Hell's Super

Circles in Hell, Book One

By: Mark Cain

Narrated by: Michael Gilboe

"If you like Christopher Moore or Tom Holt, read Hell's Super.... Hilarious!"

How can one damned handyman keep all of hell running when everything's always breaking, devils and demons plot against him...and he's terrible at fixing things?

Steve is hell's super, its handyman. Being Mr. Fixit to the underworld keeps him and his assistant, Orson Welles (yes, that Orson Welles), pretty busy, since things go on the blink all the time down there. No malfunction has ever created so much inconvenience, though, as the malfunction of hell's escalator, which leads from the pearly gates to the depths of Hades. What's worse: The breakdown appears to be sabotage.

Satan calls in Steve to investigate. But Steve is distracted these days. He's in love with Flo, a gorgeous, almost saintly figure who has come to hell by choice to ease the suffering of the damned. What's more, she seems to like him, but romance in hell? That could never be. Still, solving the mystery of the escalator could earn him some points with Satan, maybe even a chance with Flo. Or maybe not.

Hell's Super is the first volume in the satire/fantasy comedy series Circles in Hell. It has been compared to other works of "hell fiction" including The Screwtape Letters and Good Omens and to the paranormal humor of Tom Holt, Christopher Moore, and Douglas Adams.

©2013 Mark E. Cain (P)2015 Mark E. Cain

stick with it.

Hell's Super started off a little bland, but, after the first few hours I couldn't put it down. As we meet people from history, I started to get a sort of Roger Rabbitesque vibe(the movie, not the book which I haven't read). Gilboe's narration, which like the story, took time to grow on me, was fun and expressive and proved to be a perfect fit. Don't hesitate to give this one a chance. I will be eagerly awaiting the nexy audio adaptation in the Circles in Hell series! This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Awful Narration

Loved the concept and overall story, but the narrator was the worst! Terrible accents, flat delivery - ugh.

fun little diversion from reality.

Although the accents were abominable, the story was fun, and I give the narrator credit for trying. The story is reminiscent of Good Omens, especially with the silly infernal plot twists.

pretty good

Once you get past the obvious Christianity plug it's a great book. I would recommend it

good book. more about the characters than the plot

It was a good book. The plot is not very deep and easy to predict. However the characters are great as is the setting. Worth the read.

Gleeful glimpse into Hell

What made the experience of listening to Hell's Super the most enjoyable?

The view of The Bad Place as just another bureaucracy, though one with a vicious sense of humor, is most entertaining.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Steve Minion is obviously front and center, as the first-person teller of the tale. His mixture of still human reactions with wry acceptance of the inevitable disappointments due to his environment -- nobody gets to be happy in Hell -- make him a sympathetic character. For an almost cynic, that is.

Which character – as performed by Michael Gilboe – was your favorite?

SCREEE! I like Boo the bat.

Who was the most memorable character of Hell's Super and why?

I think the ensemble makes the play in this case. I cannot choose a favorite and all are necessary to make the story fun and complete.

Any additional comments?

This is a funny view of the afterlife, a little irreligious perhaps, but not outrageously so. Mr. Gilboe's performance is perfectly suited to the general tone of the story, which is light with a pinch of sarcasm, and he presents the more emotional scenes well, too, without going overboard.
I enjoyed the cultural and historical references, especially the ones I got right away! It's like being in on an inside joke, always a fun place to giggle.
It's a light, quick, fun listen. I'm glad I tried it and look forward to the next Circle.

Liked it.

No reason not to like it. it's a book to pass the time away. not terrible

Good Characters and clever premise, a bit dull

Would you be willing to try another book from Mark Cain? Why or why not?

Maybe, but probably not. I think the overall idea was clever and Mr. Cain uses a lot of witty humor, however this book felt clumsy and dully slow moving.

Which character – as performed by Michael Gilboe – was your favorite?

I thought Orson Wells was an excellent addition as a sidekick. I did not care for how he was voiced.

Any additional comments?

I think this book sets up a very comical scenario where it is obviously no fun to fix the underworld. It has some wonderful lines and jabs from Steve. I think if you were to listen to it in fast motion to bring the hilarity coming more regularly, you could be in for a treat and desire to move on to the sequels. I found it a bit dull and slow moving. I received a copy gratis from the Author/Reader/publisher via Audiobook blast for an honest review.

What would your hell be?

I was grabbed by the description which seemed to promise a funny story of misadventures in hell. The book delivered that and more. It is also a story of someone trying to hold onto his humanity while enduring damnation. Despite being doomed to a job in hell for which he is ill-suited (thus fulfilling the promise of eternal damnation through eternal disappointment, irritation, and emotional suffering); Steve Minion still takes his job description seriously and tries to fix what he can. He does this despite knowing it will just break again. This results in a funny story with a view about how hell hell could be personalized based on individual personalities to maximize each persons suffering.

There are some fun cameos in the book with historical characters such as Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford. etc making appearances in hell. This was a neat aspect of the book because there are some people you would think should have gone to the other place. While you never get to know exactly why some of those people ended up disqualified for heaven (Louis Braille how’d you end up in there?), it is interesting to see the author’s imagining of what those people’s personal hells could be.

Good narration for a comedic novel is essential to getting the full effect of the author’s humour. Here I think the narrator succeeded in getting the timing and tone right for the story. It was worth listening to the book (as opposed to reading it) since it comes across as though Steve himself is telling you of his misadventures in hell. There were however accents that I was not feeling (which made me want to drop it to 3 stars) but credit to the narrator for putting in the effort to do accents. Thankfully, the worst offending accent turned out to be part of the plot (which I’m going to assume means the narrator read the work in full prior to starting the production - thus restoring the narration to 4 stars).

Overall: the story is a nice mix of subtle puns, ironic character mixes, and funny situations. Combined with the narration, it is an entertaining listen.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

BOOH!

A really entertaining production, but if you're listening with headphones turn down the volume. BOOH (bat out of hell) has a hell of a shriek. Cain's take on Hell & the inhabitants is just LOL funny. Love the Hells created for some of histories well known characters, like Thelonious Monk doomed to play an out of tune child sized accordion for eternity. So I am now hooked on another book series. My hell will probably be that there are no real books only enticing 'coming soon' trailers.