*[Blog Tour Review] Hellfire and Damnation II by Connie Corcoran Wilson

 

 

Summary:

 

 

Hellfire & Damnation II is the sequel to the well-received award-winning short story collection Hellfire & Damnation (www.HellfireAndDamnationTheBook.com) (E-Lit award, Silver Feather award). The first collection contained 15 short stories that described the sins punished at each of the 9 Circles of Hell within Dante’s Inferno. With that framing device and an Introduction by William F. Nolan (Logan’s Run), the 2011 visit to Hell was 47,000 words that critics called “blazingly original.”
The sequel, Hellfire & Damnation II, is slightly longer, at 53,000 words, containing 11 short stories that, once again, address the sins punished at each of the 9 Circles of Hell. Plus, this time, there is an illustration for each story and a From the Author section, which describes the inspiration for each story. [There are no recurring characters, however, so no need to have read the first book in order to plunge into the second.]
As 5-time Stoker(R) winner Gary Braunbeck said: “I really don’t know how she managed to do it, but Wilson surpasses her previous Hellfire & Damnation collection with this sequel. Her writing is stronger, streamlined, and often lyrical, despite the nastiness her words describe. This is another impressive collection of tales from a writer I could very well learn to hate if she gets much better. Seriously, Connie, can’t you write just one stinker so the rest of us will feel a little bit better?”
Summary & Photo taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 168 pages
Source: Review Copy
Cover Art By: Vincent Chong
Publication Date: August 1st 2012 by Merry Blacksmith Press

I loved this book! Seriously I have never ever read anything like it before and I doubt I'll every read anything like this again except for when I read the first collection. When I recieved the host invite for this one from my favourite tour company this was pretty far out of the norm of the type of book I normally read. I mean if you ask anyone who has followed my blog long enough I don't really care for short stories all that much. They just genedrally aren't my cup of tea.

However, when I read some reviews of what readers were saying about the previous volume Connie wrote I have to admit what people were saying had me hooked so I signed up for the blog tour for Hellfire & Damnation II right away.

There was a darness to the writing that I just loved. I think the writing is what really got me hooked too the stories. While they were all differen't the way Connie wrote the storie really showcased her unique voice as an author and I could tell how much work she put into each and everyone one of the 11 short stories in this volume.

Even though the short stories were on the darker side there was a somewhat poetic nature to the writing that also seemed to lighten the stories up as well if that makes any sense. This book is definetly more for those who like darker reads that give you chills and make your heart pound a little faster.

Like I said in the beginning this book is out of the normal range of books I read but I enjoyed it a lot. It was the perfect book for me to read at the time and I really do recommend this one to fans of the horror genre and fans who like the macabre. Each story in the compilation is unique and has it's own identity. I thoroughly enjoyed each story and can't wait to read the first volume by this author.

*I received a free copy in exchange for my free and honest review. I was not compensated in any way and all thoughts and opinions expressed therein are my own.

Really Liked It!
★ ★ ★★

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