Heroes in Hell

For the 1973 film starring Klaus Kinski, see Heroes in Hell (film).

Heroes in Hell

Heroes in Hell, the first book in the series
Heroes in Hell The Gates of Hell Rebels in Hell Kings in Hell Crusaders in Hell Legions of Hell Angels in Hell Masters in Hell The Little Helliad War in Hell Prophets in Hell Explorers in Hell Lawyers in Hell
Author	Janet Morris, series editor
Cover artist	David B. Mattingly
Country	United States
Genre	Novels and short stories shared world fantasy
Publisher	Baen Books, Kerlak Enterprises/Perseid Publishing
Published	1986–1989, 2011

Heroes in Hell is a series of shared world fantasy books, within the genre Bangsian fantasy, 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 one Hugo Award winner and Nebula nominee, (Gilgamesh in the Outback by Robert Silverberg from Rebels in Hell), as well as one other Nebula Award nominee. The series was resurrected in 2011 by Janet Morris with the thirteenth book and eighth anthology in the series, Lawyers in Hell.

Background

The shared world premise of Heroes in Hell is that all the dead wind up together in Hell, where they pick up where they left off when still alive.^[1] The Encyclopedia of Fantasy states "In the long series of shared world adventures begun with Heroes in Hell, Hell becomes an arena in which all the interesting people in history can come together to continue the relentless pursuit of their various ends."^[2] Brian Stableford commented that the series "adapted the backcloth of Dantean fantasy as a stage for violent adventures with ironic echoes of infernal comedy".^[3]

Reception

Science fiction and fantasy author Orson Scott Card compared the success of Heroes in Hell with other shared worlds like Thieves' World, Wild Cards and Liavek, and said that this "almost guarantees that shared worlds will be around for many years to come".^[4] The webzine SF Site discussed the popularity of shared worlds in the 1980s and listed Heroes in Hell as a "significant example" of one of them.^[5]

Books in the series

There are five novels in the series and eight anthologies of short fiction. Janet Morris edited all eight anthologies. Portions of Legions of Hell first appeared in stories published in Heroes in Hell, The Gates of Hell, Rebels in Hell, Kings in Hell and Crusaders in Hell.

• Heroes in Hell (1986), anthology (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671655556, & ISBN 978-0671655558) (1987 Locus Poll Best Anthology (8th Place)^[6])
  • "Son of the Morning", Chris Morris
  • "Newton Sleep", Gregory Benford - originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1985; nominated Nebula Award Best Novella 1986 ^[7]
  • "The Prince", C. J. Cherryh
  • "The Hand of Providence", David Drake
  • "Basileus", C. J. Cherryh & Janet Morris
  • "To Reign in Hell", Janet Morris

• The Gates of Hell (1986), novel by C. J. Cherryh and Janet Morris (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671655921, & ISBN 978-0671655922)

• Rebels in Hell (1986), anthology (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671655779)
  • "Undercover Angel", Chris Morris
  • "Hell's Gate", Bill Kerby
  • "Gilgamesh in the Outback", Robert Silverberg (originally published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine,^[8] won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1987, was nominated 1986 Nebula Award for Best Novella.^[9][10])
  • "Marking Time", C. J. Cherryh
  • "Table with a View", Nancy Asire
  • "There Are No Fighter Pilots Down In Hell", Martin Caidin
  • "'Cause I Served My Time In Hell", David Drake
  • "Monday Morning", C. J. Cherryh
  • "Graveyard Shift", Janet Morris

• Kings in Hell (1987), novel by C. J. Cherryh and Janet Morris, (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671656140)

• Crusaders in Hell (1987), anthology (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671656393)
  • "The Nature of Hell", Janet Morris and Chris Morris
  • "Gilgamesh Redux", Janet Morris
  • "Crusaders in Love", Bill Kerby
  • "Between the Devil and The Deep Blue Sea", Michael Armstrong
  • "Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth", C. J. Cherryh
  • "By Invitation Only", Nancy Asire
  • "The Gods of the Gaps", Gregory Benford
  • "Springs Eternal", David Drake
  • "Snowballs in Hell", Chris Morris

• Legions of Hell (1987), novel by C. J. Cherryh (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671656539)

• Angels in Hell (1987), anthology edited by Janet Morris ^[11] (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671656393, & ISBN 978-0671653601)
  • "Handmaids in Hell" by Chris Morris
  • "The Fascination of the Abomination" by Robert Silverberg
  • "The Price of an Egg" by Alexandra Sokolov
  • "Reaching for Paradise" by Brad Miner
  • "The Ex-Khan" by Robert L. Asprin
  • "The Conscience of the King" by C. J. Cherryh and Nancy Asire
  • "Learning Curve" by David Drake
  • "Sea of Stiffs" by Janet Morris

• Masters in Hell (1987), anthology (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671653798)
  • "The Ransom of Hellcat" by Chris Morris
  • "Take Two" by Bill Kerby
  • "Hellbike" by George Foy
  • "Houseguests" by Nancy Asire
  • "Spitting in the Wind" by Lynn Abbey
  • "God's Eyes" by Michael Armstrong
  • "Bargain" by David Drake
  • "Pawn in Play" by C. J. Cherryh
  • "Sea Change" by Janet Morris

• The Little Helliad (1988), novel by Janet Morris and Chris Morris (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671653668)

• War in Hell (1988), anthology (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671697921)
  • "[...] Is Hell" by Janet Morris
  • "Wisdom" by David Drake
  • "Fallout" by Nancy Asire
  • "Gilgamesh in Uruk" by Robert Silverberg
  • "An Appropriate Hell" by Diana L. Paxson
  • "The Man in the Black Cape Turn" by Michael Armstrong
  • "Giving Hell a Shot" by Bill Kerby
  • "Rook's Move" by C. J. Cherryh
  • "Sign On" by Chris Morris

• Prophets in Hell (1989), anthology (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671698225)
  • "Eye of a Needle" by Chris Morris
  • "Exile" by David Drake
  • "The Garden of Blood Narcissus" by Brad Miner
  • "Death Freaks" by Robert Sheckley
  • "Profits in Hell" by Bill Kerby
  • "Terminal" by George Alec Effinger
  • "I, Hermes Trismegistus" by Richard Groller
  • "Fast Food" by Nancy Asire
  • "The Sibylline Affair" by C. J. Cherryh
  • "Moving Day" by Janet Morris

• Explorers in Hell (1989), novel by David Drake and Janet Morris (published by Baen Books, ISBN 978-0671698133)

• Lawyers in Hell (2011), anthology (published by Perseid Publishing/Kerlak Enterprises, Inc., ISBN 978-1937035020, ISBN 978-1-937035013, & eISBN 978-1-937035860)
  • "Interview with the Devil" by Janet Morris and Chris Morris
  • "Tribe of Hell" by Janet Morris
  • "The Rapture Elevator" by Michael Armstrong
  • "Out of Court Settlement" by C. J. Cherryh
  • "Revolutionary Justice" by Leo Champion
  • "Tale of a Tail" by Nancy Asire
  • "And Injustice For All" by Jason Cordova
  • "Measure of a Man" by Deborah Koren
  • "The Adjudication of Hetty Green" by Allan Gilbreath
  • "Plains of Hell" by Bruce Durham
  • "The Register" by Michael H. Hanson
  • "Island Out of Time" by Richard Groller
  • "Appellate Angel" by Edward McKeown
  • "With Enemies Like These" by David L. Burkhead
  • "The Dark Arts" by Kimberly Richardson
  • "Heads You Lose" by Michael Z. Williamson
  • "Check and Mate" by Bradley H. Sinor
  • "Disclaimer" by John Manning
  • "Orientation Day" by Sarah Hulcy
  • "Remember, Remember, Hell in November" by Larry Atchley, Jr.
  • "Theos Khthonios" by Scott Oden
  • "Erra and the Seven" by Chris Morris

Reviews

• Heroes in Hell
  • Jackie Cassada, Library Journal, March 15, 1986, Volume 111, Issue 5, page 80
  • Chuq von Rospach, OtherRealms, April 1986, Volume 1, Number 3
  • James D. Riemer, Fantasy Review, May 1986, Volume 9, Number 5, page 21-22
  • Don D’Ammassa, Science Fiction Chronicle, June 1986, Volume 7, Number 9, page 45
  • Doug Fratz, Thrust, Winter 1986, Issue 25, page 24

• Rebels in Hell
  • Kliatt Young Adult Paperback Book Guide, October 1986, Volume 20, Number 7, page 5
  • Michael Cobley, Paperback Inferno, June/July 1987, Number 66, page 6
  • Don D’Ammassa, Science Fiction Chronicle, March 1987, Volume 8, Number 6, page 43

• Kings in Hell
  • S. Lamb, Kliatt Young Adult Paperback Book Guide, May 1987, Volume 21, Number 4, page 3

• Crusaders in Hell
  • Gloria Wall, Short Form, Issues 3 & 4, 1989, page 31

• Angels in Hell
  • P.R., Booklist, September 15, 1987, Volume 84, Number 2, page 112

• Legions of Hell
  • Publishers Weekly, May 29, 1987, Volume 231, Number 21, page 73
  • Trevin Matlock, Locus, Number 318, July 1987
  • P.R., Booklist, July 1987, Volume 83, Number 21, page 1655
  • K. E., Kliatt Young Adult Paperback Book Guide, October 1987, Volume 21, Number 7, page 3

• The Little Helliad
  • Philip J. De Parto, The Starship Express, 1988, Volume 2, Numbers 6 & 7
  • S. Lamb, Kliatt Young Adult Paperback Book Guide, September 1988, Volume 22, Number 6, page 26

• Prophets in Hell
  • S. Lamb, Kliatt Young Adult Paperback Book Guide, September 1989, Volume 23, Number 6, page 20

• Lawyers in Hell
  • Dan L. Hollifield, Aphelion, The Webzine of Science Fiction and Fantasy^[12], September 2011, Issue 155, Volume 15

References

• Stableford, Brian (2005). Historical Dictionary of Fantasy Literature. Scarecrow Press. p. 356. ISBN 0810849445. 
• Card, Orson Scott (1990). How to write science fiction & fantasy. Writer's Digest Books. pp. 125–126. ISBN 9781582971032. http://books.google.com/books?id=sV7T1SETQ08C&pg=PA125. 
• Clute, John; Grant, John (1997). The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. St. Martin's Press. p. 461. ISBN 0312198698. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Encyclopedia_of_Fantasy. 

1. ^ Card 1990, p. 125.
2. ^ Clute and Grant 1997, p. 461.
3. ^ Stableford 2005, p. 356.
4. ^ Card 1990, p. 126.
5. ^ Horton, Rich. "The Original Anthology Series in Science Fiction". SF Site. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rich56.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-12. 
6. ^ "1987 Locus Poll Award". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ay.cgi?Lc1987. Retrieved 2011-08-09. 
7. ^ "Nebula Final Ballots from the 1980s". SFWA Nebula Awards. http://dpsinfo.com/awardweb/nebulas/80s.html. Retrieved 2011-07-13. 
8. ^ Brian Thomsen (ed.), Novel Ideas -- Fantasy, DAW Books, 2006, copyrights acknowledgments page
9. ^ "1987 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5yVVEeHnz. Retrieved June 27, 2011. 
10. ^ "Nebula Nominees List". The Locus Index to SF Awards. Locus. http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NebulaNomList.html. Retrieved June 27, 2011. 
11. ^ "1988 Chesley Awards". Locus. http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Chesley1988.html. Retrieved 2011-07-13. "David Mattingly received a nomination for a 1988 Chesley Award for his cover artwork of Heroes in Hell" 
12. ^ "Lawyers in Hell". Aphelion Features. http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/features/2011/09/aphelionreview55.html. Retrieved 2011-09-16. 

External links

• Heroes in Hell series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.

• Heroes in Hell at Fantastic Fiction.

• Heroes in Hell at SciFan.