Two Steps From Hell

by Scott Roche, Scott E. Pond (Illustrator)

Laurent, a faerie sorcerer, lived for centuries. When it ended, instead of drifting into oblivion he awoke in Hell. After countless years of indescribable torment, a half-faerie half-human conjurer summons him to 21st century New Orleans. Laurent now has twenty-four hours to discover who used him as an unwilling murderer and to avoid a return to damnation. The only person on his side is the summoner's sister, a half faerie police detective, investigating the murder he committed.

83 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 3, 2013

About the author

A military brat, fan of horror and occult fiction at an embarrassingly (for my parents anyway) young age, and a seeker of the true reality beyond that which we see every day, I try and include as much life experience in my writing as I can. Every story I write combines these elements into something that I hope you will not only enjoy, but tell all of your friends about. I am active in the podcast fiction sphere and am a contributing editor at Flying Island Press.

Reviews

[Katharina · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first heard about the new Novella “Two Steps from Hell” by Scott Roche, it was by way of him showing off its cover on Facebook. I mean “showing off” in the most justified way possible. Because there wasn’t else to go by, I first judged the book by its cover, which was done by the fantastically skilled Scott Pond. Nowadays many things get self published and most look it. I appreciate that it’s a question of finances if an author does their covers themselves – I have often done that too – and a lot of book cover designers with affordable rates still make book covers look “self-pub”. That in itself isn’t a bad thing, but it can turn away some people. This made Two Steps from Hell a refreshingly positive experience. No one would think it was self published by looking at the cover. It’s simply stunning. I gave in to the cover’s pull and bought the book on Smashwords. Inside, there were a few editing flaws which will probably be sorted by the author soon.

Now onto the story. I like myself a good prantagonist, one where even his bad reasons are understandable in some ways. This is not just the usual crime novel from the murderer’s point of view, though. It felt more like the most un-morning person being woken up at 5 AM to spend a coffee-less morning in a room full of cheerful people. People would empathise with him too, if he’d end up murdering someone. It is actually quite a sweet story, in a grumpy and twisted way. The interaction of the characters is very funny and I laughed out loud a few times. They fit together very well too and this novella is a great setup for a series. I thoroughly enjoyed the story – it set up an interesting range of beings and powers about which I’d like to find out more. Explanations like “this can be done because it’s magic” and nothing more are usually not enough for me. I hope there is more to all the magic and powers and an underlying plan and a system to them. Of course that can be done in a sequel.

Which leaves me with the end – it is quite open, which kept me on the edge. Usually I like things solved unless it’s a series. Now I only have to hunt Scott down and make him write the next one. I can warmly recommend this novella and I didn’t get anything for saying that! :)


http://www.maimer.net/2013/07/review-...

[A.F. Grappin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two Steps from Hell went by too quickly for my taste. I mean that in a good way and a not-so-good way. I loved how easy it is to read Roche's work, but I wanted this story to be more fleshed out. There is a lot of presence, plot, and character development that got rushed through and could have comfortably been expanded to make this more novel-length than novella, and I would have been happy for it. Honestly, I wanted this to be a bigger story than it was. I wasn't dissatisfied with the events, but the pacing felt a little too rushed. Not a lot, but enough. It left me with a feeling of breathlessness that had me rushing, and I wanted to enjoy going along on this ride with Laurent. As it was, I felt more dragged along behind him rather than rushing with him to the resolution.

Roche does pave the way for a sequel, which is nice. Laurent is a character I'd like to see more of, and the USA is a country I'd like to see more of through his eyes.

[John Kilgallon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the new audio book version of this work. Great writing and characterization by the author, Scott Roche. Entertaining listen because the narrator, Brad Nelms, breathed life into the characters. Laurant, a snarky faerie seeking escape from Hell, teams with a changeling detective, Helen. She is investigating a murder and he has a promise to the victim to kill the murderer. The victim? Her brother. The weapon? Laurant. The force behind the crime? Pure evil.

Give it a listen, you won't be disappointed!

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

by ssserpensssotia

[Jennifer Melzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairy sorcerer Laurent finds himself torn from the tortures of hell by a half-fae conjurer named Willy, whom he quickly kills upon resurrection. Walking the streets of 21st Century New Orleans, Laurent must find a way to avoid returning to hell and its many indescribably torments, and the only way to get to the bottom of things is with the help of a little voodoo and the twin sister of the man he killed upon resurrection.

Helen, a New Orleans police detective, has always been special, different--just like her brother, but she's found better ways to fit in despite her unique capabilities. It takes a bit of convincing for her to accept the truth as Laurent lays it out for her, but when the two of them begin digging into the circumstances that brought him back from Hell and ended Helen's brother's life in the process.

Laurent has only seventy-two hours to do what needs to be done, or its straight back to hell for him, and in the meantime he has to convince Helen of the truth about who and what he really is if they are ever to solve they mystery unraveling and ticking down the minutes until he loses his freedom again.

Roche worked these characters together effortlessly, providing action and intrigue from beginning to end.

Four out of five stars, I highly recommend this tale for anyone who loves a good urban fantasy with a dark twist!

[Keith Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read most of this over the course of a single plane flight and thoroughly enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more in this series. Count me a fan!