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Inferno by Dante Alighieri
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
Presence, The Play by William Jefferson
Hell by Robert Olen Butler
Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
City Inferno by Edward Lee

Heaven and Hell have been hot topics in fiction for centuries. What is it like? Where do we go? Who lives there and what sort of life must we lead to punch a ticket to either one? Although Dante’s Inferno is perhaps the most famous example, there are plenty of other excellent works that explore these realms in their own unique ways, and we’ve compiled a list six of the best below:

Inferno by Dante Alighieri

Inferno by Dante Alighieri

Dante’s Inferno. An epic and searing poem, that takes the reader on an intense journey through the darkest pits of hell. As important and classic as the day it was written over 600 years ago. Dante’s Inferno is one of the best and enduring works of Western Civilization. The immortal drama of a journey through Hell. Belonging in the immortal company of Homer, Virgil, Milton, and Shakespeare, Dante Alighieri’s poetic masterpiece is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey through the infinite torment of Hell, a supreme expression of the Middle Ages, a glorification of the ways of God, and a magnificent protest at the ways in which men have thwarted the divine plan.


The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce is a classic Christian allegorical tale about a bus ride from hell to heaven. An extraordinary meditation upon good and evil, grace and judgment, Lewis’s revolutionary idea in the The Great Divorce is that the gates of Hell are locked from the inside. Using his extraordinary descriptive powers, Lewis’ The Great Divorce will change the way we think about good and evil.


Presence, The Play by William Jefferson

Presence, The Play by William Jefferson

This book centers on the spiritual journeys of Brother Script, a member of the Order of Message Makers, a group of storytelling monks. They live on Estillyen Isle, surrounded by the misty Storied Sea, a sort of semi-mythical Hy-Brasil. Brother Script has toiled for years on his latest play, Presence, and it is opening night at the stately Theatre Portesque. And then the unexpected happens.

As Script is fussing about near his balcony seat, he loses his footing, strikes his head against the railing and falls into a deep coma that plunges him into what can only be described as a parallel world. It’s a world where he will encounter a trio of spiritual guides who assist him in traveling to hell and back, attempting to uncover and stop Satan and his nefarious plans to subjugate humanity, starting with Script’s own beloved isle of Estillyen.

Presence, the Play is a novel. A novel in which we, as readers, are treated to an allegorical tale woven across multiple levels: Christian theology, media critique, the hero’s journey, poetic reimagining of classic works, and sheer entertainment. All wrapped in an exploration of the concept of presence and its many manifestations, both divine and mundane.


Hell by Robert Olen Butler

Hell by Robert Olen Butler

A novel from one of American literature’s brightest stars, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, Robert Olen Butler’s uproarious new novel is set in the underworld. Its main character, Hatcher McCord, is an evening news presenter who has found himself in Hell and is struggling to explain his bad fortune. He’s not the only one to suffer this fate–in fact, he’s surrounded by an outrageous cast of characters, including Humphrey Bogart, William Shakespeare, and almost all of the popes and most of the U.S. presidents. The question may be not who is in Hell but who isn’t. One day McCord meets Dante’s Beatrice, who believes there is a way out of Hell, and the next morning, during an exclusive on-camera interview with Satan, McCord realizes that Satan’s omniscience, which he has always credited for the perfection of Hell’s torments, may be a mirage–and Butler is off on a madcap romp about good, evil, free will, and the possibility of escape.


Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Acclaimed writing pair Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle offer a new twist on Dante’s classic tale, Inferno.

After being thrown out the window of his luxury apartment, science fiction writer Allen Carpentier wakes to find himself at the gates of hell. Feeling he’s landed in a great opportunity for a book, he attempts to follow Dante’s road map. Determined to meet Satan himself, Carpentier treks through the Nine Layers of Hell led by Benito Mussolini, and encounters countless mental and physical tortures. As he struggles to escape, he’s taken through new, puzzling, and outlandish versions of sin―recast for the present day.


City Inferno by Edward Lee

City Inferno by Edward Lee

Hell is a city. Forget the old-fashioned sulphurous pit you may have read about. Over the millennia, Hell has evolved into a bustling metropolis with looming skyscrapers, crowded streets, systemized evil, and atrocity as the status quo.

Cassie thought she knew all about Hell. But when her twin sister, Lissa, committed suicide, Cassie found that she was able to travel to the real thing—the city itself. Now, even though she’s still alive, Cassie is heading straight to Hell to find Lissa. And the sights she sees as she walks among the damned will never be in any tourist guidebook.


Wyatt Semenuk

Wyatt grew up in New York, Connecticut, and on the Jersey Shore. Attracted by its writing program and swim team, he attended Kenyon College, majoring in English with an emphasis on creative writing. After graduation, he took an industry world tour, dipping his toes into game development, culinary arts, dramatic/fiction writing, content creation and even work as a fishmonger, before focusing on marketing. Reading, powerlifting, gaming and shooting clays are his favorite pastime activities.