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City Infernal #2
Infernal Angel
The city of Hell. That's what Hell is now, an endless metropolis bristling with black skyscrapers, raging in eternal horror. The moon is black and the sky is blood red. Screams rip down the streets and through alleys. The people trudge down sidewalks on their way to work or to stores, just like in other cities. There's only one difference. In this city the people are all dead.
But two living humans have discovered the greatest of all occult secrets. They have the ability to enter this city of the damned, with powers beyond those of even a fallen angel. One plans to foil an unspeakably diabolical plot. The other plans to set it in motion - and bring all the evils of Hell to the land of the living.
But two living humans have discovered the greatest of all occult secrets. They have the ability to enter this city of the damned, with powers beyond those of even a fallen angel. One plans to foil an unspeakably diabolical plot. The other plans to set it in motion - and bring all the evils of Hell to the land of the living.
352 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2003
About the author
Edward Lee
224 books1,337 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Edward Lee is an American novelist specializing in the field of horror, and has authored 40 books, more than half of which have been published by mass-market New York paperback companies such as Leisure/Dorchester, Berkley, and Zebra/Kensington. He is a Bram Stoker award nominee for his story "Mr. Torso," and his short stories have appeared in over a dozen mass-market anthologies, including THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES OF 2000, Pocket's HOT BLOOD series, and the award-wining 999. Several of his novels have sold translation rights to Germany, Greece, and Romania. He also publishes quite actively in the small-press/limited-edition hardcover market; many of his books in this category have become collector's items. While a number of Lee's projects have been optioned for film, only one has been made, HEADER, which was released on DVD to mixed reviews in June, 2009, by Synapse Films.
Lee is particularly known for over-the-top occult concepts and an accelerated treatment of erotic and/or morbid sexual imagery and visceral violence.
He was born on May 25, 1957 in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Bowie, Maryland. In the late-70s he served in the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division, in Erlangen, West Germany, then, for a short time, was a municipal police officer in Cottage City, Maryland. Lee also attended the University of Maryland as an English major but quit in his last semester to pursue his dream of being a horror novelist. For over 15 years, he worked as the night manager for a security company in Annapolis, Maryland, while writing in his spare time. In 1997, however, he became a full-time writer, first spending several years in Seattle and then moving to St. Pete Beach, Florida, where he currently resides.
Of note, the author cites as his strongest influence horror legend H. P. Lovecraft; in 2007, Lee embarked on what he calls his "Lovecraft kick" and wrote a spate of novels and novellas which tribute Lovecraft and his famous Cthulhu Mythos. Among these projects are THE INNSWICH HORROR, "Trolley No. 1852," HAUNTER OF THE THRESHOLD, GOING MONSTERING, "Pages Torn From A Travel Journal," and "You Are My Everything." Lee promises more Lovecraftian work on the horizon.
Edward Lee is an American novelist specializing in the field of horror, and has authored 40 books, more than half of which have been published by mass-market New York paperback companies such as Leisure/Dorchester, Berkley, and Zebra/Kensington. He is a Bram Stoker award nominee for his story "Mr. Torso," and his short stories have appeared in over a dozen mass-market anthologies, including THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES OF 2000, Pocket's HOT BLOOD series, and the award-wining 999. Several of his novels have sold translation rights to Germany, Greece, and Romania. He also publishes quite actively in the small-press/limited-edition hardcover market; many of his books in this category have become collector's items. While a number of Lee's projects have been optioned for film, only one has been made, HEADER, which was released on DVD to mixed reviews in June, 2009, by Synapse Films.
Lee is particularly known for over-the-top occult concepts and an accelerated treatment of erotic and/or morbid sexual imagery and visceral violence.
He was born on May 25, 1957 in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Bowie, Maryland. In the late-70s he served in the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division, in Erlangen, West Germany, then, for a short time, was a municipal police officer in Cottage City, Maryland. Lee also attended the University of Maryland as an English major but quit in his last semester to pursue his dream of being a horror novelist. For over 15 years, he worked as the night manager for a security company in Annapolis, Maryland, while writing in his spare time. In 1997, however, he became a full-time writer, first spending several years in Seattle and then moving to St. Pete Beach, Florida, where he currently resides.
