House Infernal: Edward Lee

Over the millennia since Lucifer was cast out of Heaven, Hell has become an enormous city. This city, Mephistopolis, allows for a never-ending supply of violence, rape and sadism to provide a constant atmosphere of terror from which Lucifer may draw his enjoyment. It is here that Boniface the Seventh, damned anti-Pope, begins a rite that will unleash unimaginable horrors into the human world.

House Infernal, the third book in Lee's Infernal series, is a new story arc rather than a sequel. With the underlying premise of an industrialized Hell as the backdrop, a constant set of characters is proven unnecessary and allows for a greater exploration of the basic concept. We switch between two parallel storylines for the duration of the novel: one follows theology graduate Venetia in her assisting in the restoration of a run-down priory; the other is a sojourn of Ruth, a foul-mouthed hooker, and Alexander, a limbless priest, through the Mephistopolis.

The multiple storyline angle works to great effect here as points made and topics covered in the Hell sequences serve to flesh out the story in the human world, and vice-versa. Lee also manages to reference events from the first two Infernal books in such a way that one could pick up this book without having read the other two and not be lost.

In the hands of a lesser writer, this could have been a horrible novel. However, Lee manages to write a very well-executed story without becoming absurd or juvenile in his delivery. His twisted prose and macabre humor mesh seamlessly to create a believable vision of Hell, enjoyable characters and a quickly-paced plot. Definitely check this one out.

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Mass Market Paperback: 369 pages
Publisher: Leisure Books (October 2, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0843958065
ISBN-13: 978-0843958065
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