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Hell's Game
On Halloween night in Deer Creek, Kansas, Jake Victor, Ashley and Ashton Gemini, and Kristin Grace convince Ronnie Smalls to meet them at the town cemetery, which local folklore has always rumored to be the Gateway to Hell. Their intention was only to scare him, but soon the wicked prank becomes actual horror as the group learns the Gateway is all too real. After demons snatch Ronnie and drag him to Hell, the terrified foursome vow to keep what they had seen a secret. Two years later, the group receives a mysterious letter, an invite to play a high-stakes game in Hell. If they win, they release Ronnie’s soul as well as their own from eternal damnation. If they lose, they are stuck in Hell forever. Choosing to play, they face nightmare after nightmare as each level escalates in intensity and forces them to face the seven deadly sins. Inspired by the legends of the Gateway to Hell in Stull, Kansas, Hell’s Game explores the cruelty that teenagers can inflict upon each other as well as the horrors that exist amongst mankind. It is a dark, action-packed young adult novel that will both scare its readers and make them question the true meaning of evil.
- GenresParanormal
284 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2011
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 10, 2015
The characters in this all annoyed me at one point or another, but they were alright.
This looked really good, but unfortunately, it was a bit flat for me. There wasn't many parts that I found creepy/scary - There was far more parts that I found dull.
Overall, Not a bad read, but not as good as it looks.
This looked really good, but unfortunately, it was a bit flat for me. There wasn't many parts that I found creepy/scary - There was far more parts that I found dull.
Overall, Not a bad read, but not as good as it looks.
May 15, 2012
I absolutely loved the story for Hell's Game. The entire premise reminded me of one of my most favorite series from the early 90s called The Forbidden Game by LJ Smith. Not to mention the entire book felt like it was a modernization of the great Point Horror masterpieces of the same era. I was immediately immersed in familiar ground & taken on a ride that was both expected & then completely new at the same time. I loved every second of the story; all the character interactions & growth as well as the great nuances of old & new story telling that abound on each page.
The idea of Hell calling down a game on people who had tricked an innocent soul into being kidnapped by Hell was pretty great. I loved the idea because, thanks to the way it was written, I was able to segregate reality from the very fictional story being told. I loved that we had quite a few character archetypes that managed to grow beyond their set molds like the pretty popular girl who is just really a witch, the meat-head jock who wants to be more, & the stereotypical smart Asian chick with a hidden past. Each character was well designed & fleshed out. Each level of hell was intricate & meticulously brought to life by Ms. Lo.
The biggest drawback for this book is the lack of editing that I found. Almost every page featured some sort of grammatical or spelling error, the omission of a word, the misuse of a word or its homonym, punctuation error, or the odd swapping of a character name from scene to scene as happens with Kristin's father who appears to be named both Nathan & Bryan depending on the scene. I find myself unable to recommend this book based on the number of errors in the editing because they were very distracting to me as I read the book. There were a number of times that I had to stop reading because I could not immerse myself anymore due to the errors. Then I came back because the story itself was so intriguing that I wanted to know what would happen next.
Overall this book gets a dual grade of 4 stars for the story & characters but it sinks to 2 stars due to the lack of editing & prevalence of errors. I felt the strong wish that I had been given the chance to copy-edit this book myself before it was published & sent out for reviews. I believe in the story & really enjoyed what I read. I just wish it had been presented with more professional editing than the copy I received.
The idea of Hell calling down a game on people who had tricked an innocent soul into being kidnapped by Hell was pretty great. I loved the idea because, thanks to the way it was written, I was able to segregate reality from the very fictional story being told. I loved that we had quite a few character archetypes that managed to grow beyond their set molds like the pretty popular girl who is just really a witch, the meat-head jock who wants to be more, & the stereotypical smart Asian chick with a hidden past. Each character was well designed & fleshed out. Each level of hell was intricate & meticulously brought to life by Ms. Lo.
The biggest drawback for this book is the lack of editing that I found. Almost every page featured some sort of grammatical or spelling error, the omission of a word, the misuse of a word or its homonym, punctuation error, or the odd swapping of a character name from scene to scene as happens with Kristin's father who appears to be named both Nathan & Bryan depending on the scene. I find myself unable to recommend this book based on the number of errors in the editing because they were very distracting to me as I read the book. There were a number of times that I had to stop reading because I could not immerse myself anymore due to the errors. Then I came back because the story itself was so intriguing that I wanted to know what would happen next.
Overall this book gets a dual grade of 4 stars for the story & characters but it sinks to 2 stars due to the lack of editing & prevalence of errors. I felt the strong wish that I had been given the chance to copy-edit this book myself before it was published & sent out for reviews. I believe in the story & really enjoyed what I read. I just wish it had been presented with more professional editing than the copy I received.
July 26, 2012
I really regret reading this book at night time, there's some pretty creepy scenes and after finishing it at like four in the morning I was not able to sleep. I should have guessed a book called Hell's Game may be a bit scary, so I seriously should have thought before reading it at night. The cover even says "A young adult horror novel" so I should have known... GAH!
Overall, the book was pretty awesome but at some points it started to lose my attention. I kind of split it into thirds; the first part was my favorite part, it grabbed me quickly, kept me on my toes with suspense and introduces us to the characters quickly, there were some pretty scary bits and I love that this part had the supernatural horror aspect about it but it also demonstrates how horrible teens can be and the desperation of outcasts to get into the 'in group'. The second bit was quite slow for me because there wasn't that much aspect, here the group are reintroduced to us as changed characters but because we don't really see this change happen gradually some of the characters just seemed like completely new people, we also see the characters get their invitations to Hell's Game and this bit is where it picked up again.
The third part of the book is Hell's Game, this was a bit of a mix for me. we get to learn what made the characters the people that they are. Some parts of this bit were full of action and suspense and kept me absolutely gripped but some parts really lost me, I guess I was expecting Hell's Game to be much more scary and pacy but for me some bits let the rest down.
As I said above, I really liked the characters, but the fact that we go from seeing them at 17/18 to 19/20 and don't follow them during this gap means that some of the more changed characters like Jake and Kristin didn't seem like the same character as in the high school years. I didn't really like Kristin in the first part but loved her spunky older version, Jake bored me a little to be honest. Ashley was my favorite character, despite me disliking her so much at the start simply because she grows so much as a person in the book.
Overall, a good book with a great storyline and some good characters. The downfalls are the inconsistent characters and pacing.
Overall Rating: C+
Overall, the book was pretty awesome but at some points it started to lose my attention. I kind of split it into thirds; the first part was my favorite part, it grabbed me quickly, kept me on my toes with suspense and introduces us to the characters quickly, there were some pretty scary bits and I love that this part had the supernatural horror aspect about it but it also demonstrates how horrible teens can be and the desperation of outcasts to get into the 'in group'. The second bit was quite slow for me because there wasn't that much aspect, here the group are reintroduced to us as changed characters but because we don't really see this change happen gradually some of the characters just seemed like completely new people, we also see the characters get their invitations to Hell's Game and this bit is where it picked up again.
The third part of the book is Hell's Game, this was a bit of a mix for me. we get to learn what made the characters the people that they are. Some parts of this bit were full of action and suspense and kept me absolutely gripped but some parts really lost me, I guess I was expecting Hell's Game to be much more scary and pacy but for me some bits let the rest down.
As I said above, I really liked the characters, but the fact that we go from seeing them at 17/18 to 19/20 and don't follow them during this gap means that some of the more changed characters like Jake and Kristin didn't seem like the same character as in the high school years. I didn't really like Kristin in the first part but loved her spunky older version, Jake bored me a little to be honest. Ashley was my favorite character, despite me disliking her so much at the start simply because she grows so much as a person in the book.
Overall, a good book with a great storyline and some good characters. The downfalls are the inconsistent characters and pacing.
Overall Rating: C+
September 8, 2012
Hell's Game is an intense book that examines four friends as they battle Hell for their souls. This book took some really unexpected turns and once the game got going, I couldn't put it down.
When the four characters were first introduced, they were set up pretty clearly. It was easy to point out the mean, the weak, the sidekick, and the jock, and I thought from there that the rest of the story would be predictable. Boy was I wrong. Not one of my predictions was right. Hell's Game is about challenging each of their characters, making them face their worst fears, and push past the traits that have held them back. And this is what made the story so unpredictable.
The game itself was really well developed. The levels of the game were influenced by the characters personalities and backgrounds, and they really challenged the beliefs and values of each character. Each level was a detailed picture of hell, and I loved that the rules of each level depended on how the character responded to it.
There was an issue with the editing in this book and it occasionally pulled me out from the story as name swaps and missing words caused me to be confused at times. I think it would definitely benefit from another round of edits.
This is a good choice if you're looking for a bit of a scare, especially around Halloween.
Check out more of my reviews on my blog Turning the Pages
When the four characters were first introduced, they were set up pretty clearly. It was easy to point out the mean, the weak, the sidekick, and the jock, and I thought from there that the rest of the story would be predictable. Boy was I wrong. Not one of my predictions was right. Hell's Game is about challenging each of their characters, making them face their worst fears, and push past the traits that have held them back. And this is what made the story so unpredictable.
The game itself was really well developed. The levels of the game were influenced by the characters personalities and backgrounds, and they really challenged the beliefs and values of each character. Each level was a detailed picture of hell, and I loved that the rules of each level depended on how the character responded to it.
There was an issue with the editing in this book and it occasionally pulled me out from the story as name swaps and missing words caused me to be confused at times. I think it would definitely benefit from another round of edits.
This is a good choice if you're looking for a bit of a scare, especially around Halloween.
