Dark Book Review - City Infernal Series
Review Written by Casey Douglass
During a listless
evening spent browsing the internet, I decided to seek out some new
books and authors that might appeal to me. A name that came up a fair
few times in the splatterpunk horror genre was Edward Lee and his
City Infernal series of hellish fiction. After reading the blurb of
book one: City Infernal, I knew that I wanted to read it.
They say location is
pretty much everything when it comes to selling a house, so a
run-down apartment in Mephistopolis might be going incredibly
cheaply. Mephistopolis is basically Hell if it was a city. As is
pointed out by a variety of characters in the narrative, the living
world has grown and evolved in the last few thousand years. Where
once there were fields and woodlands now stand gleaming cities of
glass and technology. Hell has also developed in this time, turning
from barren sulphur pits into a sprawling expanse of skyscrapers,
suffering and pain that stretches as far as the eye can see. This is
the concept that hooked me when reading that first blurb. It sounded
achingly intriguing.
Each book follows the
tales of various characters, both in the living world and in
Mephistopolis, whether they end up treading the strange streets and
dodging the variety of icky denizens that live there, or are just
struggling with their lives in the living world. The books do follow
on from each other to varying degrees, so it is certainly a good idea
to read them in order: City Infernal, Infernal Angel, House
Infernal and Lucifer’s Lottery. The main characters of
each book are all interesting, their varying vices and moral
struggles often giving the agents of Lucifer ample material to entice
and ensnare them. There are agents working for the good guys too
however, although in the Mephistopolis, these are treated as
criminals and terrorists, as you’d imagine.
While I did really
enjoy the narrative of each book, and the wider arc across the four,
the setting and invention apparent in the denizens that live there
really stole the show. The Mephistopolis is beautifully described,
each district themed around its own unique offering. Some are made
from blood bricks, enchanted to keep attackers at bay. Others are
made from cultivated rot or even faeces. Power stations run via the
torture of unfortunate souls, newborn babies are used for food and
drink while skin and flesh is sold by the drug-addled and thieves
that roam the streets, taking things at will. Strange beasts and
demons roam, all with varying jobs and abilities, which is usually to
create disorder and enforce laws. These laws are, predictably,
chaotic. People must urinate and defecate in public, and there are
even zones where demonic units are teleported in to butcher and
decapitate anyone unfortunate enough to be there at the time. I have
deliberately chosen not to name the various demons and districts as
it is quite a pleasure to have things build up in the way that Edward
Lee introduces things.
These books are not for
the squeamish. There are scenes of torture, mutilation, horror and
sexual deviancy that would likely only appeal to fans of more extreme
fiction. The amount of bodily fluids alone could almost certainly put
someone off their lunch if they happened to be eating at the time of
reading. I enjoyed it though, it’s everything you would expect and
hope for when describing hellish things. I wanted a book(s) that
would grab my attention and give me the vicarious thrill of seeing
forbidden things, and the City Infernal series certainly did that.
If you are interested
in Hell in any way, shape or form (unless you are religious enough to
be afraid of the very idea), I think you will enjoy Edward Lee’s
take on the idea. I purchased the eBooks through the Kindle Store for
about 3 quid each, which means that the four only cost me a bit more
than a tenner. I think that’s a great price for the hours of
Mephistopolian tourism that they offer. I give the City Infernal
series 5/5 and am hoping to check out more of Edward Lee’s
fiction in the future.
Visit Edward Lee’s website for more info and to see some of his other books.
Book Title: City
Infernal Series
Book Author: Edward Lee
