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PM's Outspoken Authors #13
Raising Hell
Taking aim at both Christian fundamentalists and corporate CEOs, Raising Hell is a rousing account of the fight to improve working conditions in Hell, a cause taken up by the likes of Jimmy Hoffa, John L. Lewis, and César Chávez. This volume also features “The Abnormal New Normal,” an essay that casts a cold and critical eye on current trends in popular culture, showing how they reflect the domination of the one percent and suggesting a radical fix. The book closes with an Outspoken Interview, a mix of intimate revelation, celebrity gossip, insight, opinion, and outright lies.
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Norman Spinrad
366 books217 followersBorn in New York in 1940, Norman Spinrad is an acclaimed SF writer.
Norman Spinrad, born in New York City, is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. In 1957 he entered City College of New York and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree as a pre-law major. In 1966 he moved to San Francisco, then to Los Angeles, and now lives in Paris. He married fellow novelist N. Lee Wood in 1990; they divorced in 2005. They had no children. Spinrad served as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) from 1980 to 1982 and again from 2001 to 2002.
Norman Spinrad, born in New York City, is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. In 1957 he entered City College of New York and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree as a pre-law major. In 1966 he moved to San Francisco, then to Los Angeles, and now lives in Paris. He married fellow novelist N. Lee Wood in 1990; they divorced in 2005. They had no children. Spinrad served as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) from 1980 to 1982 and again from 2001 to 2002.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 7, 2024
3,5. Et si l’enfer faisait grève ? Un postulat original qui permet à Norman Spinrad de développer une réflexion politique, mais aussi philosophique autour du libre-arbitre.
Le cadre de l’enfer et ses personnages apportent un côté humoristique que j’ai beaucoup apprécié. La réflexion a une place plus importante que l’action, et le texte est très logiquement suivi d’un entretien avec l’auteur ainsi qu’un court essai développant la pensée de celui-ci.
Les éditions Goater m’ont tapé dans l’œil, et j’y reviendrai avec plaisir.
Le cadre de l’enfer et ses personnages apportent un côté humoristique que j’ai beaucoup apprécié. La réflexion a une place plus importante que l’action, et le texte est très logiquement suivi d’un entretien avec l’auteur ainsi qu’un court essai développant la pensée de celui-ci.
Les éditions Goater m’ont tapé dans l’œil, et j’y reviendrai avec plaisir.
April 20, 2025
I thought raising hell was hilarious and spot on. His essay while not as radical as I would go, definitely was interesting, intelligent and worthwhile as was the interview. By far one of the best in the pm press outspoken series after reading a dozen.
January 2, 2022
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5
From PM Press's Outspoken Authors series comes Norman Spinrad's Raising Hell. The titular story (perhaps a novelette) is a humorous and biting commentary on the role of union's in the workplace. A union organizer is sent to hell where he first organizes a strike against the working conditions and pain enforced by the devil's demons. Constant pain is constant pain, after all, and what can the demons do when everyone just refuses to do the endless, pointless work? Inflict more pain? But after he successfully deals with the devil, he goes to work on the demons, suggesting that they could have better working conditions as well.
The story is amusing and a quick read. It definitely has a dated feel to it (1970's or early 1980's?) though I can't quite put my finger on why other than the idea that unions and union-busting was a topic of conversation (for me, anyway) at that time. (Interestingly, I can't find a date for when this story was written - not even in the Fantastic Fiction database.)
As with the other books in the PM Outspoken Authors books that I've read, this book contains one long story, an essay (or speech), and an interview. The essay, "The Abnormal New Normal," was quite striking (pun intended) and a really nice companion piece to the story. This is a political essay, and generally I wouldn't care to read something of this nature (don't we get enough politics on a daily basis?) but Spinrad relays this information in such a clear style that I couldn't help but be engrossed in it. If my history books in school had been this clear, I may have had more interest in history back then!
