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Shakespeare in Hell
In Hell, there are many writers. Can Will Shakespeare, the most human of the great writers, dream himself out of Hell, where he has been for generations? The Lord of the Flies, Beelzebub promises the great writers in Hell a "Get Out of Hell Free" card if only they write a great play, but the one he really wants is Shakespeare, who will not write. And it is not the words to save Will Shakespeare, nor Oscar Wilde, nor Edgar Allan Poe, nor the Dark Lady of the Sonnets ... not even the biggest "yes" man ever known, Nixon's Bob Haldeman. It is their dreams and their courage. Dream you other wise, Will Shakespeare. Dream yourself out of Hell.
- GenresFiction
74 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 6, 2014
About the author
Amy Sterling Casil
96 books35 followersAmy Sterling Casil is a 2002 Nebula Award nominee and recipient of other awards and recognition for her short science fiction and fantasy, which has appeared in publications ranging from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction to Zoetrope. She is the author of 48 nonfiction books, over a hundred short stories, two fiction and poetry collections, and three novels. Amy was the founder of Pacific Human Capital, a founding member and treasurer of Book View Café and former treasurer of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, and is also a former So Cal community college teacher. She now lives in SW Florida with her husband Bruce White and ... let's hope he stays well, a 16 year old rescue Jack Russell / Chihuahua mix dog named Gambit. Her daughter is wonderful - and yes, her baby did die in an accident at home and yes she was charged with responsibility in his death, and it was declared unfounded and the record EXPUNGED which means 100% certainty of innocence.
www.amysterlingcasil.com
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 21, 2014
Shakespeare in Hell is an intriguing title. Think of all it can conjure up – allusions to Milton and Dante, who both had more luck finding stories in the darker realms of the afterlife, and with the villains of their pieces, than with an antiseptic realm of winged creatures playing harps, come to mind; one can imagine Shakespeare choosing Hell as a better stage for his plays and poetry. Or perhaps Shakespeare sinned with his Dark Lady, landing him in eternal flame. Or — well, the possibilities seem endless.
But Amy Sterling Casil has not taken full advantage of the myriad plotlines available to her. We are given no moral structure for this Hell, and no hint of a Deity meting out punishments and rewards. We never do learn precisely why Shakespeare is in Hell, though it does appear to have something to do with the Dark Lady, who is here given the identity of Emilia Bassano Lanier, who lived at roughly the same time as Shakespeare and was the first Englishwoman to assert herself as a professional poet. Nor are we explicitly told why Oscar Wilde is there; Casil apparently does not want to say straight out that being gay will land you in Hell, though she hints at it. There is no explanation for Edgar Allan Poe’s presence there either. Unaccountably, the other major terrestrial character who has a major role in this novella is H.R. Haldeman of Watergate fame, suggesting that God doesn’t forgive (despite the fact that Haldeman publically repented for his role in Watergate at the end of his life).
The moving force in the novel is Beelzebub, who has just consigned Isadora Duncan and Busby Berkeley to the Lake of Fire for failing to provide him with sufficient amusement. He needs something new to amuse him, something meatier. Haldeman, who rides his shoulder, suggests that he could have Julia Child grill a porterhouse (and why is she in Hell? No clue), but Beelzebub corrects him: he wants intellectual meat, a play or a novel. They head for the cave (an allusion to Plato? The author doesn’t follow through on this possibility) where ten thousand writers are all caged together without a single reader. (Don’t the writers ever read each other’s work? Every successful writer I’ve ever read about is an insatiable reader.) Beelzebub waves around three “Get Out of Hell Free” golden tickets, which he offers in exchange for a play. Wilde and Poe volunteer when Sophocles, Pope, Byron, Shelley and Shakespeare refuse to appear in response to Beelzebub’s summons. Beelzebub instructs them that he wants a play that improves on “Hamlet,” and he has some instructions in that regard, including that Hamlet should kill Claudius immediately. Once Beelzebub leaves, the two of them go off to find Shakespeare, as they feel they are not capable of writing a play themselves.
The novella meanders on from there, giving us brief glimpses of many authors, poets and playwrights, and in particular demonstrating how Emilia refuses to be ignored as a possible replacement for the missing Shakespeare. Shakespeare, Wilde and Poe all have their own moments of redemption that seem to come from nowhere and that do not seem to actually redeem them — and if they do, the mechanism of that redemption isn’t made clear. We see no play, no poetry, no writing, nothing that requires that the characters in this novella be masters of the written word. And one more mystery is never solved: what the heck does Bob Haldeman have to do with this?
Small presses, self-publishing, e-books and low prices have given the novella new life in this new digital age. Alas, they have also made it possible for authors to publish novellas that are not ready for the light of day. A good editor might have helped Casil shape something out of this morass of ideas and fragments of ideas. But this novella should not have been published in its present form.
Originally published at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi.... 1.5 stars rounded up to 2.
