be good. I didn't really feel like the main characters were as flushed out as I would have liked, but the settings were well-described and interesting.

[Jennie M · Rating 1 out of 5]

I too could sadly not finish this book. The story was hasty and confusing.