The interview has less of a connection to the story and essay, but for someone like me, who knows the name Norman Spinrad but hasn't read much of his work, I found his history and information interesting. Spinrad's most famous work (arguably) is a novel titled Bug Jack Barron and in a storyline that almost every famous writer seems to share, the novel was rejected by publisher, over and over until a small, almost rogue publisher decided to serialize it. It's the kind of story that gives every unknown writer hope.
This is my favorite of the PM Outspoken Authors series books that I've read so far.
Looking for a good book? Raising Hell by Norman Spinrad is a part of the PM Outspoken Authors series, containing a story, an essay, and an interview with Norman Spinrad. The story is fun, the essay informative, and the interview revealing.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
From PM Press's Outspoken Authors series comes Norman Spinrad's Raising Hell. The titular story (perhaps a novelette) is a humorous and biting commentary on the role of union's in the workplace. A union organizer is sent to hell where he first organizes a strike against the working conditions and pain enforced by the devil's demons. Constant pain is constant pain, after all, and what can the demons do when everyone just refuses to do the endless, pointless work? Inflict more pain? But after he successfully deals with the devil, he goes to work on the demons, suggesting that they could have better working conditions as well.
The story is amusing and a quick read. It definitely has a dated feel to it (1970's or early 1980's?) though I can't quite put my finger on why other than the idea that unions and union-busting was a topic of conversation (for me, anyway) at that time. (Interestingly, I can't find a date for when this story was written - not even in the Fantastic Fiction database.)
As with the other books in the PM Outspoken Authors books that I've read, this book contains one long story, an essay (or speech), and an interview. The essay, "The Abnormal New Normal," was quite striking (pun intended) and a really nice companion piece to the story. This is a political essay, and generally I wouldn't care to read something of this nature (don't we get enough politics on a daily basis?) but Spinrad relays this information in such a clear style that I couldn't help but be engrossed in it. If my history books in school had been this clear, I may have had more interest in history back then!
The interview has less of a connection to the story and essay, but for someone like me, who knows the name Norman Spinrad but hasn't read much of his work, I found his history and information interesting. Spinrad's most famous work (arguably) is a novel titled Bug Jack Barron and in a storyline that almost every famous writer seems to share, the novel was rejected by publisher, over and over until a small, almost rogue publisher decided to serialize it. It's the kind of story that gives every unknown writer hope.
This is my favorite of the PM Outspoken Authors series books that I've read so far.
Looking for a good book? Raising Hell by Norman Spinrad is a part of the PM Outspoken Authors series, containing a story, an essay, and an interview with Norman Spinrad. The story is fun, the essay informative, and the interview revealing.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
January 20, 2017
Nouveau roman de Norman Spinrad, sur un format court. Comme les trois précédents, il s'agit d'un texte directement publié en France, sans passer par l'édition américaine.
*Grève infernale* prend pour cadre les enfers, comme son nom le laisse penser, où l'on suit deux hommes fraîchement décédés : Jimmy "le pourri" un ex-syndicaliste et un ex-financier dont je n'ai curieusement pas retenu le nom.
Le récit s'attarde surtout sur Jimmy, qui est envoyé pelleter du charbon aux côtés d'autres figures syndicales américaines. D'abord méprisé par ses collègues car Jimmy a fondé le syndicat des travailleurs temporaires (ces mêmes travailleurs qui ont servi à briser les grèves des autres syndicats), il ne tarde pas à gagner leur respect en initiant un mouvement de grève des travailleurs des enfers, rapidement suivi d'ne grève des démons.
Le texte est très plaisant, mettant en scène un Lucifer aigri, dégoûté de devoir faire le sale boulot de Dieu et de ne pas avoir d'autre choix puisqu'il est, depuis la nuit des temps, privé du libre arbitre qui a été octroyé aux Humains.
Le roman s'articule d'ailleurs autour de cette notion de libre-arbitre. Le reproche que j'adresse à ce texte, c'est sa brièveté (un peu moins de 90 pages), qui laisse clairement sur sa faim. On en voudrait plus !
