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Living Hell
What happens when a single moment changes everything? For seventeen-year-old Cheney, life on earth exists only in history books. He and more than one thousand other people have known life only aboard the Plexus self-contained, systematic, and serene. But that was before the radiation wave. Now Plexus has suddenly turned on them, becoming a terrifying and unrecognizable force. As the crew dwindles under attack, Cheney and his friends need to fight back before the ship that’s nurtured them for so long becomes responsible for their destruction.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published May 5, 2007
13 people are currently reading
463 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Jinks
62 books537 followersCatherine Jinks is the Australian author of more than thirty books for all ages. She has garnered many awards, including the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award(three times), the Victorian Premier’s Award, the Aurealis Award for Science Fiction, the Australian Ibby Award, and the Davitt Award for Crime Fiction. Her work has been published in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, the United States, Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic and Thailand.
Catherine was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1963. She grew up in Papua New Guinea, where her father worked as a patrol officer. Her high-school years were spent in Sydney, NSW; in 2006, her alma mater, Ku-ring-gai High School, named its library after her.
From 1982 to 1986, Catherine studied at the University of Sydney, graduating with an honours degree in medieval history. She then worked on Westpac Banking Corporation’s staff magazine for approximately seven years. In 1992 she married Peter Dockrill, a Canadian journalist; in 1993 she and her husband left Australia for a brief spell in Nova Scotia, where she began to write full time. They returned to Australia in 1994, and Catherine gave birth to her daughter Hannah in 1997. Since 1998, she and her family have been living in Leura, NSW.
She has two brothers, and two pet rats. Like most people in Leura, she has become a slave to her garden, but not to the extent that she’ll buy rooting powder.
Catherine has been writing books since she was eight years old. She doesn’t expect to stop writing them any time soon.
Author photo: Catherine Jinks in front of 'Conceptual Networks', by artist Paul du Moulin.
Photo by Paul du Moulin
Catherine was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1963. She grew up in Papua New Guinea, where her father worked as a patrol officer. Her high-school years were spent in Sydney, NSW; in 2006, her alma mater, Ku-ring-gai High School, named its library after her.
From 1982 to 1986, Catherine studied at the University of Sydney, graduating with an honours degree in medieval history. She then worked on Westpac Banking Corporation’s staff magazine for approximately seven years. In 1992 she married Peter Dockrill, a Canadian journalist; in 1993 she and her husband left Australia for a brief spell in Nova Scotia, where she began to write full time. They returned to Australia in 1994, and Catherine gave birth to her daughter Hannah in 1997. Since 1998, she and her family have been living in Leura, NSW.
She has two brothers, and two pet rats. Like most people in Leura, she has become a slave to her garden, but not to the extent that she’ll buy rooting powder.
Catherine has been writing books since she was eight years old. She doesn’t expect to stop writing them any time soon.
Author photo: Catherine Jinks in front of 'Conceptual Networks', by artist Paul du Moulin.
Photo by Paul du Moulin
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
April 3, 2015
Cheney has lived on the Spacecraft Plexus with the rest of the human race all his life. Things go wrong when a wave of radiation hits the ship turning it into a living being that begins to attack everyone on the ship. Can Cheney and the others survive this living hell? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty freaky science fiction horror story that I got as a prize for participating in my library's winter reading program. If you enjoy horror and science fiction, you'll enjoy this book. Definitely check it out. It is available wherever books are sold and at your local library.
This was a pretty freaky science fiction horror story that I got as a prize for participating in my library's winter reading program. If you enjoy horror and science fiction, you'll enjoy this book. Definitely check it out. It is available wherever books are sold and at your local library.
September 29, 2016
If anyone ever asks me why I'm terri-fricking-fied of space/space travel, I will hit them in the nose with this book and scream "EDUCATE YOURSELF" while building a sturdy, solid roof over my head. I will also reread this book on occasion, because it is a brilliant work of suspense and horror - why isn't this marketed as horror? THIS is what horror is all about - and I will probably need to remind myself why I am putting a significant boundary between myself and the final frontier.
I'm putting the rest of the review in a spoiler, because, like Dexter says in her review that encouraged me to keep reading past the first few very slow (but necessary) chapters, it's really best to know nothing about this book when you're going in.
I'm putting the rest of the review in a spoiler, because, like Dexter says in her review that encouraged me to keep reading past the first few very slow (but necessary) chapters, it's really best to know nothing about this book when you're going in.
August 1, 2022
In the beginning, I admit I was wary. I had heard phenomenal things about this book, but then the first couple of chapters were kind of dry and dull. However, I now firmly believe that this was done on purpose. Because hot damn.
It's beautiful. And horrifying. And heart-wrenching. And superb.
Cheney is just wonderful. I love him as a main character. And I actually like all the other characters too. I like all the details we got of Plexus, because that made the ending more powerful.
I would actually encourage people to read this book without knowing hardly anything about the plot beforehand, because that's how I went into it and it made every twist and turn SO good. So don't read a synopsis or a summary. Just read it.