Of note, the author cites as his strongest influence horror legend H. P. Lovecraft; in 2007, Lee embarked on what he calls his "Lovecraft kick" and wrote a spate of novels and novellas which tribute Lovecraft and his famous Cthulhu Mythos. Among these projects are THE INNSWICH HORROR, "Trolley No. 1852," HAUNTER OF THE THRESHOLD, GOING MONSTERING, "Pages Torn From A Travel Journal," and "You Are My Everything." Lee promises more Lovecraftian work on the horizon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
September 27, 2021
Story 4/5
Narration 4/5
Narration 4/5
January 16, 2009
The sequel towers over the debut, City Infernal, which was good but not great as this is. Here Cassie comes into her own as an etheress, and Satan raises up an etherean. Cassie does much damage in hell, and at the coolest part, we even get a glimpse of Satan going back in time. A winner!
October 17, 2020
Pretty good book, but nothing great. The scenery, as with most of Lee's books, was great. His description of hell was great and at times, funny. The last 15 pages really sealed everything up, because until that point there were a ton of loose ends. A solid, 3 star book.
April 20, 2022
I thought the first book in this series, City Infernal, was by no means a masterpiece, but it was an incredibly entertaining ride nonetheless, and it somehow managed to fill me with joy despite the constant torture and gore and general grossness you sign up for when you step into an Edward Lee novel. Coming into book #2, I have to ask...what the hell happened? I can't remember the last time I've been so bitterly let down.
(I'm not spoilering this next part, because you learn all of it early in the book. That being said, you may still want to steer clear. Especially if the events and characters of book one mean anything to you and you'd like that to remain untarnished...)
This book hits the reset button on almost everything that was established or developed in City Infernal #1. Things set up in the last book are bizarrely discarded. All of Cassie's friends and allies are captured or destroyed, entirely off-screen, the progress they made and the hope that was building turned to smoldering ashes. Her house burns down and her dad dies (again, off-screen), someone she was supposedly close to if book one was any indication. Her dad was all she had left after Lissa's suicide, and these two characters were shown to deeply care about each other. At one point, Cassie even saves his life! And yet she doesn't grieve him at all, or even seem to care. I get that some time has passed since he died, so there's emotional distance, but it feels wrong to kill off a character we got to know decently well in the first book so abruptly and unceremoniously. Even besides her dad, Cassie doesn't act like she misses anyone (besides Lissa, I guess, but that's nothing new). It's like overnight she's become an emotionless husk. Via, Hush, Ezoriel...If you were looking forward to seeing any of these people again, this book has one thing to say, and that's "they ain't here, oh and also they're all probably being tortured in unimaginable agony. Fuck you!" And that's just when they're lucky enough to get a mention. What happened to Roy? Sure, he was never a major player, but the poor guy doesn't get a single word.
I had grown surprisingly attached to some of these characters, and this book has convinced me that the author doesn't view them in the same way, but instead as tools to be used and then thrown in the trash when he bores of them. I was so (naively) excited coming into this book because I imagined all the possibilities for adventure and new stories featuring these characters, and instead they're gone and in their place are these randos who I don't give a shit about. I struggle to judge the quality of the new characters because I can't help but resent them for replacing the ones I already liked and cared for, but regardless they don't compel me nearly as much. The increased focus on Lucifer also killed much of my interest. His presence thoroughly demystified him, turning him from a fascinating unknown threat into something very knowable and honestly sort of annoying. Incomprehensibly evil Overlord of Hell, capable of untold destruction and cruelty, more powerful than any other being in the city, suddenly reduced to...some guy. Maybe that was the point, but it did nothing to hold my interest. I found him pretty boring, and nothing about him stuck out compared to the countless other depictions of the Devil in fiction.
God, and I can't describe in words how much I HATE Angelese. Every time she appeared I had to steel myself against the imminent boredom. She exists to infodump at Cassie, to experience unimaginable pain, and, most importantly, to annoy me personally. What's funny is that I'm sure if I return to City Infernal #1 that I'll find plenty of infodumps, but the thing about that book is that all the new information being thrown at me was NEW and INCREDIBLY INTERESTING. I couldn't care less about the occult mumbo-jumbo Angelese spends so many words blabbing about, besides maybe the Atrocidome, but I already dislike the blurring between Earth and Hell that goes on in this book, so I didn't love reading even more about it. This is a sequel, so naturally I assumed the events of this book would have a stronger connection to the last. Apparently I'm an idiot or something because that's not at all what ends up happening.
The Mephistopolis remains delightfully twisted, but you see a lot less of it in this book, and by now the novelty is wearing off. The charms of the setting aren't nearly enough to carry me through the narrative anymore. Halfway through the book, I was still waiting for something to happen. With Cassie, I mean, because that's the only character I felt any amount of investment in. She IS the protagonist, right?! The powerful Etheress spends 160+ pages (more than half the book) in a mental hospital getting infodumped at and having boring conversations with staff members. Not to circle back to complaining about the characters, but Cassie also seems to have undergone some flanderization. While her gothyness was definitely emphasized to a goofy degree in book one, I found it fun and charming, but here all she talks about is Rob Zombie, and how goth she is, and Rob Zombie, and how goth she is. It's tiring.
I don't know if it's just me, but something's off about this whole thing. Something that stuck out to me: I understand that sequels have somewhat of a duty to refresh readers on the events of the previous entry, but you know how this book handles it? By copy-and-pasting ten pages from book one straight in, verbatim. I...don't think this is the industry standard. By itself this would elicit maybe a frown and a raised eyebrow, but in combination with the rest of my complaints, this entire book reeks of laziness, or a rush job, or like something created out of obligation. An inconsistency I noticed is that suddenly there are human children in Hell, when it was stated in book one that there were none. To add insult to injury, my copy is riddled with distracting typos (which were present in book one, but not at nearly the same level of frequency). The magic is gone. I can't be fucked to care anymore when it hardly seems like the author cares himself.
I probably won't be reading the rest of the books in this series, unless I find myself in the mood for masochism.
In short,
(I'm not spoilering this next part, because you learn all of it early in the book. That being said, you may still want to steer clear. Especially if the events and characters of book one mean anything to you and you'd like that to remain untarnished...)
This book hits the reset button on almost everything that was established or developed in City Infernal #1. Things set up in the last book are bizarrely discarded. All of Cassie's friends and allies are captured or destroyed, entirely off-screen, the progress they made and the hope that was building turned to smoldering ashes. Her house burns down and her dad dies (again, off-screen), someone she was supposedly close to if book one was any indication. Her dad was all she had left after Lissa's suicide, and these two characters were shown to deeply care about each other. At one point, Cassie even saves his life! And yet she doesn't grieve him at all, or even seem to care. I get that some time has passed since he died, so there's emotional distance, but it feels wrong to kill off a character we got to know decently well in the first book so abruptly and unceremoniously. Even besides her dad, Cassie doesn't act like she misses anyone (besides Lissa, I guess, but that's nothing new). It's like overnight she's become an emotionless husk. Via, Hush, Ezoriel...If you were looking forward to seeing any of these people again, this book has one thing to say, and that's "they ain't here, oh and also they're all probably being tortured in unimaginable agony. Fuck you!" And that's just when they're lucky enough to get a mention. What happened to Roy? Sure, he was never a major player, but the poor guy doesn't get a single word.
I had grown surprisingly attached to some of these characters, and this book has convinced me that the author doesn't view them in the same way, but instead as tools to be used and then thrown in the trash when he bores of them. I was so (naively) excited coming into this book because I imagined all the possibilities for adventure and new stories featuring these characters, and instead they're gone and in their place are these randos who I don't give a shit about. I struggle to judge the quality of the new characters because I can't help but resent them for replacing the ones I already liked and cared for, but regardless they don't compel me nearly as much. The increased focus on Lucifer also killed much of my interest. His presence thoroughly demystified him, turning him from a fascinating unknown threat into something very knowable and honestly sort of annoying. Incomprehensibly evil Overlord of Hell, capable of untold destruction and cruelty, more powerful than any other being in the city, suddenly reduced to...some guy. Maybe that was the point, but it did nothing to hold my interest. I found him pretty boring, and nothing about him stuck out compared to the countless other depictions of the Devil in fiction.
God, and I can't describe in words how much I HATE Angelese. Every time she appeared I had to steel myself against the imminent boredom. She exists to infodump at Cassie, to experience unimaginable pain, and, most importantly, to annoy me personally. What's funny is that I'm sure if I return to City Infernal #1 that I'll find plenty of infodumps, but the thing about that book is that all the new information being thrown at me was NEW and INCREDIBLY INTERESTING. I couldn't care less about the occult mumbo-jumbo Angelese spends so many words blabbing about, besides maybe the Atrocidome, but I already dislike the blurring between Earth and Hell that goes on in this book, so I didn't love reading even more about it. This is a sequel, so naturally I assumed the events of this book would have a stronger connection to the last. Apparently I'm an idiot or something because that's not at all what ends up happening.
The Mephistopolis remains delightfully twisted, but you see a lot less of it in this book, and by now the novelty is wearing off. The charms of the setting aren't nearly enough to carry me through the narrative anymore. Halfway through the book, I was still waiting for something to happen. With Cassie, I mean, because that's the only character I felt any amount of investment in. She IS the protagonist, right?! The powerful Etheress spends 160+ pages (more than half the book) in a mental hospital getting infodumped at and having boring conversations with staff members. Not to circle back to complaining about the characters, but Cassie also seems to have undergone some flanderization. While her gothyness was definitely emphasized to a goofy degree in book one, I found it fun and charming, but here all she talks about is Rob Zombie, and how goth she is, and Rob Zombie, and how goth she is. It's tiring.
I don't know if it's just me, but something's off about this whole thing. Something that stuck out to me: I understand that sequels have somewhat of a duty to refresh readers on the events of the previous entry, but you know how this book handles it? By copy-and-pasting ten pages from book one straight in, verbatim. I...don't think this is the industry standard. By itself this would elicit maybe a frown and a raised eyebrow, but in combination with the rest of my complaints, this entire book reeks of laziness, or a rush job, or like something created out of obligation. An inconsistency I noticed is that suddenly there are human children in Hell, when it was stated in book one that there were none. To add insult to injury, my copy is riddled with distracting typos (which were present in book one, but not at nearly the same level of frequency). The magic is gone. I can't be fucked to care anymore when it hardly seems like the author cares himself.
I probably won't be reading the rest of the books in this series, unless I find myself in the mood for masochism.
In short,
December 1, 2008
(continued from the review of the prequel, "City Infernal") . . . that Edward Lee set out to write two books that follow the quest story format without the skills to fulfill this calling. This is a go-fetch story populated by thick heads that couldn't electrocute themselves if you paid them to. Here, let's go get that shiny penny on the sidewalk in front of you and save the world! Ok . . . but where is it?
But the most grievous of sins that Lee commits in this book is to describe something cool, build it up in the narrative . . . and then refer to it in passing after it's happened! Seriously, some goon says "Oh yeah it was cool when - " and that is it! As if he didn't even believe in his own ideas.
Lee writes much better than this - check out "Slither" and see for yourself.
But the most grievous of sins that Lee commits in this book is to describe something cool, build it up in the narrative . . . and then refer to it in passing after it's happened! Seriously, some goon says "Oh yeah it was cool when - " and that is it! As if he didn't even believe in his own ideas.
Lee writes much better than this - check out "Slither" and see for yourself.
April 21, 2013
this is a fun book if you don't put to much thought into it. when it comes to magic and demons and stuff there is a lot of cool creative stuff going on that is plenty entertaining but if you really think about it, it dont make any sense. the story had a lot more going on than the first book but unfortunately most of it was pointless. that didn't stop me from enjoying the book though, like the first one it is worth reading for the descriptions of hell, creative punishments, and stories of demons and angels.
May 13, 2020
A bit too long, with quite a lot of telling over showing, the first half I f the book feels like nothing but exposition. However, once those pieces are in place, this horror-fanatsy (more fantasy, really) gets going with a decent plot and a satisfying climax. Interested to see where the series goes from here.
August 23, 2021
As with City Infernal the best part of this book is the world building and setting, however the plot had even less thought put into it this time. So much is described but very little happens and the story meanders for far too long. I enjoyed this book but it felt like it could have been much better, although if you liked the first book you'd probably still get a kick out of this one.
September 20, 2024
If you are not a believer of God, then this book is for you. Though as I am a believer of God, I did not enjoy this book. It was mocking Him. Saying that Satan is the way to go. This book deserves to burn. Though as Jesus Christ has given us all His armor, I will talk about this book for people to stay away from it.
August 27, 2024
again I read this book 14 years ago maybe within 3 months after reading the first book and it has stayed with me all these years later it is one that a teenager shouldn't be reading but here we are the first book for me was better this book was again graphic but the storyline I felt went well with the first book but also at the same time the first book could have been its own it didn't really need a sequel but anyway overall highly thrilling and gripping story and again it's going to stay with you many years after you're done reading it.