Heureusement, l'ouvrage comprend également une interview de Norman Spinrad, qui revient sur sa carrière d'auteur et sur ses liens avec la France. C'est intéressant, mais il y a mieux !
La dernière partie du livre est constituée d'un texte intitulée : "L'anormale réalité", qui revient sur l'évolution de la société américaine depuis la Grande Dépression jusqu'à la crise de financière 2008.
Comme toujours, son analyse est limpide, de gauche, tout en rappelant que le modèle actuel ne peut pas fonctionner en l'état ad vitam eternam et que, faute de virages radicaux, sa fin pourrait tout aussi bien être violente (comme en Allemagne en 1933) qu'apaisée (comme avec le New Deal aux USA). Il propose donc, dans ce billet d'humeur une solution de sortie de crise,
Rien de révolutionnaire hein : taxation des revenus du capital, meilleure répartition des richesses générées, revalorisation du syndicalisme comme organisme formateur de travailleurs et de citoyens responsables...
On pourra comme souvent lui reprocher une certaine naïveté, mais personnellement, c'est ce que j'aime chez ce Monsieur.
*Grève infernale* prend pour cadre les enfers, comme son nom le laisse penser, où l'on suit deux hommes fraîchement décédés : Jimmy "le pourri" un ex-syndicaliste et un ex-financier dont je n'ai curieusement pas retenu le nom.
Le récit s'attarde surtout sur Jimmy, qui est envoyé pelleter du charbon aux côtés d'autres figures syndicales américaines. D'abord méprisé par ses collègues car Jimmy a fondé le syndicat des travailleurs temporaires (ces mêmes travailleurs qui ont servi à briser les grèves des autres syndicats), il ne tarde pas à gagner leur respect en initiant un mouvement de grève des travailleurs des enfers, rapidement suivi d'ne grève des démons.
Le texte est très plaisant, mettant en scène un Lucifer aigri, dégoûté de devoir faire le sale boulot de Dieu et de ne pas avoir d'autre choix puisqu'il est, depuis la nuit des temps, privé du libre arbitre qui a été octroyé aux Humains.
Le roman s'articule d'ailleurs autour de cette notion de libre-arbitre. Le reproche que j'adresse à ce texte, c'est sa brièveté (un peu moins de 90 pages), qui laisse clairement sur sa faim. On en voudrait plus !
Heureusement, l'ouvrage comprend également une interview de Norman Spinrad, qui revient sur sa carrière d'auteur et sur ses liens avec la France. C'est intéressant, mais il y a mieux !
La dernière partie du livre est constituée d'un texte intitulée : "L'anormale réalité", qui revient sur l'évolution de la société américaine depuis la Grande Dépression jusqu'à la crise de financière 2008.
Comme toujours, son analyse est limpide, de gauche, tout en rappelant que le modèle actuel ne peut pas fonctionner en l'état ad vitam eternam et que, faute de virages radicaux, sa fin pourrait tout aussi bien être violente (comme en Allemagne en 1933) qu'apaisée (comme avec le New Deal aux USA). Il propose donc, dans ce billet d'humeur une solution de sortie de crise,
Rien de révolutionnaire hein : taxation des revenus du capital, meilleure répartition des richesses générées, revalorisation du syndicalisme comme organisme formateur de travailleurs et de citoyens responsables...
On pourra comme souvent lui reprocher une certaine naïveté, mais personnellement, c'est ce que j'aime chez ce Monsieur.