This is one of those books that I will read again and again and again... but because it's so exhausting and intense, I'll have to wait a very long time between reads.
It's beautiful. And horrifying. And heart-wrenching. And superb.
Cheney is just wonderful. I love him as a main character. And I actually like all the other characters too. I like all the details we got of Plexus, because that made the ending more powerful.
I would actually encourage people to read this book without knowing hardly anything about the plot beforehand, because that's how I went into it and it made every twist and turn SO good. So don't read a synopsis or a summary. Just read it.
This is one of those books that I will read again and again and again... but because it's so exhausting and intense, I'll have to wait a very long time between reads.
May 27, 2013
Living Hell by Catherine Jinks is a story of a 14 year old boy named Cheney in the future. Cheney lives on an outer space space ship called Plexus. Cheney has lived his entire life on Plexus, and has enjoyed his stay. And the technology on Plexus is very advanced compared to today's technology, as seen in the following quote: "I remember Haemon's party so well. There were fireworks-- virtual fireworks-- and a million balloons, and a snowstorm, and an undersea tour" (Jinks 5). During the quote, Cheney explains his personal experience at a birthday party for one of his friends that he celebrated a long time ago. All of the virtual experiences that he had in the quote were thanks to the Mimexis Chamber, a room where you one could go to anyplace, meet anyone, and see anything. It was a very well made piece of technology.
The story begins to take form after a very slow build up when Plexus is en route to a crash course with a mysterious radiation wave. And there are plenty of precautionary procedures done, and people are still calm. But once the radiation hits the ship, the real excitement of the story begins, when Cheney notices something very peculiar in the ship: "Over near the toilet cubicle a patch of white wall seemed to be slightly smudged. There was a faint discoloration. At first it looked almost like a scorch mark, with a flush of pale pink at its center instead of pale brown. As I watched, this pink color deepened. Or was I seeing things? I blinked several times-- were the edges of the strain expanding? Yes? No?" (Jinks 68). What Cheney saw in the quote most certainly was real. The whole fabric of Plexus has now begun to deteriorate and break apart. And whatever is causing this damage most certainly is no figment of Cheney's imagination.
Overall though, I enjoyed reading this novel. It had plenty of action, and gave more than enough details. But what I did not like about this book was that at times it was incredibly difficult to read this book because of how many scientific terms they use. I am not a scientist, so a majority of the technological explanations were near impossible to follow.
Also, Living Hell's plot is difficult to follow because the author never really gave a background to the story, so you have to keep on guessing what is going on and the characters in the story really don't have that much character. Thus, trying to remember all of the characters in the story at any given point is unnecessarily difficult.
So in the end, I give this book three out of five stars, because it is a good read and had great potential, but the plot development and narrative could not deliver.
But if you love science fiction books and you are dying to find out what will happen next, then Living Hell by Catherine Jinks is right for you.
The story begins to take form after a very slow build up when Plexus is en route to a crash course with a mysterious radiation wave. And there are plenty of precautionary procedures done, and people are still calm. But once the radiation hits the ship, the real excitement of the story begins, when Cheney notices something very peculiar in the ship: "Over near the toilet cubicle a patch of white wall seemed to be slightly smudged. There was a faint discoloration. At first it looked almost like a scorch mark, with a flush of pale pink at its center instead of pale brown. As I watched, this pink color deepened. Or was I seeing things? I blinked several times-- were the edges of the strain expanding? Yes? No?" (Jinks 68). What Cheney saw in the quote most certainly was real. The whole fabric of Plexus has now begun to deteriorate and break apart. And whatever is causing this damage most certainly is no figment of Cheney's imagination.
Overall though, I enjoyed reading this novel. It had plenty of action, and gave more than enough details. But what I did not like about this book was that at times it was incredibly difficult to read this book because of how many scientific terms they use. I am not a scientist, so a majority of the technological explanations were near impossible to follow.
Also, Living Hell's plot is difficult to follow because the author never really gave a background to the story, so you have to keep on guessing what is going on and the characters in the story really don't have that much character. Thus, trying to remember all of the characters in the story at any given point is unnecessarily difficult.
So in the end, I give this book three out of five stars, because it is a good read and had great potential, but the plot development and narrative could not deliver.
But if you love science fiction books and you are dying to find out what will happen next, then Living Hell by Catherine Jinks is right for you.
July 2, 2011
This is the first book I have read by Catherine Jinks and I really enjoyed it. It is written in first person and I really thought that helped make the story very real. Cheney's voice was enjoyable and I really got into the characters.
Set in the future, the human race is living on a space ship and they have a well established society with rules and regulations to survive. When we meet Cheney, this life is about to be disrupted forever. After running through a freak electrical storm, the ship changes, becoming a living thing. It thinks the humans are parasites and reacts accordingly.
This is a book about survival and adaptation. It shows how resourceful the human race is. The characters are believable and the story is very engaging. I look forward to reading more by Ms. Jinks.
Set in the future, the human race is living on a space ship and they have a well established society with rules and regulations to survive. When we meet Cheney, this life is about to be disrupted forever. After running through a freak electrical storm, the ship changes, becoming a living thing. It thinks the humans are parasites and reacts accordingly.