December 17, 2022
Ed Lee returns to Hell and brings Cassie back for more insanity and depravity. I really enjoyed Lee’s development of Hell. Satan gets a bigger role in this book. The Infernal series is a lot of fun!
December 2, 2017
Loved it! Awesome ending!
June 15, 2019
A little up and down with this one, surprised that two more books are in this series, thought it ended in a pretty clear victory for team God but it is a rather inventive series why stop at just two right.
Supernatural beings Goblins, Ghosts, Werewolves, Demons, Griffins, and more much much more this creative description of hell-atropolis is very creative but is taken from many different traditions and tales in other words this book has some deep literary roots, and the author took a deep look at all this folklore from biblical Patriarchs to middle ages traditions (Is torture consider a tradition? I guess so in some parts of the world it's always been part of the power structure) anyway that old saying 'there is nothing new under the sun', well I think I learned a few new thoughts about torture that I had never before conceived of, not sure if I should be appreciative of that, probably not, lets put enhancement of torture knowledge in the down category for now. I also thought that when the author started to explain the backstory, you know this is book two of the series so for those people who skip book one (what the hell are you thinking!) make us all suffer though hearing Cassie's backstory again, but what really annoyed me was 13-pages of what was cut and paste "this is word for word out of book one what the hell?!" Sorry I was disappointed about that thought the author became a little lazy there, and that distracted from what is a rather impressively embellished theme of Good vs Evil in an elaborate encounter with Satan himself as our hero's Cassie and Walter our two Ethereans find a way out of Satan's trap and manage to turn the table on him. You know like I said it feels a bit up and down and little scattered with so many elements in play but one thing I saw and was impressed with was something like religious porn, which isn't a thing I don't believe, but in parts of this book I thought it did a rather good job of updating how like how middle age's artists like Hieronymus Bosch would show their impression of hell to the faithful so to teach them don't sin or else. Rather simplistic propaganda but effective anyway this book did a much slicker more up to date version of that and yeah your kind of cheering towards the end, a real cliffhanger down to the last shot and she scores!!!!! GOAAAAAALLLLLLllllllll,....IN YOUR FACE SATAN! USA! USA! (that sort of thing interesting connecting religions tales and that sort of young energy together. (frightening too) It's just some small part of the zeitgeist of this story but in a way where I can see this being a gateway story to religious porn. Two very different things that you are surprised that they go together so well but it has to be the right kind of story for it to work and it does in parts and in parts it just doesn't it just gets kind of nasty. I guess I'll leave on that note good but at times nasty.
Supernatural beings Goblins, Ghosts, Werewolves, Demons, Griffins, and more much much more this creative description of hell-atropolis is very creative but is taken from many different traditions and tales in other words this book has some deep literary roots, and the author took a deep look at all this folklore from biblical Patriarchs to middle ages traditions (Is torture consider a tradition? I guess so in some parts of the world it's always been part of the power structure) anyway that old saying 'there is nothing new under the sun', well I think I learned a few new thoughts about torture that I had never before conceived of, not sure if I should be appreciative of that, probably not, lets put enhancement of torture knowledge in the down category for now. I also thought that when the author started to explain the backstory, you know this is book two of the series so for those people who skip book one (what the hell are you thinking!) make us all suffer though hearing Cassie's backstory again, but what really annoyed me was 13-pages of what was cut and paste "this is word for word out of book one what the hell?!" Sorry I was disappointed about that thought the author became a little lazy there, and that distracted from what is a rather impressively embellished theme of Good vs Evil in an elaborate encounter with Satan himself as our hero's Cassie and Walter our two Ethereans find a way out of Satan's trap and manage to turn the table on him. You know like I said it feels a bit up and down and little scattered with so many elements in play but one thing I saw and was impressed with was something like religious porn, which isn't a thing I don't believe, but in parts of this book I thought it did a rather good job of updating how like how middle age's artists like Hieronymus Bosch would show their impression of hell to the faithful so to teach them don't sin or else. Rather simplistic propaganda but effective anyway this book did a much slicker more up to date version of that and yeah your kind of cheering towards the end, a real cliffhanger down to the last shot and she scores!!!!! GOAAAAAALLLLLLllllllll,....IN YOUR FACE SATAN! USA! USA! (that sort of thing interesting connecting religions tales and that sort of young energy together. (frightening too) It's just some small part of the zeitgeist of this story but in a way where I can see this being a gateway story to religious porn. Two very different things that you are surprised that they go together so well but it has to be the right kind of story for it to work and it does in parts and in parts it just doesn't it just gets kind of nasty. I guess I'll leave on that note good but at times nasty.
October 8, 2010
Lee's done his homework, and actually kind of respects religions in the book about Hell. The book is filled with good ideas. However, if you are in the mood for literature, or something that doesn't involve a ton of gore, violence, and some of the more disgusting monsters written about, don't read this. Like I said, good ideas and homework.
Unfortunately, also, his characters are wooden, very often whiny and stupid, and not really all that interesting. Quite often, they talk like a pamphlet and in cliches. They do what the characters do. You've got Cassie, the Neo of the bunch, and you've got Walter, a sort of Neo, too. Some ideas about angels and things that are at once ridiculous and somewhat unbelievable.
I was loaned this book by a student who was impressed by the gore. It's got some impressive gore, but that's about it. Done.
Unfortunately, also, his characters are wooden, very often whiny and stupid, and not really all that interesting. Quite often, they talk like a pamphlet and in cliches. They do what the characters do. You've got Cassie, the Neo of the bunch, and you've got Walter, a sort of Neo, too. Some ideas about angels and things that are at once ridiculous and somewhat unbelievable.
I was loaned this book by a student who was impressed by the gore. It's got some impressive gore, but that's about it. Done.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2009
I was definitely grossed out by this one. Not really scarey though. Kind of creepy. I was interested enough to want to read it all, but found the writing difficult to follow in some spots. Dialogue was sometimes sketchy.
I'm impressed by the darkness of Lee's imagination. I will definitely read more of his work. I wondered where the line for gore was drawn, if there is one he certainly takes no notice of it. What did surprise me was the happy ending. Didn't see that coming.
I'm impressed by the darkness of Lee's imagination. I will definitely read more of his work. I wondered where the line for gore was drawn, if there is one he certainly takes no notice of it. What did surprise me was the happy ending. Didn't see that coming.
June 10, 2014
I really enjoyed the descriptions of hell in the first installment of this series, but I feel that that idea wore thin in this second installment.
Cassie is back and Lucifer are back but that is really the only connection to book one. This story retreads the same territory, with the same gross out descriptions and a very similar plot.
Very disappointing as this is the first Lee story
I have not enjoyed. Here hoping book three is way better!
Cassie is back and Lucifer are back but that is really the only connection to book one. This story retreads the same territory, with the same gross out descriptions and a very similar plot.
Very disappointing as this is the first Lee story
I have not enjoyed. Here hoping book three is way better!
February 20, 2015
I believe Edward Lee just got bored and rushed the whole story. I feel deceived and robbed. Filled with plotholes, the new characters "scream" a disturbing lack of dimension... It seems like everyone we got to know previously just vanished with a poorly constructed reason. Some are not even mentioned. Cassie's not even grieving! Gaah!
There,I'm done. If you liked the first one,do not risk this one!
There,I'm done. If you liked the first one,do not risk this one!
August 30, 2009
Satan's got a plan. He wants to resurrect Jesus using the Shroud of Turin and send his "hex-clone" back in history to subvert Christianity. It's up to a geeky college kid (and his disembodied best friend, Afet) to save Heaven from Hell. Spoiler alert: Satan loses again.
April 15, 2008
Full of neat ideas about hell and the role humans play in the afterlife. The "horrors" in this book are specific, so it won't scare (or creep out) everyone. One read was enough.
Read
April 15, 2008Great second book in the trilogy...Lee's vision and gory details make this book one to own
November 15, 2022
"We’re both identical twins, and we’re suicidal.”
“You’re not suicidal.” Walter felt sure. “You’ve always been the most confident, level-headed guy I’ve ever known.”
Colin laughed heartily. “Every motherfuckin’ day, man. I wake up, take one gander at the dork looking back at me in the mirror, and I just wanna blow my head right the fuck off. People are shit, they’re schmucks, they’re liars who only care about themselves and they’ll walk on anybody, trash anybody, hurt anybody, just to get one more nickel out of life. They pretend to be your friend but shit all over you the minute your back’s turned. They write you off like you’re chalk on a fuckin’ blackboard. The whole world is full of ’em, Walter, full of phony backstabbing assholes who need people like you and me just to keep their self-esteem up. I’d had a belly full for years. I hate people, they all suck. They lead you on, lie to you, set you up, and tear you down. Why? Because they can. Because it’s fun. It’s the beautiful over the ugly, the powerful over the powerless, it’s the nice guys getting mowed down by the Black Hats simply because we’re standing there and can be mowed. It’s their power, Walter, and guys like me and you are their ego fodder. We’re the meat they eat for breakfast every day, and there’s nothing we can do about it. I guess the only reason I never really did blow my head off is because I was afraid some chump would curse my nerd corpse for making too much noise.”
Back with a second installment in the battle between Lucifer of Hell and the Etherness in the Living World, Cassie is tasked once again in an unfavorable light. Locked in a mental ward and being charged with the arson and premeditated murder of her own father, she begins hearing the voices again, this time in the form on an Angel named Angelese. Her body was bathed in a white flowing dress, her skin marred by the scars inflicted upon her by the Umbra-Spector. It lives in her shadows and whenever she speaks a secret meant to be kept guarded it unleashed it's claws and attacks her flesh. As Lucifer himself keeps insisting merges in a way to break every Deadapss between Hell and the Living World, Cassie finds herself within Hell as she eludes his captures time and time again. On the other side of the world, Walter and his twin brother Collins hits the scenes running, and true deviation and devotion could be seen through one of the twins. Collins, a self made millionaire traded his brother's soul for a destiny of riches both within the flesh and in Hell. After hearing his depressed, Virginia brother Walter our a shotgun to his head to commit suicide, Collins hatches a plan to bring his to his apartment, where he learns how deeply motivated into the occult his brother has become. Killing himself as the clock strikes midnight, Collins leaves behind the scrolls of the first real book written from Hell. Not only that, he leaves the severed head of the only woman Walter ever loved, Candice, along with a diary entry he forced her to write at gunpoint proclaiming her love to him. This was the only way solid enough to guarantee his brother would venture into Hell. Walter is an Etherean, and without ever crossing oats with Cassie commits the final act of salvation for all the suicide victim's souls. By taking his own life, it left behind enough force to aid in salvation to so many of the damned. As for Cassie, she sees little in the ways of entering the living world again without the Deadpass, so she jumps from a high vantage point to land on the top of Lucifer's tower, shattering the structure to nothing.
"“If you take the impulse behind the conscious desire to be good, and you take the impulse behind the conscious desire to be evil—if you put them both together and look at them very closely, you’ll see... they’re the same"
“You’re not suicidal.” Walter felt sure. “You’ve always been the most confident, level-headed guy I’ve ever known.”
Colin laughed heartily. “Every motherfuckin’ day, man. I wake up, take one gander at the dork looking back at me in the mirror, and I just wanna blow my head right the fuck off. People are shit, they’re schmucks, they’re liars who only care about themselves and they’ll walk on anybody, trash anybody, hurt anybody, just to get one more nickel out of life. They pretend to be your friend but shit all over you the minute your back’s turned. They write you off like you’re chalk on a fuckin’ blackboard. The whole world is full of ’em, Walter, full of phony backstabbing assholes who need people like you and me just to keep their self-esteem up. I’d had a belly full for years. I hate people, they all suck. They lead you on, lie to you, set you up, and tear you down. Why? Because they can. Because it’s fun. It’s the beautiful over the ugly, the powerful over the powerless, it’s the nice guys getting mowed down by the Black Hats simply because we’re standing there and can be mowed. It’s their power, Walter, and guys like me and you are their ego fodder. We’re the meat they eat for breakfast every day, and there’s nothing we can do about it. I guess the only reason I never really did blow my head off is because I was afraid some chump would curse my nerd corpse for making too much noise.”