Read
November 30, 2025Spinrad was a big deal back in the day; his prescient* satire of a media-saturated future USA, Bug Jack Barron, saw questions asked in Parliament, and I believe The Iron Dream (what if Adolf had become a pulp SF author, but still written much the same book?) remains banned in Germany. Before this, though, I don't think I'd picked up anything he'd written since nineties cyberpunk theology thriller Deus X, and it must have been the noughties when I last read him – 1967's Agent Of Chaos which, again with the prescience, has a protagonist called Boris Johnson who is introduced as a rebel hero but soon becomes entirely overwhelmed by events. Raising Hell makes clear from the off that Spinrad has no truck with going subtle in his old age; where some artists opt for a respectable, sepia-tinged late mode, the title novella opens with tridents up the bum before getting into a scabrous squib where Jimmy Hoffa and assorted other tough union organisers, most less well-known and one entirely made-up, call the Inferno's first strike. But if it ain't subtle, it is smart, picking at some of the many logical flaws in the theology of the Fall, and generally making clear Spinrad's deep understanding of, and thus utter lack of respect for, the twin religions of Christianity and capitalism. The latter is then expanded upon in the essay The Abnormal New Normal, anatomising the 2008 crash and pointing out how much further back its roots go. Most of the contents won't be major news to anyone who's been paying attention, but it's nevertheless a handy summary with some unexpected angles and choices of tipping point. And of course, 'anyone who's been paying attention' is a mutually exclusive group with 'anyone who has any power to do anything about it', hence the problems detailed (and everything else, come to that) having only got worse over the succeeding decade. Finally, there's a brief interview, in which Spinrad maybe comes across a little bitter, but to an understandable rather than Partridge degree. I shouldn't neglect his work so long next time.
*Of course, the one bit where his forecast was way off would be the most appealing, where by the nineties the Republicans are on the verge of electoral irrelevance.
*Of course, the one bit where his forecast was way off would be the most appealing, where by the nineties the Republicans are on the verge of electoral irrelevance.
February 10, 2025
The title story is not very good. I think the entire concept about Jimmy Hoffa unionizing in hell is just so contrived and silly to work, but in execution it reads as this pitchy Schoolhouse Rock story about unions and collective bargaining that is so ham-fisted it just does nothing for me. Spinrad is old, so maybe some of this can be forgiven, but there's just no way I can take a story where someone goes up to Satan and says "Alright bub, lets talk turkey" seriously.
The accompanying essay by comparison is erudite and sweeping. It is one of the most technical essays about the economy that I have probably ever read. The sheer crunch of different policies and how Spinrad contextualizes the rise of Republicanism, the casino economy, and the failed promise of the New Deal-- summing it up as the "New Normal" where the mathematical endgame of late-stage capitalism reaches its fracture point-- is impressive. It's a laser beam of an essay. For what political sense I do have, I cannot keep pace with the dense minutiae of policy suggestions Spinrad lays out. Universal Basic Income seems like a decent idea to me, but some people I trust think it's a bad idea ripe for abuse for reasons I can't articulate. Spinrad seems too well-armed with understanding for it to feel like a half-baked idea. More research needed.
The highlight of the interview is a small bit about William Burroughs cackling to himself on the train reading the newspaper detailing the Manson Murders. Spinrad seems unwilling to make big sweeping statements about the state of SF, its history, and his position at the tip of the spear for the American New Wave. That's not a crime, certainly. I am intrigued by Spinrad's life in Paris. I have legitimately never heard about France's modern respect for SF. Will have to poke around more, especially with Spinrad's later bibliography (but then I remember the story I just read and think better of it).
The accompanying essay by comparison is erudite and sweeping. It is one of the most technical essays about the economy that I have probably ever read. The sheer crunch of different policies and how Spinrad contextualizes the rise of Republicanism, the casino economy, and the failed promise of the New Deal-- summing it up as the "New Normal" where the mathematical endgame of late-stage capitalism reaches its fracture point-- is impressive. It's a laser beam of an essay. For what political sense I do have, I cannot keep pace with the dense minutiae of policy suggestions Spinrad lays out. Universal Basic Income seems like a decent idea to me, but some people I trust think it's a bad idea ripe for abuse for reasons I can't articulate. Spinrad seems too well-armed with understanding for it to feel like a half-baked idea. More research needed.
The highlight of the interview is a small bit about William Burroughs cackling to himself on the train reading the newspaper detailing the Manson Murders. Spinrad seems unwilling to make big sweeping statements about the state of SF, its history, and his position at the tip of the spear for the American New Wave. That's not a crime, certainly. I am intrigued by Spinrad's life in Paris. I have legitimately never heard about France's modern respect for SF. Will have to poke around more, especially with Spinrad's later bibliography (but then I remember the story I just read and think better of it).
September 11, 2020
This short ebook contains a single story (possibly novella length?), a rant disguised as an essay, and a rambling interview with the author.
The short fiction started okay, took rather a nose dive, and then redeemed itself slightly. I'm not sure how old it is, but it felt rather dated in its treatment of the concepts of hell, demons, and the devil. I was entertained by dodgy humans continuing to be their own dodgy selves, but I felt that some of the tropes were over used, and much of the imagery repetitive. Also, characterisation was poor. Overall, a minus on characterisation, a plus on plot, a plus on writing style and a bare pass on world-building.
The essay covered a large swathe of US political and economic history, starting in the late 19thC and working forwards. Like the story, there were a number of descriptive phrases that were overused. Overall though, I was much more impressed by this essay than by the story, and at least I have some more idea of what the author might have been getting at with the story, rather than just atmosphere. I also have more motivation to actually read some of Spinrad's longer works that I've shelved for the infinite 'later', if only to see whether my response has any relationship to what is being described about the stories.
The interview didn't do much for me, and in fact made me less impressed with Spinrad. I'm not entirely sure that that was warranted, but the amount of bagging of the USA was surprising in someone I had previously thought of as a US author.
Up until half way through reading the essay, may rating for this work was a firm three, maybe three and a half stars at a stretch. The essay is the saving grace, and if you only have time to read one of the three items in this book, pick the essay.
The short fiction started okay, took rather a nose dive, and then redeemed itself slightly. I'm not sure how old it is, but it felt rather dated in its treatment of the concepts of hell, demons, and the devil. I was entertained by dodgy humans continuing to be their own dodgy selves, but I felt that some of the tropes were over used, and much of the imagery repetitive. Also, characterisation was poor. Overall, a minus on characterisation, a plus on plot, a plus on writing style and a bare pass on world-building.
The essay covered a large swathe of US political and economic history, starting in the late 19thC and working forwards. Like the story, there were a number of descriptive phrases that were overused. Overall though, I was much more impressed by this essay than by the story, and at least I have some more idea of what the author might have been getting at with the story, rather than just atmosphere. I also have more motivation to actually read some of Spinrad's longer works that I've shelved for the infinite 'later', if only to see whether my response has any relationship to what is being described about the stories.
The interview didn't do much for me, and in fact made me less impressed with Spinrad. I'm not entirely sure that that was warranted, but the amount of bagging of the USA was surprising in someone I had previously thought of as a US author.
Up until half way through reading the essay, may rating for this work was a firm three, maybe three and a half stars at a stretch. The essay is the saving grace, and if you only have time to read one of the three items in this book, pick the essay.
March 22, 2017
Intriguée par le pitch, j'ai voulu saisir l'occasion de découvrir et Spinrad, et le travail d'une maison d'édition indé que je ne connaissais pas jusqu'alors.
Déception, hélas. Ce qui aurait pu être une lecture de type 'plaisante, mais sans plus' a totalement bloqué sur deux points. Le premier, imputable à l'auteur, vient de la présentation de l'Enfer, et plus particulièrement des anges déchus : des espèces de gros bras sans grande cervelle, guère différents du bourrin de base, en dépit de leur immortalité et de leur origine divine. Ça coince, alors que la rencontre entre démons privés de libre arbitre, à leur éternel regret, et syndicalistes damnés bien décidés à tirer malgré tout leur épingle du jeu, s'annonçait intéressante...
Le second est lié à la traduction, et à des tournures assez pénibles pour concourir au titre de torture infernale. A mon grand regret, cela m'a à plusieurs reprises carrément éjectée du récit.
Dommage pour la rencontre manquée. Au moins les textes annexes -- interview et article de l'auteur -- parviennent-ils à contrebalancer un tant soit peu la déception...
Déception, hélas. Ce qui aurait pu être une lecture de type 'plaisante, mais sans plus' a totalement bloqué sur deux points. Le premier, imputable à l'auteur, vient de la présentation de l'Enfer, et plus particulièrement des anges déchus : des espèces de gros bras sans grande cervelle, guère différents du bourrin de base, en dépit de leur immortalité et de leur origine divine. Ça coince, alors que la rencontre entre démons privés de libre arbitre, à leur éternel regret, et syndicalistes damnés bien décidés à tirer malgré tout leur épingle du jeu, s'annonçait intéressante...
Le second est lié à la traduction, et à des tournures assez pénibles pour concourir au titre de torture infernale. A mon grand regret, cela m'a à plusieurs reprises carrément éjectée du récit.
Dommage pour la rencontre manquée. Au moins les textes annexes -- interview et article de l'auteur -- parviennent-ils à contrebalancer un tant soit peu la déception...
July 13, 2020
This special collection from the Outspoken Authors series has one novella, one essay, and an interview with the author.
From the first page of "Raising Hell," I knew exactly where the title story was going to go, but any predictability about the plot was more than made up for with Spinrad's amusing style of writing his union organizers and his satire about the 2008 recession.
The essay after this was Spinrad looking directly at the way the US is going thanks to Republicans and the economic elites. It's hard to disagree with him, especially 6 years after this book was published. The interview was interesting enough, but I'm not sure I'm interested in his works to continue.
From the first page of "Raising Hell," I knew exactly where the title story was going to go, but any predictability about the plot was more than made up for with Spinrad's amusing style of writing his union organizers and his satire about the 2008 recession.
The essay after this was Spinrad looking directly at the way the US is going thanks to Republicans and the economic elites. It's hard to disagree with him, especially 6 years after this book was published. The interview was interesting enough, but I'm not sure I'm interested in his works to continue.
March 12, 2024
I used to be wowed by Spinrad. Then I read "The Men from the Jungle", persevering on sheer intestinal fortitude (and obstinacy, which doesn't help in cases like these). And so it took me a while to reach out for this one, but - it's worth it, seriously. Very enjoyable rants, these. And the title novella could serve as a neat companion to "The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians".
July 22, 2018
A quick read was unfamiliar with this author. Was intrigued by his spin on hell in the first short story. The second story more of a political story was indeed thought-provoking. Will definitely we checking out some of his novels.
December 11, 2017
Le style d'écriture laisse a désirer, mais l'idée est drôle et son exécution réussie !
December 12, 2021
The revolution he speaks of in "The Abnormal New Normal" seems to be coming to pass somewhat here in 2021. All it took was a global pandemic to push it into motion.
March 7, 2021
Μικρό δυνατό διάβαζεται ως φικτιον και κριτική bonus υλικό. Πράγματα που έβγαζε τέλεια η γενιά του 60 και τα ανακαλύπτεις πιο εύκολα στην Ελλάδα.
September 2, 2014
On the good side, I'm not too sure what the point of this story about unionizing the demons of Hell is about. And ambiguity is good for me, and often points out work where there is further meaning or symbolism to be found.
So, the basic plot is that an imaginary union leader, a fellow that has created a union of temporary workers, is sentenced to Hell, and housed with Jimmy Hoffa and other famous labor leaders. They soon organize a strike amongst themselves, and their demon overlords. The strikers, demons, and ultimately Satan all obtain free will as a result of the successful strike, and the story ends.
Let me state that I hate any and all stories that take place in a fictionalized Hell. I can't think of any concrete examples off the top of my head, other than one of the recent Palahniuk books I tried to start and threw down in disgust. After Dante, Hell is pretty much done, and best left as a symbol in the mind, as metaphor, but not as an actual place to go tramping about. Spinrad's style is interesting and conversational; this is really a novella, which exists, I guess, and probably wrongly, to aggrandize labor movements for the anarchist PM Press.
The story proper is followed by a really basic rant on economics and the unfair, ailing state of world economics. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with it, but if I want economics articles I tend to go to people known for speaking in those realms. There's nothing really new here, just go read Matt Taibbi if economic expose is what you're after. The interview at the end with Terry Bisson is quite entertaining, and for me was the highlight of the book, along with the bibliography.
To sum, I personally enjoy a denser, more baroque writing style and Spinrad employs a simple, spare style here, and it's a story using Hell as backdrop, which again is not in my personal wheelhouse. I really like Norman's earlier works, which give you a lot to bite into. He is a worthy writer but this novelette is just a morsel, not a meal.
So, the basic plot is that an imaginary union leader, a fellow that has created a union of temporary workers, is sentenced to Hell, and housed with Jimmy Hoffa and other famous labor leaders. They soon organize a strike amongst themselves, and their demon overlords. The strikers, demons, and ultimately Satan all obtain free will as a result of the successful strike, and the story ends.
Let me state that I hate any and all stories that take place in a fictionalized Hell. I can't think of any concrete examples off the top of my head, other than one of the recent Palahniuk books I tried to start and threw down in disgust. After Dante, Hell is pretty much done, and best left as a symbol in the mind, as metaphor, but not as an actual place to go tramping about. Spinrad's style is interesting and conversational; this is really a novella, which exists, I guess, and probably wrongly, to aggrandize labor movements for the anarchist PM Press.
The story proper is followed by a really basic rant on economics and the unfair, ailing state of world economics. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with it, but if I want economics articles I tend to go to people known for speaking in those realms. There's nothing really new here, just go read Matt Taibbi if economic expose is what you're after. The interview at the end with Terry Bisson is quite entertaining, and for me was the highlight of the book, along with the bibliography.
To sum, I personally enjoy a denser, more baroque writing style and Spinrad employs a simple, spare style here, and it's a story using Hell as backdrop, which again is not in my personal wheelhouse. I really like Norman's earlier works, which give you a lot to bite into. He is a worthy writer but this novelette is just a morsel, not a meal.
July 24, 2015
PM Press seems to have hit on what sounds like a winning formula: a series of short books from “outspoken authors” (many from the SF/F genre) with mostly all-new stories, essays and interviews. I generally like Spinrad, so this was a logical starting place. Included is the novella “Raising Hell” – in which union leaders in Hell convince demons to go on strike – and a supplemental essay on the state of America after the 2008 crash, its unsustainability and what could (maybe) be done about it. First things first: if yr political views veer anywhere to the right of center and you have zero tolerance for any viewpoint to your left – or if you simply don’t like it when authors wear their politics on their sleeves – don’t even bother picking this up. You’ll just want to throw it against a wall. For everyone else … Well, I won’t say the novella is Spinrad’s best work – the idea has been done before, the satire is a little too obvious, and Spinrad’s theological underpinnings are a little muddled. But as a thought exercise on free will it’s pretty entertaining. The essay is a little simplistic but well argued, even if you don’t happen to agree with his views. The closing interview is also worth a read. Overall, the book may be flawed and polemical, but dull it ain’t.
April 12, 2016
Spinrad has described himself as a syndicalist. Maybe that's why all the union organisers in Hell are AFL-CIO bureaucrats. The good union guys, namely the Wobblies from the IWW like Joe Hill, Lucy Parsons and Big Bill Haywood are all obviously up in heaven getting some of that nebulous Pie in the Sky after all!
October 20, 2014
Very cool recent novella along with a political analysis and an interesting interview. Spinrad was and is one of the more unique and political and powerful voices that came out of the SF (speculative fiction) revolution of the late 60s
March 12, 2015
The story was fairly clever: what if unionizers wound up in hell and unionized Lucifer's demonic henchmen? His essay (The Abnormal New Normal) is a neat (and biased) look at the past 150 years of history.
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