This is a book about survival and adaptation. It shows how resourceful the human race is. The characters are believable and the story is very engaging. I look forward to reading more by Ms. Jinks.
February 23, 2015
Catherine Jinks has written some great books (see Evil Genius and The Reformed Vampire Support Group). Living Hell is not one of them.
Cheney lives on a spaceship where life is controlled and serene... until a radiation wave hits them. Then the ship comes to life and attacks the inhabitants! Fucking awesome, right? WRONG.
When the cover has a picture of spaceship tentacles attacking people, I want some ACTION. Instead, the book starts with a whoooooole lot of talking.
Read the rest of my review here!
Cheney lives on a spaceship where life is controlled and serene... until a radiation wave hits them. Then the ship comes to life and attacks the inhabitants! Fucking awesome, right? WRONG.
When the cover has a picture of spaceship tentacles attacking people, I want some ACTION. Instead, the book starts with a whoooooole lot of talking.
Read the rest of my review here!
May 31, 2012
Not the first and most likely not the last of The Computers Will Kill Us All! genre. It’s a par-for-the-course horror story, sort of Titanic meets Alien meets The Matrix.
What really put me off was the narrator constantly reminding us that this all took place a long time ago, and he constantly spoils it for the reader about whose going to live or die. Foreshadowing is one thing, but this is ridiculous.
April 11, 2010
Surprisingly good through the first 2 chapters.
Progressively worse.
Definitely not worth the read.
Progressively worse.
Definitely not worth the read.
March 21, 2017
Not a bad book, but it didn't wow me.
The book doesn't really get interesting until about page 50, which, for such a short book, can kill a story. I felt that, while the pages beforehand that show the Shifter's "Normal" life before the change, was important... but maybe could've been condensed down to 30 pages or even 25. Plus, it's full of stiff, formal dialogue and boring scene description. There's nothing unique or notable about the Plexus ship, and honestly it could've been any sci-fi setting. Heck, from the description, it could've just been a large, high-tech rec center.
After "the event" the story pace picks up quite nicely, though. The transformation of the ship is nicely written, and the characters have a good mix of "falling apart" and "keep it together" that I like to see in survival stories, as their world turns against them. They keep their heads and try to think things through - as any spacefaring, highly intelligent people would do - but also as humans whose world is falling apart, logic isn't always enough to save them.
The characters, despite the stiff dialogue, were made interesting by their reactions to the crisis. Though the one I wanted to see - Merrit, who seemed set up to be a main character at the beginning - didn't do much of anything, and that was a disappointment. She seemed like she had potential.
The transformation of the ship itself was interesting, and the shift from technology to living organism was a fairly creative concept. I do wish they'd described the normal ship in more detail though, so we could fully appreciate the warp. It would've aided the story too; if we'd known why the characters were in space in the first place, and what amenities were available on the ship, then puzzling out a course of action would've been more intuitive. As it stood, it was clear they couldn't "kill" the ship or any parts of it, as they underlined how the delicate balance needed to be maintained (why I didn't buy that whole 'grenade' subplot), they couldn't escape or find rescue (an option only briefly glossed over, rather than given the full attention it deserved), and they couldn't reason with the suddenly-living creature. (The mimexus chamber would've made an excellent brain for the ship, in my opinion, but we never revisit the room the book starts out in, even in passing.)
Two options become clear: die or adapt. And since the story is told in retrospective narration, we know which one will happen. Sorta sucks all the surprise from the twist ending.
Three of five stars; kept me entertained and was a good concept, but could've been better executed.
The book doesn't really get interesting until about page 50, which, for such a short book, can kill a story. I felt that, while the pages beforehand that show the Shifter's "Normal" life before the change, was important... but maybe could've been condensed down to 30 pages or even 25. Plus, it's full of stiff, formal dialogue and boring scene description. There's nothing unique or notable about the Plexus ship, and honestly it could've been any sci-fi setting. Heck, from the description, it could've just been a large, high-tech rec center.
After "the event" the story pace picks up quite nicely, though. The transformation of the ship is nicely written, and the characters have a good mix of "falling apart" and "keep it together" that I like to see in survival stories, as their world turns against them. They keep their heads and try to think things through - as any spacefaring, highly intelligent people would do - but also as humans whose world is falling apart, logic isn't always enough to save them.
The characters, despite the stiff dialogue, were made interesting by their reactions to the crisis. Though the one I wanted to see - Merrit, who seemed set up to be a main character at the beginning - didn't do much of anything, and that was a disappointment. She seemed like she had potential.
The transformation of the ship itself was interesting, and the shift from technology to living organism was a fairly creative concept. I do wish they'd described the normal ship in more detail though, so we could fully appreciate the warp. It would've aided the story too; if we'd known why the characters were in space in the first place, and what amenities were available on the ship, then puzzling out a course of action would've been more intuitive. As it stood, it was clear they couldn't "kill" the ship or any parts of it, as they underlined how the delicate balance needed to be maintained (why I didn't buy that whole 'grenade' subplot), they couldn't escape or find rescue (an option only briefly glossed over, rather than given the full attention it deserved), and they couldn't reason with the suddenly-living creature. (The mimexus chamber would've made an excellent brain for the ship, in my opinion, but we never revisit the room the book starts out in, even in passing.)
Two options become clear: die or adapt. And since the story is told in retrospective narration, we know which one will happen. Sorta sucks all the surprise from the twist ending.
Three of five stars; kept me entertained and was a good concept, but could've been better executed.
January 15, 2025
17 year old Cheney is a member of Shift A on the Plexus, a spaceship in search of a new planet for the survivors of Planet Earth. The ship has been on its voyage for over 40 years when Tuddor, the commander and Cheney's father, is informed that they are on a collision course with a mysterious emission wave. Since they can't outrun it at the speed of light, they rig for impact. What follows is a nightmare as the ship and everything connected to it become living things bent on wiping out the human parasites infecting it. Cheney's friends, Sloan, Merritt, Dygall, Inaret, Yetsin, and Haemon, try to figure out weapons that can disable the newly-intelligent machines that seem determined to eliminate them and their parents. Many of the adults meet horrific ends as they crawl through the airducts and race through the streets battling ARL's, OTV's, and scent-pellets. Finally, Arkwright, the technology whiz, realizes that there is only one way to reach the CAIP and delete the knowledge of human beings. I enjoyed this book from the author of "The Reformed Vampire Support Group" and the "Evil Genius Trilogy". It seemed very different from what she had written before. The only drawback for me was all the scientific jargon about which I have very little knowledge. It was an edge-of-your-seat, breakneck-paced book from the very first page. However, I hope never to be in Cheney's shoes. I will keep a closer eye on my laptop and my car from now on.
March 8, 2017
“Life is a force that cannot be tamed.” Said Cheney in Jinks’ book Living Hell. For the passengers onboard the Plexus, they learned this lesson the hard way. The thousands of passengers on board the Plexus have been flying in space in a straight line for many years. Suddenly, a drastic change comes to their daily routine when they hit a wave of radiation that changes the ship drastically. When the shifters (passengers) are under attack, they must fight, lest they be brought to extinction. Jinks’ book, Living Hell both mesmerized and jaded me.
First of all, the author’s writing style could have been improved. When a group of survivors try to fight against their attackers, the author simply says, “I hurled myself into the open. Ran at the (enemy). Swung my sword.” The author’s writing style was very anticlimactic. In the same chapter, the author also wrote, “I jumped up, but the thing was practically on top of me. I spun. I swung. Yellow droplets splattered as I wielded my wet sword.” The author should have put more details into the actions taking place allowing a clearer image of what is taking place. There was also little to no humor throughout the story, and it was mostly in a serious tone from start to finish. However, the setting makes the story more interesting.
The setting takes place on a space ship called Plexus, flying in a straight line in the middle of space. With the Plexus flying in a straight line far from Earth, when the need for help arrives, they only have themselves to rely on. However, the author could have done better at explaining the setting, because it was hard to imagine what the ship looked like based on their description. The author, although not going into very specific detail about every minor thing, didn’t really find it necessary to describe other things specifically, like the shape of the ship, the height, or how long it was. “Plexus was self-contained and self-sustaining.” “He said that Plexus was an ‘incredibly unnatural’ setup.” We are told a lot about Plexus, just nothing about its shape or size.
In spite of the statements above, there is a lesson that can be learned from this. The passengers on board the Plexus would not have been able to survive if they did not work together. ‘“But we shouldn’t split up!”’ “So you want to split up? You want to take the only weapon and go?” The passengers aboard the ship needed each other to survive. Much like us in real life, we can’t always do everything by ourselves, and we need the full power of the team to succeed.
In conclusion, the book had a good plotline, and was very creative with its surroundings, although there were times in the book where nothing was happening. I would recommend it, although it wouldn’t be very high on my recommendation list, compared to other books.
First of all, the author’s writing style could have been improved. When a group of survivors try to fight against their attackers, the author simply says, “I hurled myself into the open. Ran at the (enemy). Swung my sword.” The author’s writing style was very anticlimactic. In the same chapter, the author also wrote, “I jumped up, but the thing was practically on top of me. I spun. I swung. Yellow droplets splattered as I wielded my wet sword.” The author should have put more details into the actions taking place allowing a clearer image of what is taking place. There was also little to no humor throughout the story, and it was mostly in a serious tone from start to finish. However, the setting makes the story more interesting.
The setting takes place on a space ship called Plexus, flying in a straight line in the middle of space. With the Plexus flying in a straight line far from Earth, when the need for help arrives, they only have themselves to rely on. However, the author could have done better at explaining the setting, because it was hard to imagine what the ship looked like based on their description. The author, although not going into very specific detail about every minor thing, didn’t really find it necessary to describe other things specifically, like the shape of the ship, the height, or how long it was. “Plexus was self-contained and self-sustaining.” “He said that Plexus was an ‘incredibly unnatural’ setup.” We are told a lot about Plexus, just nothing about its shape or size.
In spite of the statements above, there is a lesson that can be learned from this. The passengers on board the Plexus would not have been able to survive if they did not work together. ‘“But we shouldn’t split up!”’ “So you want to split up? You want to take the only weapon and go?” The passengers aboard the ship needed each other to survive. Much like us in real life, we can’t always do everything by ourselves, and we need the full power of the team to succeed.
In conclusion, the book had a good plotline, and was very creative with its surroundings, although there were times in the book where nothing was happening. I would recommend it, although it wouldn’t be very high on my recommendation list, compared to other books.
May 4, 2017
A short action story, kind of like reading an action movie instead of watching it -- something is blowing up or going wrong every 3 minutes or so. It was fun. An interesting take on the apocalypse theme, making it happen on a starship that has left an uninhabitable Earth in search of another home for humans. And although it is never explicit in the story, there is something not quite right with the psychological make-up of the Shifters, the children born onboard during the flight. I was sure that someone or something had done more than a little engineering for specific personality traits ... and maybe they did, who knows? It's the kind of story that one can read as much or as little as one needs to into the characters and their circumstances to keep the story interesting. Straight up simple action story? Or something more subtle, that makes a passing nod to more complex themes without getting up on a soap box, let's the reader draw his/her own conclusions? I always did like a good Arnold Schwarzenegger action film like "Predator" for instance... Enjoy!
June 10, 2023
1. Pass the 1/3 mark? - yes
2. Finish book? - no, couldn’t get past the poor writing.
3. Interesting theme? - yes very, thats why I picked up the book.
4. Character arch(s)? - very lacking, couldn’t root for anyone because the author never gave me anyone to care about in a deeper sense.
5. Writing style/show vs tell? - first person retelling is not my favorite for it takes away the suspense of the book. So many syfy terms and names it was hard to keep it all in my mind. I understand its a syfy book but this was borderline ‘I need an index.’
6. Story/plot structure/Pacing? - this was all of the place. The story was mostly dialogue. There was so many characters, it was hard to keep track of everything and everyone.
7. Recommend? - Maybe to a kid but probably not.
8. Re-read/put on my bookshelf? -no.
9. Grammar errors/bad edits? - not really just not my favorite type of writing.
10. Like the author/read any of their other works? - I might give her other works a shot, yes.
2. Finish book? - no, couldn’t get past the poor writing.
3. Interesting theme? - yes very, thats why I picked up the book.
4. Character arch(s)? - very lacking, couldn’t root for anyone because the author never gave me anyone to care about in a deeper sense.
5. Writing style/show vs tell? - first person retelling is not my favorite for it takes away the suspense of the book. So many syfy terms and names it was hard to keep it all in my mind. I understand its a syfy book but this was borderline ‘I need an index.’
6. Story/plot structure/Pacing? - this was all of the place. The story was mostly dialogue. There was so many characters, it was hard to keep track of everything and everyone.
7. Recommend? - Maybe to a kid but probably not.
8. Re-read/put on my bookshelf? -no.
9. Grammar errors/bad edits? - not really just not my favorite type of writing.
10. Like the author/read any of their other works? - I might give her other works a shot, yes.
August 12, 2019
I bought this book years ago, as it sounded great. I love YA sci-fi, and anything with a colonial space ship setting immediately has my attention. However...
This book is quite short, and therefore doesn't spend enough time developing the characters and unique elements of the story (such as the OTVs) to give me a realistic idea in my head of them. Things are introduced and changed so quickly that I struggled to keep track of who was doing what, and who was related to whom.
There was a LOT of jargon and complicated technological info in dialogue that I doubt the characters of their portrayed ages would actually comprehend, let alone come up with, despite their clearly technical upbringing.
I've read similar books, such as Illuminae, and Arc, that go into more detail and fully develop the characters without a loss of pace or story.
This book is quite short, and therefore doesn't spend enough time developing the characters and unique elements of the story (such as the OTVs) to give me a realistic idea in my head of them. Things are introduced and changed so quickly that I struggled to keep track of who was doing what, and who was related to whom.
There was a LOT of jargon and complicated technological info in dialogue that I doubt the characters of their portrayed ages would actually comprehend, let alone come up with, despite their clearly technical upbringing.
I've read similar books, such as Illuminae, and Arc, that go into more detail and fully develop the characters without a loss of pace or story.
December 8, 2020
I enjoyed this book. I really did. It just wasn't that great.
Some of the ideas were great! Like how the Plexus worked: microbes were incorporated into the ship's system to keep it alive. This book had fun ideas! The ship coming alive...
Fun ideas were not carried through very well. Living Hell violates an important rule in fiction: show, not tell. I was told everything. So. Much. Explaining. Down to the color of someone's cheeks and their breathing patterns.
Something that really annoyed me: the use of "I just knew it." This was used multiple times. Ugh.
Overexplaining in the beginning, more explaining than action in the middle, more thinking than doing, and not enough explanation at the end. Choppy writing. And so much of the "If only we had known," and "We had it so good back then."
I really enjoyed the creativity. I enjoyed the writing and the story less.
Some of the ideas were great! Like how the Plexus worked: microbes were incorporated into the ship's system to keep it alive. This book had fun ideas! The ship coming alive...
Fun ideas were not carried through very well. Living Hell violates an important rule in fiction: show, not tell. I was told everything. So. Much. Explaining. Down to the color of someone's cheeks and their breathing patterns.
Something that really annoyed me: the use of "I just knew it." This was used multiple times. Ugh.
Overexplaining in the beginning, more explaining than action in the middle, more thinking than doing, and not enough explanation at the end. Choppy writing. And so much of the "If only we had known," and "We had it so good back then."
I really enjoyed the creativity. I enjoyed the writing and the story less.
October 13, 2022
3.5 -- a solid read, I can see why people would like this, but for me it was just okay.
Definitely an interesting book, but it leaned a little heavily on info-dumps and didn't have the level of character focus I usually enjoy. That's not inherently a bad thing--plenty of people prefer plot-heavy stuff--but this is my opinion. And my opinion is, I would've liked more character build-up.
That said, there are still several character moments that hit home, but they didn't stay with me. It was a pleasant read but now that I've closed the book, I'm done with it.
Most of this book was about exploring the extended metaphor of ship as body, and asking the question of humanity's place in the universe while questioning the assumption of our importance. And it is interesting. Similar vibes to Illuminae and Project Hail Mary, while being its own unique thing.
Definitely an interesting book, but it leaned a little heavily on info-dumps and didn't have the level of character focus I usually enjoy. That's not inherently a bad thing--plenty of people prefer plot-heavy stuff--but this is my opinion. And my opinion is, I would've liked more character build-up.
That said, there are still several character moments that hit home, but they didn't stay with me. It was a pleasant read but now that I've closed the book, I'm done with it.
Most of this book was about exploring the extended metaphor of ship as body, and asking the question of humanity's place in the universe while questioning the assumption of our importance. And it is interesting. Similar vibes to Illuminae and Project Hail Mary, while being its own unique thing.
March 13, 2020
Living Hell is too scary! I read up to about page forty and went to bed and had nightmares. The suspense is appalling, and the ship changing is appalling, and then everyone else is running around squishing through entrails and then fuck!, the future of humanity is destined to spend its days breeding in the belly of a beast flying through space with the only hope that in some generation they will land on a habitable planet and find home, but until then they're in low light with erratic food dispensers and bidets biding their time with their inbred children unless the beast dies and in the end, we are all hurtling through space. My hope is that this is the world turtle and they are destined to climb up the elephants and find our home, but that is implied nowhere in the text.
I loved Cheney, even though certain vice-presidents have made that less of a cool space name. His sad, unrequited crush. The dog, the see-through yellow blob dog. The bacteria modified to support the ship. The world. B shift destined to die in a disgusting hive mind and float through space forever, souls unburied.
Catherine Jinx can rock a large group of characters and move them cohesively like nobody else (read The Paradise Trap) but this enormous group of characters was a stretch even for her. We meet everyone at the birthday party and then bump into them slithering through a fleshy air duct and it's very hard to remember which friend's mom or dad with the annoying futuristic name this person is supposed to be. In the end, it doesn't matter: they're all doomed genius PhD scientist people and, from that perspective, pretty interchangeable. And they all die.
I loved Cheney, even though certain vice-presidents have made that less of a cool space name. His sad, unrequited crush. The dog, the see-through yellow blob dog. The bacteria modified to support the ship. The world. B shift destined to die in a disgusting hive mind and float through space forever, souls unburied.
Catherine Jinx can rock a large group of characters and move them cohesively like nobody else (read The Paradise Trap) but this enormous group of characters was a stretch even for her. We meet everyone at the birthday party and then bump into them slithering through a fleshy air duct and it's very hard to remember which friend's mom or dad with the annoying futuristic name this person is supposed to be. In the end, it doesn't matter: they're all doomed genius PhD scientist people and, from that perspective, pretty interchangeable. And they all die.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2025
This was 1 of my favorite books I read in middle school, I enjoyed it so much that I bought a copy off Amazon once I finally remembered its title! Unfortunately the ending has left me very underwhelmed and slightly disappointed. I wish there was more detail about how the characters lived after all the transformations to the ship happened. How certain characters died and lived. A proper goodbye to the survivors on Plexus. Instead it was kind’ve like yeah they survived and birthed a new generation on this monstrous ship that barely feeds them and no one cares about how everything happened in the end, it doesn’t matter anymore so move on! Which I really don’t like! What a rushed and boring ending to an interesting story.
May 19, 2017
Haa, first real book read in months 🙄 (manga doesn't count) anyway this book was pretty good, 3.5 stars, read it in almost one sitting. I wish the epilogue was longer/more detailed, since it was a "record" of sorts I wish they put more into it but still a good read, I love Catherine jinks, this has been in my to-read for prob yrs, but don't have as much access to many books as I did living in major cities...
The book was kind of sad/depressing, but it was about survival not necessarily about hope so...I do think it's a pretty fast read by how exciting and page turning and how extraordinarily world-building it is so u should def give it a try!
The book was kind of sad/depressing, but it was about survival not necessarily about hope so...I do think it's a pretty fast read by how exciting and page turning and how extraordinarily world-building it is so u should def give it a try!
June 21, 2019
It started off well, but I didn't end up liking this one as much as some of her other books (I loved the Reformed Vampire Support Group). It seemed to drag along a bit after awhile, and I would have liked to maybe see a bit more detail in the wrap-up than the quick epilogue. I didn't get to know most of the characters as deeply as I would have liked, either. That said, it was a relatively short sci-fi horror (with no aliens), so might appeal to readers who like that kind of story but don't want a long saga.
July 17, 2019
I'm rarely scared by horror in books, but 'Living Hell' absolutely succeeded. One of the creepiest books I've ever read, with the most uniquely gut punching yet oddly satisfying endings I've ever seen.
I had the delightful experience of going into this book completely blind. I picked it up before getting onto a long plane ride, and was immediately trapped reading it straight through before I landed. The first person narrative from a minor was believable. First couple chapters are a slow start that will lure in lovers of science fiction.
I had the delightful experience of going into this book completely blind. I picked it up before getting onto a long plane ride, and was immediately trapped reading it straight through before I landed. The first person narrative from a minor was believable. First couple chapters are a slow start that will lure in lovers of science fiction.
December 15, 2016
I thought that the book was really good and how it kept you in suspense most of the time. At some points the story was predictable but most of the times it was a total surprise what happen. The story was well but together and how everything was set up. I'm not a big reader but this book kept me reading after I class ended.
May 4, 2021
Really good. I read this a few years ago when, because of trauma I could barely read a novel. Obviously I didn't retain much of it but re reading it I understand why. Great adventure story but no one gets deceived.
June 15, 2023
2.5-3 ⭐️ I like the premise of the story, and enjoyed reading once the nitty-gritty started happening, but all the technical mumbo-jumbo honestly made my eyes gloss over a little.
“Life is a force that cannot be tamed.”
“Life is a force that cannot be tamed.”
July 17, 2018
A solid book suitable for upper primary. A page turner.
July 3, 2019
I felt like I was reading a children's book without any humor in it. This book was just too ridiculous. This could've been an eerie story, but it was just too far-fetched. What a waste of time.
January 14, 2025
I should have dnf'd this but I read the full thing and hated it the full way through.
April 16, 2025
Overall a fun little sci fi young adult piece. Kind of ends in a bit of a rush
March 5, 2011
Living Hell / 978-0-1-5206-193-7
I was really geared up to like this novel, but in the end I felt like I was slogging to the finish. Maybe I would have liked it as a kid (if only because of the great premise), but I just feel like there are a lot better choices out there.
For starters, this book is - in my opinion - very poorly written. The narrator breaks flow constantly with useless parenthetical statements like, "I had climbed out of bed and crossed to the door of my room in about four shuffling steps. (It wasn't a very big room.)", which the reader could have figured out easily enough without the parenthetical aside. Narrative leaps into the future are common, like: "I certainly gave his shoulder socket a nasty yank; it troubled him for a long time afterward.", and the overall effect is truly detrimental to the horror atmosphere, because if we know nothing else, we at least know that THAT character isn't going to bite it any time soon, apparently! And the whole "twist" premise of the entire book is utterly *ruined*, in my opinion, by the sheer amount of time and effort that is spent in the first six chapters hyping up that some terrible disaster is going to occur and it totally ruined everyone's lives - by the time the disaster actually occurred, I was expecting something pretty drastic, like DEMONS IN SPACE (a.k.a., "Doom"), so the actual disaster seemed sort of piddly and manageable in comparison.
Let's talk about the big twist - if you're worried about spoilers, drop down to the next paragraph. Remember how in the classic Star Trek episodes, they'd find God every other week, or the meaning of all life in the universe, or something else that was almost more spiritual than scientific in nature? Well, that's what this book is - the spaceship that houses the characters encounters a mysterious phenomena that is the "Universal Life Force" (TM?) and it turns their entire ship into a living, breathing organism. The white blood cells are basically made up of Roombas. And while that frankly sounds like the most original and interesting premise in a book I've read this year, the bad writing and poor handling of the subject matter just completely kills it. It just doesn't make sense that something would turn a ship into a perfect replica of the human body - complete with white blood cells! - and there's not an attempt at Technobabble to justify it, so it edges into "Just Bugs Me" territory very quickly.
Right, plot out of the way, I was annoyed that a book written by a female author would rely so heavily on the standard female stereotypes for characters. Every woman in the story is characterized as daughter, wife, or mother, and while they all have high IQs and nice jobs, the women are limited to the "traditional" medical and navigational roles. I can't think of a single man in this book who doesn't handle the situation with aplomb and/or die with dignity, but the women can't stop crying and vomiting and carrying on - including a bridge officer who abandons her post in a major emergency to check on her husband. The "main" girl character is so silent as to almost be a non-entity, and only pulls herself together when the children of the party need her. And, of course, both the female love interests are great with children. I've come to expect a little more variety and depth in female characters in books these days, and this just feels like a total setback.
Moving on, I was expecting oodles of gore, based on the reviews I'd skimmed prior to going in, but I didn't think this was a very gore-heavy book, at least no more so than the stuff that traumatized me as a 12-year-old. There are some pretty disturbing deaths and situations, mostly of the "dissolved by acid" or "absorbed into another organism" kind, so I guess as a parent, just know your kid's limits and what will or won't keep them up at night with nightmares.
Ultimately, I made it to the end, and this isn't the worst book I've ever read by any means, but I did find it disappointing. The premise was interesting, but the complete lack of attempts to set it up in a realistic fashion was frustrating. Every time I tried to sink into the story, the authorial intrusion of the narrator jumping forward to remind us that they survived in the long run (or else how could he be telling the story "in retrospect") propelled me out again. I couldn't identify with the characters at all, largely because the female characters feel like empty ciphers and the main character rarely seems to have much depth himself. I wouldn't really recommend this book when there's as good or better sci fi out there to read.
NOTE: This review is based on a free Advance Review Copy of this book provided through NetGalley.
~ Ana Mardoll
I was really geared up to like this novel, but in the end I felt like I was slogging to the finish. Maybe I would have liked it as a kid (if only because of the great premise), but I just feel like there are a lot better choices out there.
For starters, this book is - in my opinion - very poorly written. The narrator breaks flow constantly with useless parenthetical statements like, "I had climbed out of bed and crossed to the door of my room in about four shuffling steps. (It wasn't a very big room.)", which the reader could have figured out easily enough without the parenthetical aside. Narrative leaps into the future are common, like: "I certainly gave his shoulder socket a nasty yank; it troubled him for a long time afterward.", and the overall effect is truly detrimental to the horror atmosphere, because if we know nothing else, we at least know that THAT character isn't going to bite it any time soon, apparently! And the whole "twist" premise of the entire book is utterly *ruined*, in my opinion, by the sheer amount of time and effort that is spent in the first six chapters hyping up that some terrible disaster is going to occur and it totally ruined everyone's lives - by the time the disaster actually occurred, I was expecting something pretty drastic, like DEMONS IN SPACE (a.k.a., "Doom"), so the actual disaster seemed sort of piddly and manageable in comparison.
Let's talk about the big twist - if you're worried about spoilers, drop down to the next paragraph. Remember how in the classic Star Trek episodes, they'd find God every other week, or the meaning of all life in the universe, or something else that was almost more spiritual than scientific in nature? Well, that's what this book is - the spaceship that houses the characters encounters a mysterious phenomena that is the "Universal Life Force" (TM?) and it turns their entire ship into a living, breathing organism. The white blood cells are basically made up of Roombas. And while that frankly sounds like the most original and interesting premise in a book I've read this year, the bad writing and poor handling of the subject matter just completely kills it. It just doesn't make sense that something would turn a ship into a perfect replica of the human body - complete with white blood cells! - and there's not an attempt at Technobabble to justify it, so it edges into "Just Bugs Me" territory very quickly.
Right, plot out of the way, I was annoyed that a book written by a female author would rely so heavily on the standard female stereotypes for characters. Every woman in the story is characterized as daughter, wife, or mother, and while they all have high IQs and nice jobs, the women are limited to the "traditional" medical and navigational roles. I can't think of a single man in this book who doesn't handle the situation with aplomb and/or die with dignity, but the women can't stop crying and vomiting and carrying on - including a bridge officer who abandons her post in a major emergency to check on her husband. The "main" girl character is so silent as to almost be a non-entity, and only pulls herself together when the children of the party need her. And, of course, both the female love interests are great with children. I've come to expect a little more variety and depth in female characters in books these days, and this just feels like a total setback.
Moving on, I was expecting oodles of gore, based on the reviews I'd skimmed prior to going in, but I didn't think this was a very gore-heavy book, at least no more so than the stuff that traumatized me as a 12-year-old. There are some pretty disturbing deaths and situations, mostly of the "dissolved by acid" or "absorbed into another organism" kind, so I guess as a parent, just know your kid's limits and what will or won't keep them up at night with nightmares.
Ultimately, I made it to the end, and this isn't the worst book I've ever read by any means, but I did find it disappointing. The premise was interesting, but the complete lack of attempts to set it up in a realistic fashion was frustrating. Every time I tried to sink into the story, the authorial intrusion of the narrator jumping forward to remind us that they survived in the long run (or else how could he be telling the story "in retrospect") propelled me out again. I couldn't identify with the characters at all, largely because the female characters feel like empty ciphers and the main character rarely seems to have much depth himself. I wouldn't really recommend this book when there's as good or better sci fi out there to read.
NOTE: This review is based on a free Advance Review Copy of this book provided through NetGalley.
~ Ana Mardoll
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