BOOK REVIEW - WHAT HELL MAY COME BY REX HURST

While Hurst’s What Hell May Come does a solid job with the world building, and some of the scenes with the teenage characters are engaging, on the whole I found the story too unfocused. Overall I was left with an unpleasant taste in my mouth, and, because of the continuous poor representation of women in an overly sexualised and offensive manner, I do not feel that I can recommend this novel.

In the introduction to What Hell May Come, author , tells us of the Satanic Panic which reached its apex in the mid 1980s. He writes of the time with considerable knowledge, and then asks us to “imagine a world where all of these allegations are true.”

The introduction drew me in, hoping that the author would play on the sincerity and gravity with which acts of Satanic worship were reported, or perhaps satirise this time, indulging in a little 80s nostalgia on the way, much like Grady Hendrix’s 2016 novel, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, which goes big on the nostalgia and even bigger on the hair, but what I found was quite different. Instead of dropping in references to 1980s pop culture, and playing on the ridiculousness of the time, Hurst instead opts for a dark and somewhat disturbing tale which rather unfortunately has an unpleasant attitude towards women.

Hurst’s novel is set in Buffalo, and 1980s Buffalo is not a pleasant place to be. One of Hurst’s strengths in this novel is his ability to depict places, particularly unpleasant ones. The deprivation of Black Rock, Buffalo is more than apparent in his descriptions: “Their dwellings reflected their poor life planning. Cardboard squares duct-taped in place of broken windows. Screen doors with the mesh half hanging out. Red brick stoops that were missing a few bricks. Old paint jobs with flaked-out gray splotches like leper spots.”

In the first chapter of the novel we’re introduced to the teenage protagonist, Jon. Some sympathy is created for the character, for his parents treat him abysmally. This goes beyond the typical teenage whining of life being unfair and siblings getting preferential treatment. Here, it’s clear that’s what’s happening. Jon’s only joy comes from playing role playing games with his friends, Michael, Louis, and Kathy. It is his relationship with Michael which perhaps comes across best here, and the way Kathy is a potential romantic interest could have been interesting.

The story is at its best when the teenage characters are interacting. The dialogue between them sparks, and their scenes are genuinely engaging. Hurst writes about the role playing games well too, and the importance of it is more than apparent: “Better than a book. Better than a movie. It was a tale they all told together. One where they were the heroes, great deeds were accomplished, and even death itself was negotiable. Quite frankly, it was better than life itself.”

Without doubt, the most interesting scene was one in which all four characters go to play their game in an abandoned graveyard, and awake something rather unsettling.

One of the novel’s best ideas is the link between the role playing game and Satanism, with the fictional game Dark Dungeons playing a huge part in the plot. The idea that your fantasy character works as a barrier, as a conduit between yourself and the demons is a great one.

In fact, What Hell May Come is a novel that is rich with ideas. We touch on the young man that discovers his parents are in a Satanic cult and has to do something about it, and we also have a bit of the kids who raise demons in order to help them overcome the bully and get the girl. Throw in also a splash of a best friend corrupted by demons, and top it all off with a young man being brought into his family’s secret – they’re Satanists, and he has to try to escape.  Story-wise, it’s trying to do too much, and as such, all of the plots suffer. None are fully developed, and when any of those arcs reach a conclusion it often feels rushed and a little unsatisfying.

I have to congratulate Hurst on how authentic he made his world, whether that be the descriptions of the locations in the novel, or the lore behind it. There are a number of references to old witchcraft trials, occultists, specific demons and historical events, and whether they have been drawn from real history, or myth, or are invented for the novel, they all add to an overall feeling of depth.

Despite these strengths, I find it hard to get past the attitude towards women displayed throughout the novel. Early on, Jon and Michael mention that all the women in Buffalo are “dumb sluts”. You could perhaps excuse this as characterisation of Jon, and how he feels (he is so desperate to lose his virginity). But then comes the description of Jon’s sister, Michelle: “the greatest whore Jon had ever heard of, except she never got paid.”

The way Jon talks about his sister made me feel uneasy, but then he carries out an act which made it very hard to sympathise with him thereafter. He takes a hotdog from the freezer, and then partially defrosts it in a urine-filled toilet. Then this happens: “He shoved the soiled hotdog into her mouth and laughed as her filthy gums worked around it expertly. Eyes crusted over, she grunted in appreciation as she fellated the dead meat.”

Later, when he finds his parents’ secret camera and starts to realise they’re Satanists he witnesses a brutal sex scene between his parents and another man, in which he sees his mother’s face “had gone purple from his grip on her throat.” 

Yes these are supposed to be unpleasant characters, Satanists who revel in depraved sexual acts, but almost every single female character in the story (with the exception of the much younger sister) is overly sexualised.
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While Hurst’s What Hell May Come does a solid job with the world building, and some of the scenes with the teenage characters are engaging, on the whole I found the story too unfocused. Overall I was left with an unpleasant taste in my mouth, and, because of the continuous poor representation of women in an overly sexualised and offensive manner, I do not feel that I can recommend this novel.

​review by ben langley ​

Based on the untrue writings of the Satanic Panic.

The Satanic Panic was a moral outcry in the United States over supposed “satanic” influence in media that were warping the youth of America. Claims that playing an elf in Dungeons and Dragons could lead to demonic possession, that playing heavy metal music backwards would reveal satanic messages, and that therapists could uncover repressed memories of satanic ritual abuse, were all too common.

Volumes and volumes of material were produced on this fake subject. These texts lead to What Hell May Come, which takes a look at what the world would actually be like if all of the claims of the satanic panic were true.

Set in 1986, Jon St. Fond’s life is a living Hell. Deliberately abused and neglected by his parents, the only joy he has in life is an escape into a fantasy land of role playing games. Soon he discovers that his parents are part of a secret occult religion with hidden ties all across the world.

As Jon and his friends dig, they learn more of the secret history of the world and discover the power of making deals with creatures from Beyond. However, power has its price, as Jon and his friends quickly discover. One-by-one they begin to become consumed by their own desires and hatreds.

Jon learns there is method behind the madness of his life, as his Father begins to bring him closer and closer into the ways of the cult. Ultimately, Jon must make a choice between all the pleasures of the earth and the future of his soul.

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

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