Heroes in Hell
The Latest Chapter

As I mentioned in my previous blog item, every year sees another layer added to the foul and fiendish creation that is Janet Morris' Heroes in Hell Universe. With good reason. When you look at the simmering cauldron that is mankind and the pathetic specimens who lurk in its darkest corners, it doesn’t take a lot to skim the dross and sift out the dregs.

 Yes, humanity is saturated with potential to fill the streets of latterday hell with a never-ending stream of fresh souls. Lawyers; rogues; dreamers; poets; doctors; pirates and lovers. Satan welcomes them all, and his Reaper is always ready to pile on the torment.

 That’s great news for those of us condemned to contribute to the Heroes in Hell universe for the rest of infernity. Because as the populace of hell continues to swell, so does the opportunity to write about it. I guess you could say that the expanding volume of damned souls is directly proportional to the increasing volumes available for you to read. (I know . . . hit me later!)

But it begs the question . . . Who is next?

What seditious segment of society has been targeted for reassignment on the Undertaker’s Slab, only to be served up for your misentertainment?

Well, I’m glad to announce, that the next installment of Heroes in Hell is. . .

 

Mystics in Hell

 

 And you won’t need a crystal ball to tell you that for the charlatans in question, fortunes are about to spiral out of control.

 How so?

Well, as I mentioned previously, I have the privilege of contributing to the Heroes in Hell universe in two ways: through the themed anthologies, and more comprehensively, via those adventures relating to Satan’s Reaper and Chief Bounty Hunter, Daemon Grim.

 Now, if you’re new to the Heroes in Hell universe, you won’t be aware of an important facet of Daemon Grim’s history. A facet best summed up by the contents of an old blog relating to how I came up with a character that would become integral to HIH canon:

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 As you can imagine, Heroes in Hell gives me an excellent playground in which to set my characters free. But, how did I come up with the character of Grim specifically? 

 Ah, that was quite easy.

 First of all, I did my homework. 

Hell is a wondrous place, where all sorts of dastardly deeds are allowed to spiral out of control. However, the HIH concept has certain rules – certain limits and boundaries. In devising a character, I didn’t want to create ‘just another someone’ – you know – another unhinged psychopath who creates mayhem wherever he or she goes. (Well I did, but I wanted them to bring a certain order and pedigree to the universe).

So I thought…what if my main character was someone close to Satan himself? Someone powerful and fiercely loyal? Someone who was the worst of them all and who stood out because he leads by the purity of his service and example he sets? And to add a certain fear factor, what if that character was cursed with the bane of never being able to lie? Someone who turns such a trait to his advantage to create a dread and chilling reputation. He’s bold, brash and confident, because he's perfectly capable of carrying out whatever assignment he’s given.

 When I checked the lists, nobody had thought of using a character deeply interwoven into mythologies and fabric of multiple cultures around the world …The Grim Reaper.

THE Grim Reaper. (Ding Dong!)

 I relished playing with a character like that because not only is he the ultimate killer, but such a persona would be great fun to build a personality profile around. The scope he presented would weave through all the storylines as if he’d always been part of it. 

This is the kind of guy who – if you appear on his list – you’re dead. Simple as that. You can’t buy, bribe, or wheedle your way out of it. And to make it even more unsettling, I’d give him one of the most outrageous sense of humors anyone could ever wish for, and a degree of loyalty toward his team that is almost paradoxical. But for all that, if Satan’s decrees it, he’d still snuff anyone out of existence without the slightest remorse.

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 And the final twist?

After consulting with Janet from the outset, we decided it would be a great idea to have Daemon Grim’s adventures maintain their continuity by evolving from the original ‘breakout’ short story (Grim – Doctors in Hell), and then leapfrogging from anthology to novel and from novel to anthology

 As such, the Reaper’s story arc covers:

Grim – Doctors in Hell

Hell Bound

Pieces of Hate – Pirates in Hell

Hell Hounds

Devil’s Trull – Lovers in Hell

Hell Gate

And now, in this latest anthology, Mystics in Hell, I’m delighted to announce that Daemon Grim’s exploits continue in The Sorcerous Apprentice, a murder, mystery misadventure, revealing how Satan’s Reaper is forced to turn to the Al-Jinn of Jahannam for help in ridding the undervese of a pandemic threatening to undo everything that Satan has worked so hard to achieve.

It’s diabolically dark and delicious. And even better, the Sorcerous Apprentice is only one of a number of stories that clearly reveals how you can’t second-guess those with second sight. Be they psychic, prophet, soothsayer or clairvoyant, none of those possessing extra sinsory perceptions can be relied on to reveal the truth.

For more information, keep an eye out on further details, soon to be revealed in both;

The Perseid Press

AND

Black Gate Fantasy

Mystics in Hell. 
A fetish-filled extravaganza that will charm your socks off and toast your toe-tems. (And yes, you won’t need a crystal ball to know it’ll be a puntacular page-turner of epic proportions).

 

Do yourselves a favor.
Avoid the need for further diabolical double-entendres by making sure you get your copy as soon as is inhumanely possible

 

Mystics in Hell – Buy Links to follow!

 

Heroes in Hell?
What a Novel Idea

Last time out, we took a quick peek at the anthologies making up the underworld of Heroes in Hell. As I mentioned, there are currently seven anthologies available to choose from, involving an equal number of warped and wonderful themes, all of them expounding the many vagaries you’ll find throughout the many levels of hell.

 However, the more astute reader will have noted I also made mention of four novels, the first of which is shown above. Written by Nebula award winner Michael A. Armstrong, it is a standalone story in its own right. Here’s the blurb to give you an idea of what to expect:

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In hell, all souls believe they don’t belong there. To sweeten their torment, Satan offers the damned the illusion of escape. Job, the Ombudsman, has the bitter job of trying to be their advocate. If no soul gets saved, the illusion shatters, so Satan gives Job the almost impossible task: help a soul escape from hell. With the help of the poets Hart Crane, Emily Dickinson, and Ezra Pound, and through the magic of the Brooklyn Bridge, they seek to redeem the soul of Washington A. Roebling, the builder of the bridge.

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It’s a great premise, and I had the pleasure of reading this story along with the other anthologies in my preparations to join the Heroes in Hell team. Find out what I thought of Bridge Over Hell here:

 

Amazon kindle review

 But that’s just one of the four novels that make up part of the Heroes in Hell canon. I had the privilege of not only contributing to the anthologies, you see, but of writing the other three novels myself: 

Hell Bound, Hell Hounds, and Hell Gate.

Here’s a brief taster of what those stories contain:

 

In hell, none of the condemned believes they deserve to be there. And that’s fine, so long as they’re not foolish enough to try and do anything about it. For those that do, there’s always Satan’s Reaper–and chief bounty hunter–Daemon Grim.

Feared throughout the many layers of the underverse, no one in their right mind dares to cross him.

However, when Grim discovers that someone has attempted to evade injustice, and seems hell-bent on gaining access to ancient angelic artifacts, proscribed since the time of the original rebellion in heaven, circumstances point to the fact they may be doing just that.

The question is...why?

Thus begins an investigation that leads Grim throughout the many contradictory and baffling levels of the underworld, where he unearths a conspiracy that is not only eating its way like a cancer through the highest echelons of Hellion society, but one which threatens the very stability of Satan’s rule.

How does Daemon Grim Respond?

Rest assured. It’ll be bloody, brutal, and despicably wicked.

 

Feared throughout the many circles of the underworld, Satan’s Reaper – and chief bounty hunter – Daemon Grim, is known as a true force to be reckoned with.

Having eliminated a major player in the uprising eating its way like a cancer through the underbelly of hell, Grim is stunned to discover he cannot afford to rest on his laurels, for the rebellion runs far deeper than was ever imagined. New players have emerged – denizens with uncanny abilities – who seem determined to support Chopin and Tesla’s revolutionary agenda.

Ever keen to test their mettle, the Sibitti – personified weapons of the ancient Babylonian plague god, Erra – also appear eager to capitalize on the growing unrest, and set about maneuvering events in order to place themselves in direct opposition to Grim’s investigation.

And if that was not cause for concern enough, there’s an insane angel on the loose, a creature as hell-bent on creating havoc as he is to return home.

How do Grim and his rabid pack of bounty hunters respond?

Baying for blood – doesn’t even begin to describe it.

 

The Angel Grislington is dead, effaced from existence during an epic battle with Daemon Grim that destroyed a Zion forged blade and one of Satan’s premier palaces in the process.

Chopin and Tesla have gone to ground. So much so, that they might as well be six feet under helping to push up hell-daisies.

Even Erra and the Sibitti, his living weapons of vengeance and destruction, seem reticent to show their faces.

Rioting sweeps the length and breadth of the underworld. Yet the halls of the Mortuary lie vacant, for someone is stealing soul-essence, the very means by which Satan condemns sinners to everlasting torment.

But who would do such a thing? And how does the hush that descends upon the dirty streets of latterday hell tie into ancient prophecy relating to the Reaper’s destiny?

It’s often calmest before the storm.

Just imagine how bad things will get with the apocalypse approaching.

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So, just how bad DO things get?

Well, to find out the answer to that – and indeed, how Job fared with his assignment in Bridge Over Hell – I’d ask you click on any of the links within this actual article, or in the sidebar of the blog itself, to find out. Failing that, why not pop along to Perseid Press to see everything on offer?

 

Perseid Press

And when you’ve done that, just bear in mind that this is an ever-expanding universe. There are no bounds to its reach and influence. Good news indeed for those who like to delve into the foul and fiendish tales on offer.

Why?

Because there’s further mischief afoot. That’s why!

As to what that mischief is, exactly, why not stop by next time to find out the very latest news from the Heroes in Hell universe, and indeed, the latest exploits of Satan’s Reaper in his never-ending mission to bring hell’s miscreants to heel. You'll be glad you did.

 Heroes in Hell

For those of you who have might not be familiar with the Heroes in Hell universe, here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it:

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Heroes in Hell is a series of shared world fantasy books, within the genre Bangsian fantasy/horror, created and edited by Janet Morris and written by her, Chris Morris, C. J. Cherryh and others. The first 12 books in the series were published by Baen Books between 1986 and 1989, and stories from the series include both Hugo Award winners and Nebula nominees.

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Janet resurrected the series through her own publishing company – The Perseid Press – in 2011 with Lawyers in Hell, and the universe has continued to expand with six anthologies and four novels since then:

As you can see from this quick glimpse, there’s a wealth of dark and despicable delights to delve into. And what a choice! Bent lawyers; devious rogues; hopeless dreamers; cursed poets; censured doctors; dastardly pirates, and hapless lovers.

But why so many?

Ah, that’s what you have to understand about hell, it’s an ever expanding smorgasbord of shameful deviants with all sorts of perverted desires that ends up dooming them to eternal suffering.

Here’s a little equation I like to use to explain why Heroes in Hell keeps getting bigger and better.

dS >> 0ᵑ

Now, some of you might recognize this equation, as it’s the satanized version of the second law of thermodynamics. Or, as its better known in the underverse, the Law of Infernodynamics.

Let's break it down a little:
Basically, the sum of each condemned soul’s damnation, (d),
Combined with (S), Satan’s all-pervading unholy will,
Is vastly greater, (>>) than anyone’s chance of escaping or being happy again, aptly represented by, (0ᵑ), that’s zero to the nth degree!

Ouch!

So, what’s in store for those who end up in one of the many levels of hell?

Ah, for that I’d encourage you to stop by, either at The Perseid Press

Perseid Press

 Or at your favorite online book retailer to find out more.

 

And if you’re unsure as to where might be a good place to start, why not pick a theme that appeals. After all, there are plenty topics to choose from, and the choice is only going to get bigger.

Stay tuned, you’ll find out what I mean in the next post.

Vengeance is Coming. . .

You don't have to wait until the new Batman film to meet a real dark Knight.
Daemon Grim has been eager to wreak vengeance on those who stray for an eternity.

You can find out more about him and all the other dark deeds that take place throughout the underverse in:

Heroes in Hell

And even better - A new anthology will be with us soon.
You know it makes complete sense

Black Gate Fantasy Review:

Hell Gate

Ever since Daemon Grim darkened our lives with his first solo adventure in Hell Bound (published by The Perseid Press in 2015), followed by Hell Hounds in 2017,  the team at Black Gate Fantasy have been hankering to find out how the Reaper's story would evolve.

But who is Daemon Grim?

Quite simply, He's Satan's Enforcer. The Devil's Hitman. An assassin. A creature who exists to kill in the most exquisitely despicable ways you can possibly imagine in the service of the Prince of Darkness. Because of this, he's viewed as both hero and villain, a monster and saint. And he hides a secret that none can know.

What that secret is becomes apparent in this, his third outing, where the many-layered, interwoven and tangled intricacies of the Underverse begin to unravel, offering you an insight as to the methods Satan employs to retain his odious grasp on power. And as we find out, his reach is as ubiquitous as it is unrelenting.

But is this Daemon Grim's final foray? The closing of a chapter perhaps? A tying up of loose ends?

What do YOU think. 

This is Hell, after all. 

And don't forget, Daemon Grim is but a cog in a malevolent and monstrous machine that ensures the suffering of damned souls lasts for an eternity of infernities. And there'll always be some fool yearning to escape their unjust deserts.

So, yes, the Reaper's adventures will continue - as they have always done - as part of Janet Morris' Heroes in Hell shared universe. A place where the torment of those condemned will last forever. 

In the meantime - Here's Black Gate's review:

Black Gate Review: Hell Gate

Reasons to Consider Finding Out More About 

Daemon Grim

Fans of the Heroes in Hell Universe will no doubt be aware of Satan’s right-hand man, Daemon Grim.

As his Reaper, and Chief Bounty Hunter leading the Hell Hounds, Grim is responsible for bringing all of the Underworld’s miscreants to injustice, by unfair means or foul.
Just look at what critics say about his adventures:

“A vividly wrought story of evil at its best...the story was compelling and a fascinating venture into the world of unsequestered villainy. Weston's novel is highly inventive and enthralling. It's a mob drama with a taste of the supernatural. -- Fanboy Comics

“An epic and fast-paced adventure. Part Gothic, 19th century-style mystery, part sword and sorcery, and part horror. This is a grand tour of Hell which kept me reading to the last page. -- Black Gate Fantasy

“Weston is a talented storyteller. I love his unique take on hell, dark, edgy, and humorous...and the writing is masterful. Just sit back and enjoy. -- Vine Voice

“A comedic and engrossing look into the life of Satan’s Reaper. The characters are so richly imagined, you’ll find yourself booing and cheering for people you never would have imagined. This is such a unique and exciting novel I guarantee you’ll love it. -Faire's Fair Book Reviews

And Readers like to express their views too:

“Truly captivating . . .”     “A black hearted trilogy . . .”     “A vivid tapestry of the macabre . . .”
“Highly recommended dark fantasy . . .”     “An elevated example of urban fantasy . . .”
“Reminiscent of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle . . .”     “Engrossing and imaginative . . . “
“The penmanship is unique . . .”     “Weston writes written words like a master . . .”

Like what you see?

Then why not find out more about Daemon Grim and the entire Heroes in Hell Universe by following the links in the side bar.

Worlds Within Worlds

Hell Gate

For those of you who have managed to read Hell Gate, I’m sure a couple of the places I describe within the book bring certain vistas to mind. That’s the wonderful thing about reading; your imagination fills in details that add substance to a story, bringing it to life.

I certainly felt that way as the story evolved, especially when it came to the Gulf of Tears and the Hall of Shattered Dreams. But how did I come up with such places, and what planted the seeds in my mind?

Well, it’s twofold really – three if you include the fact I read . . . a lot! Reading encourages creativity because, although you’re involving yourself with someone else’s words, the pictures they paint come to life in YOUR mind. It helps you become familiar with the idea of constructing scenes and living them out.

The more you do it, the more swiftly you can devise a place, person, thing or object and flesh them out.

That being said, I was then inspired by what my research had hinted at.

Let’s start with Haawiyâh (The Abyss)

In Hell Gate, Daemon grim has to journey to various places to unlock clues as to his destiny, or help in his investigation. While I conducted the research aspect of my preparation, it struck me how hostile to life Hataamah must be. Remember what the Arabic version of hell entails:

“. . .references are filled with indications of torture, fire and flames that crackle and roar, with fierce boiling waters, scorching wind and black smoke. Endless planes stretch on forever, scoured barren by heat and gales, Hadean in scope…”

That got me thinking. Haawiyâh is also known as The Abyss. Instead of incorporating a simple “hellish, Dantean pit aspect” into my planning, I wanted something more, something like a gorge or a chasm that ate its way through the strata as it constantly wandered along. But this wouldn’t be any old chasm; it would be a yawning great cleft that would make the Grand Canyon look tiny in comparison.

With that in mind, I started scouring the internet for fantasy based examples of the headwaters of an abyss that would feel right at home in a Daemon Grim adventure. Look what I found:

Can you see why I came up with the name – Gulf of Tears?

Just looking on that picture; pondering on it; immersing myself into its make-believe history and back-story helped me devise a wondrous place that you’ll read about in detail in Hell Gate.

And the fun doesn’t stop there.

Do you remember some of the other examples Jahannam had to offer?

 Sá-eer (The Blaze)

Haawiyâh (The Abyss)

Hatamâh (That which breaks to pieces)

Jaheêm (Blazing Fire)

Well, the blazing fire aspect was a common denominator throughout Jahannam, and something I would obviously incorporate into my fictional rendering. After all, I was making this realm the home of the Jinn (genies) – or Al-Jinn – albeit my versions would be a very formal, militarized, honor bound society.

That’s probably why Hatamâh drew me so much. Imagine a circle of hell that was so anti-life – even as a place of damnation – that it chewed normal concepts up whole and spit them out in pieces. Jumbled pieces.

Once the sorting hat of my imagination clicked onto this idea, I started perusing the internet for examples of the weird and wonderful; of places that simply didn’t fit; of stunning vistas where alien and everyday objects had been transposed into an alternate reality in a way that stuck out like a sore thumb.

One of those images was this:

When Grim first arrives in Hatamâh, he describes the entrance as follows:

*** A subliminal snap released all the pent-up kinetic energy at once, throwing us high into the air. Recovering quickly, I regained control, reached out to my companions and managed our descent with ease. Even so, the environment in which we landed was starkly different to what we had left behind.

The distant hills were still the same, but everything else appeared as disproportionate as they were familiar. By my reckoning, it looked as if a number of different locales down through the ages had been snatched away from London, topside, and dumped here for my benefit.

To the west, the spire of Big Ben sprouted from wave battered cliffs. Seagulls nestled among the crenels of its lofty crown and squabbled for space along the length of its black iron hands, currently showing the time as three forty-five. Eastward, the MI6 building had been deposited on its side, right next to the dilapidated remains of the original Tower Bridge. Constructed centuries apart, both looked similarly weather-beaten and were covered in all manner of creeping vines and other invasive vegetation.

A pristine twentieth century “London Underground” sign canted precariously to one side, bowing in homage to the smattering of barnacle scarred, seaweed clad boulders, scattered like green-bearded islands in front of me. Slick with slime, every one of them had been stained brown by the murky, reed infested broth lapping gently at their roots.

It was an eerie sight, for the rocks formed a ravaged boulevard leading toward the ruins of somewhere I knew well: the Victorian version of Paddington Tube Station.

Topside, latticed metal girders graced the curved roof of the Brunel-inspired edifice with a shining framework for allover glazing. Here, only rusted shattered fragments of steel and glass remained, jutting upward like rigid fingers, forever locked in arthritic display.

Below them, fractured masonry and collapsed walls formed an assault course of sharp edges and treacherous cracks we would need to negotiate, if we wished to proceed further without risking the temperament of the crocodilian fiends peeping from beneath the surface of the swamp in all too many places at once.

By all that is cursed, what a marvelous place. This is exactly what London could have looked like if it had been blitzkrieged into submission during World War Two. Sadly, our cockney friends were made of sterner stuff…I studied the scene before me for a second time. As am I. But where to go from here?

My gaze came to rest of the immaculate subway sign again. To my mind, it seemed starkly out of place among such devastation. Or is that the way it’s supposed to look? I began to laugh. Could Jahannam be giving me a clue? ***

It certainly was giving a clue. One I picked up from the image above.

Some of you might recognize that picture as I use it on Daemon Grim’s Facebook page. It depicts exactly the kind of thing I look for in the jumbled hotchpotch that is hell. Bits of what we know warped out of the framework of normalcy and served up with relish. You can relate to a place like this. You’re drawn to it. It’s familiar . . . while being totally alien.

And talking of alien. . .

That’s how the Hall of Shattered Dreams was born. A repository of ancient, long-forgotten knowledge, clinging to existence in the middle of a topsy-turvy world that played out nightmare-fairytale-imaginary-historical events all at the same time while jumbling them together into one long stream of head-banging, dribbling insanity.

I loved it! And I look forward to seeing how you, the reader, react to the discovery of a place that would make Alice and the Hatter feel right at home.

So, there you have it. A little dip into the building blocks of Hell Gate, and the workings of the gyroscope that represents my mental instability.

But don’t forget, Hell Gate is only a small part world in a large and ever expanding universe. Why don’t you check out more about Heroes in Hell…

The Perseid Press

You’ll be glad you did.