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Heroes in Hell #3
Rebels In Hell
"Undercover Angel" short fiction by Chris Morris
"Hell's Gate" short fiction by Bill Kerby
"Gilgamesh in the Outback" [Gilgamesh] novella by Robert Silverberg
"Marking Time" short fiction by C.J. Cherryh
"Table with a View" short fiction by Nancy Asire
"There Are No Fighter Pilots Down in Hell" short fiction by Martin Caidin
"Cause I Served My Time in Hell" short fiction by David Drake
"Monday Morning" short fiction by C. J. Cherryh
"Graveyard Shift" short fiction by Janet Morris
"Hell's Gate" short fiction by Bill Kerby
"Gilgamesh in the Outback" [Gilgamesh] novella by Robert Silverberg
"Marking Time" short fiction by C.J. Cherryh
"Table with a View" short fiction by Nancy Asire
"There Are No Fighter Pilots Down in Hell" short fiction by Martin Caidin
"Cause I Served My Time in Hell" short fiction by David Drake
"Monday Morning" short fiction by C. J. Cherryh
"Graveyard Shift" short fiction by Janet Morris
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
2 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Janet E. Morris
108 books383 followersJanet Ellen Morris (born May 25, 1946) is a United States author. She began writing in 1976 and has since published more than 20 novels, many co-authored with David Drake or her husband Chris Morris. She has contributed short fiction to the shared universe fantasy series Thieves World, and edited the Bangsian fantasy series Heroes in Hell. Most of her work has been in the fantasy and science fiction genres, although she has also written several works of non-fiction.
Morris was elected to the New York Academy of Sciences in 1980.
In 1995, Morris and her husband and frequent co-writer Christopher Morris founded M2 Tech. Since that time, their writing output has decreased in proportion to the success of the company, which works with U.S. federal and military agencies on non-lethal weapon systems and software.
Morris was elected to the New York Academy of Sciences in 1980.
In 1995, Morris and her husband and frequent co-writer Christopher Morris founded M2 Tech. Since that time, their writing output has decreased in proportion to the success of the company, which works with U.S. federal and military agencies on non-lethal weapon systems and software.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 13, 2018
This book is part of a sci-fi/fantasy series, which isn't generally my cup of tea, but I picked it up at a Y.M.C.A. book sale without knowing the particulars. This is #3 in the series, and unfortunately, if you missed the first two, there are gaps in the nine short stories in this volume. There is a short forward that gives a general overview; the damned are in revolt and are looking to get out of hell, although who's on who's side, and how they became allies or enemies is something that must have occurred in the earlier volumes. As a result, something is missing in the plot line, as the stories are tenuously related in some way, and you're left to figure out how.
The story picks up where an angel (just call him Al) is jailed by the devil because, apparently he might know a way out of hell. It isn't entirely clear, at least not in this volume, but whatever poor Al did lands him in a cell next to Adolf Hitler in hell's dungeon. Rest easy folks; Hitler is never getting out of hell. For better or for worse, Che Guevara, one of the leaders of the resistance...decides Al could be an asset and springs him from jail, apparently without the devil's knowledge. It looks like you can keep your body in hell, sometimes even better than it was on earth. Good thing for the devil. You need a body to torture, right? How do you rip apart a soul?
Che is a popular guy. So popular in fact, that Cecil B. Demille has made him the star of the ultimate movie. Unfortunately for Che, and co-stars James Dean and Montgomery Cliff, the director ends up being Sam Peckinpah. In hell. Needless to say, the stars earn their money in a gruesome, painful way, that only Peckinpah can deliver on. Life in Hellywood.
Che returns later, but in the meantime we are introduced to the great Gilgamesh, ruler of Ur, and a sweaty, muscular brute that can't get off on killing unless it's hand to hand combat. Famous authors Robert Howard (Conan), and H.P. Lovecraft stumble upon Gilgamesh in hell's outback, and Howard's repressed homosexual tendencies come alive at the sight of the half naked barbarian king. He fights what his loins have already surrendered to, but damn, that Gilgamesh might just be Conan. Either way...
Hell for Gilgamesh is that he's lonely and has indigestion (one of the disadvantages of going to hell). He misses his pal Enkiku, another sweaty, muscle bound brute, and searchs the underworld for him. They're not gay though; they're just pals...
Again, this volume #3 here, and the stories start to get messy. Augustus, Napoleon, Horatio, working the The Pentagram (isn't that clever?), Dante-part of the story line that obviously was developed earlier in the series.
The more the book moves along, the more hell starts to sound like a communist dictatorship. Napoleon runs into an old girlfriend at the DMV (you saw that right), and they go out to dinner later at quite a nice place, not something you would expect in hell. There they meet the obnoxious Atilla the Hun, fresh from his polo game victory. It's a good thing Atilla and the boys had horses and those clubs in their grips. Things happen in hell that require a little skull crushing, and Atilla was just the guy to accommodate.
Then we get to a story with a seeming disconnect. Up to this point, there seemed to be a loose tie with the stories but when a fighter pilot ends up in hell, he is suckered into a series of dogfights with the devil. What a sucker. The dogfight sequences are fairly entertaining, although if you aren't familiar with the vintage planes and various airplane parts, you lose out a little in the descrptions.
The book winds down with a couple of stories that go hard with the alliances that have been previously created, and I found myself losing interest because parts of the story were flat missing. I'm not inclined to go back and read the first two volumes just to see how they ended up here. The stories weren't bad; they were just incomplete, and unfortunately, they'll just have to stay that way.
The story picks up where an angel (just call him Al) is jailed by the devil because, apparently he might know a way out of hell. It isn't entirely clear, at least not in this volume, but whatever poor Al did lands him in a cell next to Adolf Hitler in hell's dungeon. Rest easy folks; Hitler is never getting out of hell. For better or for worse, Che Guevara, one of the leaders of the resistance...decides Al could be an asset and springs him from jail, apparently without the devil's knowledge. It looks like you can keep your body in hell, sometimes even better than it was on earth. Good thing for the devil. You need a body to torture, right? How do you rip apart a soul?
Che is a popular guy. So popular in fact, that Cecil B. Demille has made him the star of the ultimate movie. Unfortunately for Che, and co-stars James Dean and Montgomery Cliff, the director ends up being Sam Peckinpah. In hell. Needless to say, the stars earn their money in a gruesome, painful way, that only Peckinpah can deliver on. Life in Hellywood.
Che returns later, but in the meantime we are introduced to the great Gilgamesh, ruler of Ur, and a sweaty, muscular brute that can't get off on killing unless it's hand to hand combat. Famous authors Robert Howard (Conan), and H.P. Lovecraft stumble upon Gilgamesh in hell's outback, and Howard's repressed homosexual tendencies come alive at the sight of the half naked barbarian king. He fights what his loins have already surrendered to, but damn, that Gilgamesh might just be Conan. Either way...
Hell for Gilgamesh is that he's lonely and has indigestion (one of the disadvantages of going to hell). He misses his pal Enkiku, another sweaty, muscle bound brute, and searchs the underworld for him. They're not gay though; they're just pals...
Again, this volume #3 here, and the stories start to get messy. Augustus, Napoleon, Horatio, working the The Pentagram (isn't that clever?), Dante-part of the story line that obviously was developed earlier in the series.
The more the book moves along, the more hell starts to sound like a communist dictatorship. Napoleon runs into an old girlfriend at the DMV (you saw that right), and they go out to dinner later at quite a nice place, not something you would expect in hell. There they meet the obnoxious Atilla the Hun, fresh from his polo game victory. It's a good thing Atilla and the boys had horses and those clubs in their grips. Things happen in hell that require a little skull crushing, and Atilla was just the guy to accommodate.
Then we get to a story with a seeming disconnect. Up to this point, there seemed to be a loose tie with the stories but when a fighter pilot ends up in hell, he is suckered into a series of dogfights with the devil. What a sucker. The dogfight sequences are fairly entertaining, although if you aren't familiar with the vintage planes and various airplane parts, you lose out a little in the descrptions.
The book winds down with a couple of stories that go hard with the alliances that have been previously created, and I found myself losing interest because parts of the story were flat missing. I'm not inclined to go back and read the first two volumes just to see how they ended up here. The stories weren't bad; they were just incomplete, and unfortunately, they'll just have to stay that way.
April 8, 2009
I picked this first one up on a whim just because it looked interested, and it was. Just for pure entertainment, it was good. Nothing monumental though. I read the second and third for the same reason.
Read
September 1, 2013Hell Book 3
November 30, 2018
Love this series. Rereading 2018 - this one adds new characters from history with visits to Caesar's home and brings back Napoleon.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews