Literary Hell

A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck

Pages: 104 Genre: horror (short-er story)

Rating: 4 Star

Kindle Notes & Highlights (may contain spoilers)

Soren Johansson — a Mormon, a family man, a geologist — had a good grasp of the universe until he died. Then, he's sent to Hell where he learns that a God he doesn't know is sending him to a version of Hell that he can barely wrap his mind around: a seemingly never-ending library where he has to find the book of his life. Once he finds it, he's free to go on to heaven.

This book was really up my alley. I love philosophical and religious books. While it's not my favorite book ever, it is one that will stay with me for a while. I'd love to talk to everybody about it.

I didn't look into this book too much before reading it, so I didn't realize that it would be more of a horror book. It wasn't horror in the sense that it was genuinely scary. It was horror in a deeper sense of unease and concern. This version of Hell is a nightmare, and the author did a great job of creating a growing sense of dread.

Obviously the eternal library itself is horrifying, but I liked all the other ways that this book built out Soren's version of Hell. Some of it was more controversial, and I understand why it won't appeal to every reader, but I totally understood what the author was going for. It was a big job trying to create a sense of infinity that is also finite, playing off of two conflicting fears, but I found it very effective.

I don't want to say too much more about this book because I don't want to spoil it. But I really enjoyed this book, and it was a super quick read. I'd love for people to read it, mostly because I'd just like to talk about it.