Top 16 Books About Hell Updated 04 /2024

When we think about death and what it means for us, there's no better place than in a good story. When we read a story, we can talk about big things like death without having to face them head-on.

Then again, what is literature if not a place where the same themes and story arcs are used again and again, but through the eyes of a new author?

This is why books have been filled with stories about Hell and the Underworld for hundreds of years. It's interesting to see how many different ways different authors can use the same basic idea. These takes range from the traditional to the innovative, and from dark to inventively quirky.

Here are some of the most interesting ideas about Hell and the Underworld that I've found so far.

Eric by Terry Pratchett

Eric, the main character of this book, goes to Hell and finds that it has been changed. This is a great example of Pratchett's signature humor. Instead of the traditional hellfire and brimstone, souls are now tortured by watching other people's vacation slides over and over again, as well as other things we don't like, like elevator music and reading aloud long rule books.

Heaven and Hellby Kristen Ashley

When Kia Clementine was a child, she did something that was very bad. and now she's in hell because of it. And then, all of a sudden, celebrity good Sampson Cooper is sitting next to her at the table. Kia is led out of hell and into heaven by Sampson as they become close friends. , and then says that he's already there.

It shows how easy it is for us to build walls around ourselves that keep us from going to hells we've made up for ourselves.

The Screwtape LettersbyC. S. Lewis

When I read one of my favorite books by the author, C. S. Lewis, Hell is the ultimate bureaucracy. To and from his uncle, Screwtape is a high-ranking official in the Lowerarchy government. Wormwood, an unexperienced tempter, writes to and from Screwtape. The letters tell about Wormwood's successes and failures as he tries to get a soul away from God. If Screwtape doesn't help his nephew right away, the other demons will eat his soul if he doesn't. He has to be included, right?

The Sandmanby Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Mike Dringenberg and Sam Keith

This dark and dreamy comic book is very different from anything else I've read. It's a long story with a lot to talk about, but to keep things simple, Gaiman came up with a unique vision of the Underworld that was based on traditional Judeo-Christian myth, but reimagined. Here, Hell is a group of people led by Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Azazel, who are in charge of the group. When you read the graphic novel, Vertigo is a DC Comics publisher. This version of Hell is part of the DC world. This

Prom Nights From Hell,Multiple authors

Laugh at the title. It's worth it. But then, look at the big names who wrote short stories in this book: Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Stephanie Meyer, and more. Don't say you aren't interested.

Each story takes the tradition of prom night and makes it a lot worse, like fighting demons and realizing that your date is the Grim Reaper, or something like that. Oops.

Damned by Chuck Palaniuk

At the start of Damned, Madison, who is 13, wakes up and finds herself in Hell. She doesn't know why she's there, but she thinks she'll be there for a long time and should try to enjoy it. In a short time, she gets to know her cellmates and is put to work as a telemarketer. She has to call the living during mealtimes to ask silly questions about their lives. It's the first of many steps Madison will take as she takes over Hell and makes it beautiful.

Sorry Please Thank You byCharles Yu

Because I love it so much, I'm going anyway.

The author of Yu's book is a true science fiction geek's geek, if you understand what I mean. His short story collection Sorry / Please / Thank You is a great example of how he plays with science fiction tropes in a post-modern way, with a meta point of view and a lot of humor. Then, I'd say that almost all of these stories have a different take on what it means to be in a personal purgatory.

"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," by Hunter S. Thompson

What does Hunter S. Thompson's book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" tell us about? Two men on a drug-fueled trip through sin city, and how they end up in trouble. Their goal is to find the American Dream, but they also talk about how the counter-culture movement failed in the 1960s. If you want to read this book, you'll first have to read two parts in Rolling Stone magazine. It's about real events from the author's own life.

"Between the World and Me," by Ta-Nehisi Coates

As a letter, "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates is written by the author to his son. In it, he tells his son the truth about how Black people have been oppressed and exploited in the United States for a long time, and he talks about how he had to learn how to deal with a racist system as a Black man.

"M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A," by A. Van Jordan

As the book tells the story of MacNolia Cox, the first African American finalist in the National Spelling Bee, 13-year-old MacNolia reads like a book. After the judges were said to have stopped MacNolia from winning, the teenager's life changed forever.

"Heavy," by Kiese Laymon

He talks about being a Black boy growing up in Jackson, Mississippi, in his book "Heavy." Laymon talks about how he has been sexually assaulted, how he has been addicted, and how he has a hard time with his family, especially his mother. powerful, honest, and vulnerable: His writing is all of these things in equal measure.

In order to stay up to date on the most recent book club news, sign up for the Read With Jenna newsletter.

---