But Amy Sterling Casil has not taken full advantage of the myriad plotlines available to her. We are given no moral structure for this Hell, and no hint of a Deity meting out punishments and rewards. We never do learn precisely why Shakespeare is in Hell, though it does appear to have something to do with the Dark Lady, who is here given the identity of Emilia Bassano Lanier, who lived at roughly the same time as Shakespeare and was the first Englishwoman to assert herself as a professional poet. Nor are we explicitly told why Oscar Wilde is there; Casil apparently does not want to say straight out that being gay will land you in Hell, though she hints at it. There is no explanation for Edgar Allan Poe’s presence there either. Unaccountably, the other major terrestrial character who has a major role in this novella is H.R. Haldeman of Watergate fame, suggesting that God doesn’t forgive (despite the fact that Haldeman publically repented for his role in Watergate at the end of his life).
The moving force in the novel is Beelzebub, who has just consigned Isadora Duncan and Busby Berkeley to the Lake of Fire for failing to provide him with sufficient amusement. He needs something new to amuse him, something meatier. Haldeman, who rides his shoulder, suggests that he could have Julia Child grill a porterhouse (and why is she in Hell? No clue), but Beelzebub corrects him: he wants intellectual meat, a play or a novel. They head for the cave (an allusion to Plato? The author doesn’t follow through on this possibility) where ten thousand writers are all caged together without a single reader. (Don’t the writers ever read each other’s work? Every successful writer I’ve ever read about is an insatiable reader.) Beelzebub waves around three “Get Out of Hell Free” golden tickets, which he offers in exchange for a play. Wilde and Poe volunteer when Sophocles, Pope, Byron, Shelley and Shakespeare refuse to appear in response to Beelzebub’s summons. Beelzebub instructs them that he wants a play that improves on “Hamlet,” and he has some instructions in that regard, including that Hamlet should kill Claudius immediately. Once Beelzebub leaves, the two of them go off to find Shakespeare, as they feel they are not capable of writing a play themselves.
The novella meanders on from there, giving us brief glimpses of many authors, poets and playwrights, and in particular demonstrating how Emilia refuses to be ignored as a possible replacement for the missing Shakespeare. Shakespeare, Wilde and Poe all have their own moments of redemption that seem to come from nowhere and that do not seem to actually redeem them — and if they do, the mechanism of that redemption isn’t made clear. We see no play, no poetry, no writing, nothing that requires that the characters in this novella be masters of the written word. And one more mystery is never solved: what the heck does Bob Haldeman have to do with this?
Small presses, self-publishing, e-books and low prices have given the novella new life in this new digital age. Alas, they have also made it possible for authors to publish novellas that are not ready for the light of day. A good editor might have helped Casil shape something out of this morass of ideas and fragments of ideas. But this novella should not have been published in its present form.
Originally published at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi.... 1.5 stars rounded up to 2.
May 14, 2015
I enjoyed this short book by Amy Sterling Casil (@ASterling) far more than I expected to. It was a clever story without being pretentious. I liked the interaction between William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and Edgar Allen Poe, and felt their different speech styles very plausible. The description of the suffering in Hell and the petty, mendacious character of Beelzebub was reasonably accurate (to the Bible's description of them). If only getting out of Hell were that easy.
May 9, 2023
Interesting but a little disjointed and messy - 2.5 stars
It’s a short easy, enjoyable read, but it tries to be more clever than it is.
One redeeming part is that it finally got me started on Wilde’s Dorian Grey and who knows, I might throw in som Poe as well.
It’s a short easy, enjoyable read, but it tries to be more clever than it is.
One redeeming part is that it finally got me started on Wilde’s Dorian Grey and who knows, I might throw in som Poe as well.
January 6, 2021
Very entertaining
This was a very entertaining albeit short piece of fantasy fiction that held my attention throughout. Amy is a very talented writer.
This was a very entertaining albeit short piece of fantasy fiction that held my attention throughout. Amy is a very talented writer.
July 30, 2014
Witty and intriguing alternate view of the afterlife.
This is a postmodern romp through Hell that shatters preconceptions while entertaining with vivid characters and humor. Beelzebub really takes center stage with his puffed-up ego and childish outbursts. The byplay between him and sycophant Joe Haldeman are hilarious. Also intriguing are the interactions between Shakespeare, Wilde, and Poe, and the mysteries involved with their destination in Hell. And for those who'd like a little literary refresher, Casil provides historical notes at the end.
This is a postmodern romp through Hell that shatters preconceptions while entertaining with vivid characters and humor. Beelzebub really takes center stage with his puffed-up ego and childish outbursts. The byplay between him and sycophant Joe Haldeman are hilarious. Also intriguing are the interactions between Shakespeare, Wilde, and Poe, and the mysteries involved with their destination in Hell. And for those who'd like a little literary refresher, Casil provides historical notes at the end.
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August 16, 2014Reviewed by Terry: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews