Escape From Hell!

by Hal Duncan

A hitman, a hooker, a homosexual kid, and a hobo suicide make the ultimate prison break...escape from Hell itself! But when news of their attempted escape gets out, the souls of the damned are transformed into a rioting mob, and all Hell truly does break loose. It's Escape from New York meets Jacob's Ladder, by one of fantasy's rising stars.

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Religion, Science Fiction, Adventure, Demons

143 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Hal Duncan is the author of Vellum, which was a finalist for both the William H. Crawford Award and the Locus Award for Best First Novel. He is a member of the Glasgow SF Writers’ Circle. He lives in the West End of Glasgow.

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty amusing. Four people go to hell, three of them (the suicidal hobo, the homo {but, but, but I'm a good person, there must be some mistake... HAVEN'T YOU READ THE BIBLE, KID?!!!}, and the whore) probably don't deserve it. The killer probably has it coming, but he also takes the punishment with more intestinal fortitude. Anyways, they go to the modern version of hell with demons being gay-therapy doctors and bureaucrats and cops using enhanced interrogation techniques. So they decide to make a break for it. It's not as easy at it seems so they need help. (Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't read the classic literature Inferno The Holy Bible: English Standard Version) Who can help? Maybe a damned angel called The Son of the Morning, the Light Bearer, the former right hand man of the Almighty. Why not? So, they free him from a sadistic angel bent on punishment taking orders from above (shouldn't have eaten the fruit, it was forbidden, after all) and... Well...

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hal Duncan won me over with his brain-bruising Vellum and Ink and then his beautifully crafted short stories in the Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction anthologies. And although Escape From Hell reads like a big-budget action movie and is a bit different from the other works of Duncan's I’ve been exposed to I thoroughly enjoyed this story too. Loved the visuality and creepy atmosphere, read the whole thing in a couple of nights and was left wanting more.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hal Duncan has quite a unique writing style, but once you are used to it his approach does give the story a real rhythm. And what a story it is: four characters die and go to hell - a broken down, media obsessed, nightmarishly bureaucratic version of New York.

They meet and, guns blazing, they make a break for it. On the way they discover Lucifer, kept prisoner by the Angel Gabriel and, in freeing him, bring down the angel's wrath on themselves. And then all Hell really does break loose.

It's a cracking, action packed and very cinematic story that manages to take some well-aimed swipes at - among other things - sensationalist media and the the Christian view of the afterlife. Well worth a read.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short and intense read. Oddly visual, it almost felt like watching a movie. A hitman, whore, homo and hobo try to escape from Hell, which closely resembles NYC. An interesting premise and concept of what Hell really is.

[Micah · Rating 1 out of 5]

waste of my time and 11 bucks.

[Timo Pietilä · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neljä ihmistä kuolee: kulkuri tappaa itsensä, ilotytön sutenööri hakkaa hengiltä, kun tämä yrittää paeta, palkkamurhaaja tulee itse työantajansa tappamaksi, homo on ilmeisesti hakattu hengettömäksi. Jo matkalla he näkevät toisensa ohimennen, mutta päätyvät sitten ihan omiin helvetteihinsä. Kulkuri joutuu etsimään elintilansa postapokalyptisen näköisiltä kaduilta, joilla julmat poliisipartiot pitävät järjestystä yllä, ilotyttö joutuu huumattuna ja vangittuna toistuvien raiskauksien kohteeksi, gangsteri on vankilan kaltaisessa rakennuksessa toistuvasti kidutettava, ja homo ”sairaalassa” jossa hänet yritetään pakolla ja lääkkeillä ”parantaa” homoudesta. Gangsteri-murhaaja onkin sen verran kova luu, että hän pakenee omasta helvetistään, ja enemmän tai vähemmän sattumalta jatkaa pakoa muiden päähenkilöiden kanssa. Tästä alkaa mielipuolinen käytännössä taukoamaton hurmeinen pako, jota hölysuinen uutistoimittaja seuraa helikopterista. Vauhdikas ja erikoinen kirja, joka sotkee keskenään toimintaa, kauhukuvastoa, ironiaa ja huumoria. Loputus on hiukan avoin, toisaalta muun tyyppistä loppua kirjalle olisi vaikea kuvitella.

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this. It's a quick read, with interesting ideas about what hell could be like and how it came to be. Sometimes really, truly horrific. But there is hope, our motley crew of heroes are trying to escape and succeeding!

[Jetna Joeküll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lopun taistelu oli turhan nopeatempoinen mikä teki siitä hieman sekavan, mutta pitkästä aikaa kunnolla mukaansa tempaava kirja.

[Rena]

Interesting take on Hell and what we think would send someone there. Very odd book

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 1 out of 5]

On the back of my paperback copy it says:

"Four sinners die and go to hell..."

and that is the problem with this novel the four 'heroes' a hitman, hooker, homosexual, and hobo, all of whom have had dreadful lives and/or died in unspeakably horribly ways. By ending up in hell you either have to accept not simply Christian theology and morality but a very old fashioned, Old Testament one at that or that the four heroes by their belief in or acceptance of this Christian version of the truth have condemned themselves. It makes the whole novel deeply suspect and I think Mr. Duncan recognised the problem because you feel the idea of a 'Escape from New York' story of escaping hell was tossed out and commissioned before it was properly developed. Mr. Duncan may also not have thought through how 'Escape from New York' and 'Snake Plissken' might fade, or never make it into, younger memories (though Snake Plissken was name checked in 2005 episode of American Dad. But even that is 20 years ago).

Anyway back to the problem, I don't believe in Christian theology and I am sure Mr. Duncan doesn't so why would read a novel which apparently accepts its barbarous tennets. Unless you say instead that it is the self loathing of, for example the 'gay' character (based on Matthew Shepard), which traps each of the 'sinners' in hell. But that just bothers me more. Bad enough to suggest christian prejudice is right and true without forcing retrospective self loathing onto them.

Unfortunately Hal Duncan after writing two extraordinary novels 'Vellum' and 'Ink' never managed to repeat that success. 'Escape from Hell' is so bad he should withdraw it. Don't read it.

[Jack Deighton · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Prologue we are treated to the more (or less) graphic deaths of our four agonists, Seven, Belle, Eli, Matthew. As they must, given the book’s title, all four arrive in Hell which, as depicted here, seems like a version of a modern US inner city complete with its own low-lifes, its own cops (corrupt, obviously,) its own TV station with its star Trent Knightly - reporter for the allusively named Vox News.
Immersed in various nightmare scenarios particular to each, in their own ways they attempt to escape and eventually come together. There are tales of a way out: but this is Hell, maybe these are only rumours. In Hell of course the only way out is down. At its centre they come upon Lucifer, trapped there for four thousand years, and discover the real power behind this infernal place, the one who consigned them all there in the first place. (Traditional religious believers will not look kindly on this revelation.)
Duncan’s story is related in a necessarily urgent present tense and the text contains copious amounts of swearing. Plus one instance of the n-word. With scenes not for the squeamish. It is set in Hell after all.

[Mal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the characters, I liked the concept, I liked the writer's style, I liked where it was all going....then I got to the end and just felt that the author had something to say without actually saying anything at all finally.

But then it sort of hit me that that this was perhaps the point - the idea that life is this thing where you deal with shit and hang on for something better. That, in a nutshell, is the overarching message, I suppose - all told through an interesting narrative of splatter-punk as one other reviewer puts it.

The book does not give its characters - nor its readers - closure, and that simply reinforces the feeling that, well, that's what life is - that hanging on for something better.

So if the concept was deliberate, then the writer is of clever mind indeed. If not, well, he's a bit twisted.

[Sini Pasanen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aika hyvä! otin tämän kirjan, kirjaston poistopinosta.

Mielenkiintoinen kirjoitus tyyli, ja se että kirjan loppu puolella lukija on yksi hahmoista... En ole tainnut ikinä lukea vastaavaa plottia.

Toki kirjoitus tyyli oli monessa kohtaa hyvin sekavaa.

[Rebecca O’Dell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reads like a graphic novel without the pictures. Oh, what is Hell? How do we get out? Incredible

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

•Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec les Evades de l'Enfer ?
"La première fois que j'ai aperçu ce livre, c'était sur Livraddict et j'ai eu la chance de l'obtenir dans le cadre d'un partenariat entre eux et Folio, avant même de le voir débouler partout sur la blogosphère."

•Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Seven, Eli, Matthew et Belle sont quatre personnes un peu paumées mais très différentes qui se retrouvent en enfer pour divers pêchés. Que doivent-ils faire alors? Se résigner au sort qui leur est dévolu ou tenter de s'échapper de cet enfer réputé sans issu?"

•Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous?
"Si on est un amateur de science fiction, je pense qu'il faudrait être très difficile pour ne pas apprécier ce livre court, rapide et efficace. L'ambiance y est assez sombre, je vous l'accorde mais rien d'étonnant en enfer. De nombreuses questions y sont posées, notament sur les p��chés, l'espoir et la vision que nous avons du sort que nous méritons! Même si j'ai attendu jusqu'à la fin une révélation sensationnel qui n'est jamais arrivé, je me suis quand même laissée surprendre à plusieurs reprises par le déroulement de l'histoire. Et finalement, ne vaut-il pas mieux étonner son lecteur de diverses manières tout au long du récit que de donner bêtement dans le sensationnel?"

•Et comment cela s'est-il fini?
"Comme je l'ai dit, je n'ai pas vraiment ressenti de pic ou d'apothéose au cours de ce roman. On pourrait penser que cela veut dire qu'il est assez plat et qu'il ne s'y passe rien, mais c'est loin d'être le cas. Cela veut surtout dire que tout en étant de niveau égal, il place la barre assez haut. Je garde en tête certaines questions, et dans le coeur, une pointe d'espoir."

http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hal Duncan’s Vellum is a challenging and thought provoking piece of fiction that bounces back and forth between familiarity and originality never settling on one side of the fence for too long. By the time its sequel Ink came along I was too busy and bit too far removed from my reading of Vellum to finish out the series. Thus when Monkey Brain Books published his novella Escape from Hell! back in December (oddly enough, two months prior to Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s Escape from Hell) I was excited to give Duncan another try. While it has taken me a while to finally get around to reading the novella I am most definitely glad I did.

Full review here.

[Henna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is without any doubt one of my favourite books - if not the favourite. This time was a reread ad I've already read Escape from Hell! many times. However, this was the first time I had the pleasure read it in English and I must say, it's even more magical and breath-taking than in Finnish. Hal Duncan is the master of words, of creating gruesome yet thrilling world and he sure knows how to write about diverse cast of characters of who all are brilliant in their own way. I do recommend this to everyone!

[Belle Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. Lighter than Duncan's other work but still full of his mighty wrath, four outcasts break out of hell. A hobo, a homo, a hooker and a hitman....no, it's not a joke, but I suspect they are all a small fragment of Duncan himself, even if the faceclaim of the homo is Matthew Shepard, the gay American boy who was beaten and tied to a split-rail fence in a homophobic attack. Despite that, Duncan manages to keep the tone relatively light (for him) in what is ultimately a Boy's Own adventure, if the boy were a nascent dragqueen with a habit and a penchant for rough tricks.

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wild trip. Hal Duncan comes up with his version of hell - and it's scaring. The book jumps quickly between the view points of the four main characters, which gives a dense picture of what's going on. The characters are stereotypes, but it doesn't hurt much as they are just there to move the story onwards. A crazy story told in a powerful language.

One question remains open until the very end: what happens when you die in hell?

[kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

i’m beginning to revise my opinion of Mr. Duncan upon reading this novella and rereading the pair of books comprising The Book of All Hours. this story is fun enough, but contains very little of the texture and richness present in the two previous publications, and revisits the Matthew Shepard tragedy (again) in a way that comes off as self-indulgent. jury is still out. the next release will make or break my opinion of him.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read and good to a point.

I thought the plot went downhill after the four main characters found Lucifer. Things happened too fast and it was all mindlessfighfightfight instead of characters interacting with each other which was what I liked.

The four main characters were also rather clichéd: a black hit man, a gay young man, a crazy old hobo and a drug addict whore. We've all seen them before.

[niina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fast, raw and visual read which I enjoyed very much - sadly I haven't got my hands into other books by Duncan, I'd like to see if they had the same ability to grab me and glue me to themselves. Anyhow, I described this one as "raw" and "visual" because the writers ability to guide and create both ridiculously clear and hellishly chaotic pictures in my head - the whole reading experience was accompanied by images.

[Ben Hathaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a big fan of splatterpunk and related genres, this was exactly what it said on the tin with a relatively novel depiction of Hell, well written and entertaining. Its not the out and out gore/sex fest like some of the Brian Smith stuff, more of a story to it - but theres not a huge amount of character development and all of them are almost impossibly cliched, but thats what you'd expect, I guess. Good fun.


3.7 out of 5 so rounded up to 4.

[Eija · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kirjassa on neljä saman arvoista näkökulma hahmoa: Palkkatappaja, prostituoitu, maankiertäjä ja homo. Aluksi hahmot esiintyivät erikseen vuoron perään, kunnes kohtasivat, jolloin kerronta tapahtui hahmojen yhteisten kokemusten kautta. Hahmot joutuivat tahoillaan helvettiin. Kirja on lyhyt ja toiminta täytteinen. Toiminnan kuvailusta sai hyvin visuaalisen tunteen, ihan kuin olisi leffaa katsonut. Tarina ei kuitenkaan ollut täysosuma omaan mieltymykseeni.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duncan does John Carpenter in a fun, satirical romp as four disparate characters decide they don't fancy spending eternity in hell after all, and stage a break-out. Short, pacey and filmic, and great fun.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced, gripping, balls-to-the-wall - it's short, but it packs quite a punch. Unfortunately it seems like the story stops halfway through - but it feels like a *complete* half-story, not rushed. Hal Duncan's writing style is incredibly evocative; it's got a strange kind of poetry to it.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite an entertaining read, if a little on the slight side. Much more restrained style-wise than Duncan's writing in Vellum (which I loved) and Ink (which I liked less), but the more straightforward approach suits the story well.

[Mira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tarina on nopeatempoinen aina hengästyttävyyteen saakka. Kuvailua, nopeaa tapahtumatykitystä, notkeasti etenevä juoni ja viimeisen sivun jälkeen muitan kirjasta yhtä paljon kuin jostain tyhjänpäiväisestä toimintaelokuvasta. Paljon melua muttei sisältöä.

[Cameron Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Escape from Hell! is a proper futuristic punk-pulp romp through Hell as a rag-tag group of inmates make a break for freedom from eternal damnation. It's slick and fast-paced, thrilling and thoughtful. And most importantly, it's FUN!

[Akiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a little slight for five stars, but I love Hal Duncan's writing.

Read this if you thought Paradise Lost went off the rails half way through when the most sympathetic character suddenly turned evil.