Book Review -
Poets in Hell
It’s hard to know what to expect from a book titled ‘Poets
in Hell’, at least I hadn’t a clue until I turned the first page. What I got
was something quite mad, that’s mad in an absolutely wild, clever, surreal and
brilliant way.
I like fantasy, and I like it dark, this is probably what
attracted me to a book set in the vast expanse of hell, what a brilliant
playground for a group of writers to unleash their imaginations. Of course, the
idea of a collection of stories about poets doesn’t exactly conjure an image of
action and adventure, but I can say, this group of wordsmiths may have lived
sedate, studious lives, but death gets seriously real for them. There is such a
wild, eclectic mix of characters in this collection, all bound together with a
common theme, and a running consistency that speaks of very clever world
building, behind the scenes. Although each author has his or her own take on
hell and the, madcap adventures they put their characters through, there are
also common themes and characters binding the collection together and giving
the book a strong feel of oneness, giving the reader the feel of roving through
the many layers of hell, like some kind of traveller roaming through space and
time witnessing all of the action up close.
