{"id":8259,"date":"2021-02-16T19:18:06","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T19:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/?p=8259"},"modified":"2023-01-03T13:36:43","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T13:36:43","slug":"h-is-for-hell-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/archive\/h-is-for-hell-review\/","title":{"rendered":"[Review] H is for Hell"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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H is for Hell<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Robert Welbourn reviews H is for Hell, the latest in a series of short story anthologies from Red Cape Publishing...\n<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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His for Hell<\/i><\/strong>, the title of this collection declares; and hell is indeed what we are dealing with. Each of these 13 stories takes us to hell, or brings hell to us, in one way or another.<\/strong> As with all short story collections the quality varies, but the imagination and thought process of each and every story in this collection is both clear and powerful. I didn\u2019t enjoy all the stories: I hated some, and absolutely loved others. If nothing else, this collection entirely lives up to its name.<\/span><\/p>

I\u2019m always wary when reading collections, because I know that I\u2019m not going to like each piece in the book. My main experience of short stories comes from the master of horror himself, Stephen King, and Shirley Jackson, one of his inspirations: I think we can all agree that her \u2018<\/span>The Lottery\u2019<\/span><\/i> is the greatest short story ever written, and it would take something incredible to eclipse it. As you can imagine, my standards are high, and I have yet to find a collection in which every story meets them. Even in collections from King and Jackson themselves, I find myself reading some pages for the sake of it, taking in the words but not really caring for them.<\/span><\/p>

The length of a short story can sometimes be an issue. There are no set rules: I\u2019ve read short stories which are longer than my published novel; I\u2019ve read short stories which are shorter than my weekly shopping list. This allows the writer more freedom to express themselves, and from a gifted author, you can assume that what\u2019s been removed is of no less quality than what has been left in: I always want more King or more Jackson, and the idea there are words of theirs I\u2019ll never read will haunt me to my grave. And possibly to hell, if I end up there; but based on the ideas presented in <\/span>H is for Hell<\/span><\/i>, I really, really hope not.<\/span><\/p>

As I write this, I\u2019ve just realised the significance of there being 13 stories in this collection. I\u2019m glad Red Cape Publishing chose 13, as opposed to 666, as that would be far, far too many stories for one collection \u2013 no matter who was writing it.<\/span><\/p>

I\u2019m not going to go through each story in turn: no one wants to read a piece of writing which is actually thirteen reviews disguised as one. Instead I\u2019ll talk about a few specifically, and the book as a whole. Atmosphere is one of the most important parts of this collection, and one thing which it gets entirely spot on. I\u2019m no stranger to the perverse and disgusting; as well as being an avid fan of King and Jackson, I\u2019ve read the entire works of Brett Easton Ellis multiple times, and <\/span>American Psycho<\/span><\/i> more times than I\u2019ve seen my family in the last twelve months. I\u2019m also a huge fan of horror films, particularly French new wave horror such as <\/span>Martyrs<\/span><\/i> (Pascal Laugier, 2008) and <\/span>Inside<\/span><\/i> (Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury, 2007). What I\u2019m trying to say is this: it takes a lot to shock me. And this collection did just that, and repeatedly. One thing I loved about it is that it\u2019s thirteen different ideas of what hell is. Obviously, no-one knows what or where or even why hell is \u2013 I\u2019m not going to get into a theological debate here, don\u2019t worry; whether you believe in hell or not is your business, not mine \u2013 and these stories each present a unique way of looking at it. And each, uniquely, made me feel uncomfortable, made my skin crawl, made me feel like I was unsafe, and that something would, at any moment, reach out from the shadows to gently brush my shoulder.<\/span><\/p>

I can confidently say that the atmosphere in each story is spot on. Though not all the ideas hit the mark \u2013 some fall quite short in my opinion \u2013 it\u2019s clear that every writer who has contributed to this collection has incredible talent and a vivid imagination. The wide range of stories vary on topic and execution, from \u2018<\/span>Blizzard of Black and Blue\u2019<\/span><\/i>, which is set in the modern day, but told as if it were a 19<\/span>th<\/span> century Gothic novel, to \u2018<\/span>The Hellhole\u2019<\/span><\/i>, told from the point of view of the devil himself.<\/span><\/p>

\u2018Blizzard of Black and Blue\u2019<\/span><\/i> is an absolutely fantastic story, and definitely my favourite piece in this collection. The clash in narrative styles is reflected in the story itself, in which an IT expert is tasked with bringing an old boys\u2019 school into the 21<\/span>st<\/span> century. The story\u2019s pace is slow, but this does nothing to take away from its quality. It deals with the classic Gothic theme of the home, taking a place of safety and making it unsafe, and it does so expertly. This collection is worth reading for this story alone.<\/span><\/p>

Similarly brilliant is the penultimate story, \u2018<\/span>Copperhead\u2019<\/span><\/i>. This concerns a woman, abused by a teacher as a child, taking revenge on all men. It wobbles a little in the middle (when it gets a bit silly), but overall the story, and all the characters and events in it, was mesmerising. I particularly enjoyed the narrative shift which happened midway through; the first half is told by an onlooker, the second by Copperhead herself. It\u2019s a brilliant little switch-up, and really adds to the quality of the story being told.<\/span><\/p>

The final story in the collection, the brilliantly titled \u2018<\/span>We Don\u2019t Talk About The Monster In The Second Bedroom\u2019<\/span><\/i>, deals with the idea of grief and loss, again taking the idea of the Gothic home and turning it on its head. It\u2019s another \u2018modern day meets the past\u2019 story, and tackles the idea of hell in a much more abstract, but no less engaging way.<\/span><\/p>

\u2018Paradigm 13\u2019<\/span><\/i> takes place in hell itself, but the story is less about this, and more about a man\u2019s love for his deceased wife. He\u2019s ventured into hell to save her, but even more gripping than the setting is the love you can really feel when he talks about her. It\u2019s King-esque, almost making you fall head over heels for someone who doesn\u2019t even exist.<\/span><\/p>

There are several more stories in this collection which I loved, and a few I didn\u2019t really enjoy. However, this was only for their content; as previously mentioned, each story absolutely hits the mark in terms of atmosphere and high quality of writing, even if the events themselves sometimes didn\u2019t quite land.<\/span><\/p>

H is for Hell<\/span><\/i> may seem like a silly title, but don\u2019t let that put you off. This collection is fantastic, and one I definitely recommend. It absolutely leaves you wanting more, and some of the writing in it is definitely on the level of King and Jackson. But read it at your peril; I can\u2019t guarantee you won\u2019t sleep with the light on once you\u2019ve finished.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Purchase a copy of\u00a0H is for Hell<\/b><\/em> by clicking the image below<\/p>

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRobert Welbourn\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Author | Ideal Angels (2018) \/ @unbound_digital<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Share this article or save to read later<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Photo by Marcus L\u00f6fvenberg<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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More To Explore<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTales From The Crypt (1972)\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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Tales From The Crypt 1972 \/ Freddie Francis Where does one start with examining arguably Amicus\u2019 greatest portmanteau film? Well, for me, wiping away the<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThe People That Time Forgot (1977)\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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The People That Time Forgot 1977 \/ Kevin Connor The success of Amicus\u2019 first two Edgar Rice Burroughs-based fantasy adventures in 1975 and 1976 led<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tAt The Earth’s Core (1976)\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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AT THE EARTH’S CORE 1976 \/ Kevin Connor Amicus\u2019 first foray into the science fiction adventure, The Land That Time Forgot (UK, Kevin Connor, 1974)<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Robert Welbourn reviews H is for Hell, the latest in a series of short story anthologies from Red Cape Publishing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2030],"tags":[723,724,595,651],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/h-is-for-hell-scaled.jpg?fit=1707%2C2560&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8259"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8259"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122727,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8259\/revisions\/122727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}