Reviews with content warning for Body horror - A Short Stay in Hell

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck

7 reviews

h4ppycupcake's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

This was the most depressing and nerve wracking book I’ve read in a long time. I do not recommend reading this if you’re having a crisis of spirituality, or if you have general anxiety. It was well written, but at what cost to the reader? I feel uneasy now that’s finished. How does one pack such an incredible amount of existential dread and terror into only 110 pages? I won’t be reading anything else by this author, lest he sends me into a panic.

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meh697's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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surdiablo's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

A great novella featuring a concept with tremendous potential, borrowed from The Library of Babel short story by Borges. The writing style is pretty straightforward and it's a far cry from Borges really, so the ideas are easy to grasp. I was hooked from the very beginning and couldn't put it down, regardless of its depressing nature. It's designed to make you wonder about insanity deriving from the infinite, which the author succeeds at very well. However, I gotta confess I am a bit underwhelmed as well, regardless of everything I have mentioned so far. It feels like the book could have been significantly better if it had an additional 30-50 pages, or was a 300-page novel even. Everything felt somewhat undercooked, which prevented me from fully experiencing the intended impact. Like I said before, it's a concept with a lot of potential, so the story could have used additional or different developments perhaps, fleshed out things further, etc. I would highly recommend it anyway because it's really memorable regardless of its shortcomings since the latter mainly originates from my own expectations.

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icebearg's review

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

In A Short Stay in Hell, The author creates a well thought-out and elaborate existential torture which leaves the reader truly feeling the hero's hopelessness in his exploration of Hell fashioned from the infamous Library of Babel. At first, the reader is presented with a harmless first impression of what is a Zoroastrian Hell as the hero indulges in luxuries and community outside of danger, contradicting the conventional Christian image of Hell. However, this was intentionally done to let the reader's guard down only to see as the story progresses, the hero slowly discovers the true tortures that lie within this Library of Babel. Existential dread, poverty of sensation, the Sisyphean struggle against eternity, and a rude awakening on the fact that Hell is other people.
It is a fascinating read which will make you question your meaning and purpose in the universe.

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