Check out more of my reviews on my blog Turning the Pages
June 4, 2012
Warning: Do NOT read this book 3 o’ clock in the morning. Hell’s Game was hypnotic and unbelievable. I’m not one to be easily scared, but when I am, it takes a lot. The mystery of it all, from the characters to this ‘game’ they were playing, had me up all kind of hours in the night. It was haunting and just crazy enough to keep a reader’s heart at a very abnormal pace. I know some people are peevish about their horror books, but I thought Lo’s writing was different and immensely exciting. She gives suspense a whole new meaning. For writing in one of the hardest genres, I have to say that Lo has guts. Writing a horror novel really does put someone out on a limb, and oddly, the best they can hope for is that someone is frightened by their story. Lo, I was terrified.
When I first dove in to the story, I was so ready to find out what this ‘game’ was—so excited, actually, that I zoomed through the book within hours. It was like watching my favorite horror movie again and again. I even had one of my weak moments when I knew something bad was going to happen, but I sat there and read through it anyway. To say that I enjoyed this book would be an understatement. I like that it wasn’t just horror, but a little slice of comedy. I recommended Hell’s Game to anyone and everyone looking for a good scare. Just don’t go running off to Deer Creek.
When I first dove in to the story, I was so ready to find out what this ‘game’ was—so excited, actually, that I zoomed through the book within hours. It was like watching my favorite horror movie again and again. I even had one of my weak moments when I knew something bad was going to happen, but I sat there and read through it anyway. To say that I enjoyed this book would be an understatement. I like that it wasn’t just horror, but a little slice of comedy. I recommended Hell’s Game to anyone and everyone looking for a good scare. Just don’t go running off to Deer Creek.
June 21, 2012
I love how in the summary it says that the teens "chose to play" the game. The letters that they receive are actually pretty threatening. Stating that if they refuse to play the game, it will be instant access to Hell upon their death. If they win they rescue themselves along with Ronnie's soul from Hell. Usually with young adult books I always hope for a little bit of a darker read when it comes to the horror books. This one did a great job of fulling that hope. I was a little disappointed to see how lenient they were on the rules, especial regarding giving them the access to a watch when the Gamemaker clearly states that they do not usually do that. But it's really a small thing compared to the whole storyline of the novel. The trials that the teens have to go through was a unique twist and almost reminded me a bit of The Devouring series by Simon Holt. You get a little bit of physiological mixed in with the physical activities of the games. Then you have the added bonus of having a time limit to complete the tasks. The time limit keeps the story paced well and the games are dark and it's a pretty fast paced novel.
November 8, 2025
Hell's Game was a hot mess from beginning to end and I spent most of it rolling my eyes so hard I I'm going to need physical therapy for my extraocular muscles. All my book notes are either sarcastic, exclamations of disbelief, or just unintelligible strings of frustrated swearing. There was a completely pointless character named Eric, we never get any closure for anyone who isn't Ashley (the character who gets almost no development until the end), the seven deadly sins theme was abandoned half-way through, and then the book ended in a complete cop-out that seemed tacked on and undoes a lot of character development. It's like Lo had a looming deadline but no idea where the story was going, panicked, and just wrote the first ending that popped into her head. There are some genuinely great, and terrifying ideas in there, like Kristen facing her self-hatred and her relationship with her mother, but Lo tries to squeeze so much into her story that it comes out as a jumbled mess.
April 15, 2012
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Come on down and play...Hell's Game! Would you play the game where Hell holds the cards for a chance to redeem your soul and the soul of the one you sent into Hell's embrace with your wicked words and deeds? Ms. Lo has written a truly scary tale which will have you examining your own actions. Based partly on an American urban legend, Hell's Game is not a tale to take lightly. A cautionary tale of the consequences we face from our daily decisions, it is a thrilling and frighting story. Gripping you by the throat and dragging you along for the ride, Ms. Lo has created a town where fear rules and there are many secrets left untold. I loved every word and savored every minute of the book. Complex and creative, I am truly impressed...and hope I never find myself invited to play Hell's Game!
Come on down and play...Hell's Game! Would you play the game where Hell holds the cards for a chance to redeem your soul and the soul of the one you sent into Hell's embrace with your wicked words and deeds? Ms. Lo has written a truly scary tale which will have you examining your own actions. Based partly on an American urban legend, Hell's Game is not a tale to take lightly. A cautionary tale of the consequences we face from our daily decisions, it is a thrilling and frighting story. Gripping you by the throat and dragging you along for the ride, Ms. Lo has created a town where fear rules and there are many secrets left untold. I loved every word and savored every minute of the book. Complex and creative, I am truly impressed...and hope I never find myself invited to play Hell's Game!
November 9, 2013
A solid, fun and spooky book!
November 1, 2016
I enjoyed the story and the twists. Our hometown girl wrote a great young adult read and I will see it is put in our school Library..
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews