Reviews with content warning for Gore - A Short Stay In Hell

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L. Peck

8 reviews

nainz's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This story reminds me of something the Good Place touched on — how the concept of eternity is torture whether it’s heaven or hell. Peck does a really good job of allowing the reader to start to grasp the idea of infinity in just barely 100 pages. His prose isn't marvelous or flowery by any means and is fairly elementary, but his ability to convey the horror that a monotonous eternity would be is true talent. A quick and fairly easy read but there’s nothing easy about the way it festers in your mind for a long time after you finish.

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jess_orjess's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

This book was a quick, yet absurd and rather existential read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the light criticism it had in religion, eternity, the end. The demon Interview was light hearted and funny, followed by a horrifying sense of longevity. You hope and hope that a good conclusion will come of it, but none does.

The prose was interesting and, at some times, beautiful. The description of societies and behaviours in the library over the years was intriguing. It hardly felt like a hundred pages.

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tiredbutawesome's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A very intense read.

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watermelleon's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

An absolutely bizarre thought experiment that filled me with a weird sense of dread and also reflection. I feel a bit of similarity to "I have no mouth but I must scream" in terms of the dark tone and feelings of existentialism faced by the characters.

Think that mental image of falling will stay with me for some time.

Some parts were beautifully written, and I have some lovely highlights I will definitely be coming back to! Overall a really good novella that got me gripped, and gave me much to think about. It has also put the library of babel on my reading list!

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