Back with a second installment in the battle between Lucifer of Hell and the Etherness in the Living World, Cassie is tasked once again in an unfavorable light. Locked in a mental ward and being charged with the arson and premeditated murder of her own father, she begins hearing the voices again, this time in the form on an Angel named Angelese. Her body was bathed in a white flowing dress, her skin marred by the scars inflicted upon her by the Umbra-Spector. It lives in her shadows and whenever she speaks a secret meant to be kept guarded it unleashed it's claws and attacks her flesh. As Lucifer himself keeps insisting merges in a way to break every Deadapss between Hell and the Living World, Cassie finds herself within Hell as she eludes his captures time and time again. On the other side of the world, Walter and his twin brother Collins hits the scenes running, and true deviation and devotion could be seen through one of the twins. Collins, a self made millionaire traded his brother's soul for a destiny of riches both within the flesh and in Hell. After hearing his depressed, Virginia brother Walter our a shotgun to his head to commit suicide, Collins hatches a plan to bring his to his apartment, where he learns how deeply motivated into the occult his brother has become. Killing himself as the clock strikes midnight, Collins leaves behind the scrolls of the first real book written from Hell. Not only that, he leaves the severed head of the only woman Walter ever loved, Candice, along with a diary entry he forced her to write at gunpoint proclaiming her love to him. This was the only way solid enough to guarantee his brother would venture into Hell. Walter is an Etherean, and without ever crossing oats with Cassie commits the final act of salvation for all the suicide victim's souls. By taking his own life, it left behind enough force to aid in salvation to so many of the damned. As for Cassie, she sees little in the ways of entering the living world again without the Deadpass, so she jumps from a high vantage point to land on the top of Lucifer's tower, shattering the structure to nothing.
"“If you take the impulse behind the conscious desire to be good, and you take the impulse behind the conscious desire to be evil—if you put them both together and look at them very closely, you’ll see... they’re the same"
June 4, 2023
The Infernal Series is a range of books that Edward Lee is very well known for, whether or not that means their very good overall is up to the reader themselves. Since aside from the first two books all the others have very mixed responses, especially since you could argue that there didn't need to be more after Infernal Angel. After reading City Infernal I really wanted to dive into the second novel to find out what happened next.
Cassie has lost everything, her home has been destroyed by servants of Lucifer, her father, housekeeper, and those of her friends dead. Now she's contained in a mental hospital, awaiting trial for a horrific crime she didn't commit. Only Angelese can save her, but at what cost? Meanwhile, Walter wants to take his own life, a girl he fell in love with has been using him for her own selfish gain, but his twin brother won't allow Walter to make such a short-sighted decision, not when he has plans for him... Back in hell, Lucifer is preparing to put his ultimate plan against god into action, something that will change humanity's history forever.
Edward Lee's sequel and conclusion to the main Infernal series storyline is a terrific one. It's a lot darker, more intense, and horrifying than the first installment with some new and gruesome imagery to describe the hellish landscape of hell itself. It's great to see Cassie going up against Lucifer personally this time, as we are finally introduced to the king of the underworld. It's a terrific sequel with some really well-executed ideas. The only criticism I have towards this novel is that aside from Cassie, no other characters return from the original novel, which whilst explained was a little disappointing considering how much I grew to really like or despise the supporting characters.
Overall: It's a terrific conclusion to what was set up in City Infernal. I'm not in a hurry to see what will happen in House Infernal, but I must admit I'm very intrigued to see where Edward Lee intends to take this series next! 9/10
Cassie has lost everything, her home has been destroyed by servants of Lucifer, her father, housekeeper, and those of her friends dead. Now she's contained in a mental hospital, awaiting trial for a horrific crime she didn't commit. Only Angelese can save her, but at what cost? Meanwhile, Walter wants to take his own life, a girl he fell in love with has been using him for her own selfish gain, but his twin brother won't allow Walter to make such a short-sighted decision, not when he has plans for him... Back in hell, Lucifer is preparing to put his ultimate plan against god into action, something that will change humanity's history forever.
Edward Lee's sequel and conclusion to the main Infernal series storyline is a terrific one. It's a lot darker, more intense, and horrifying than the first installment with some new and gruesome imagery to describe the hellish landscape of hell itself. It's great to see Cassie going up against Lucifer personally this time, as we are finally introduced to the king of the underworld. It's a terrific sequel with some really well-executed ideas. The only criticism I have towards this novel is that aside from Cassie, no other characters return from the original novel, which whilst explained was a little disappointing considering how much I grew to really like or despise the supporting characters.
Overall: It's a terrific conclusion to what was set up in City Infernal. I'm not in a hurry to see what will happen in House Infernal, but I must admit I'm very intrigued to see where Edward Lee intends to take this series next! 9/10
July 24, 2020
Quite Good
The follow up to City Infernal was right on point, if you read the first installment Infernal Angel is a must.
I thought the first book was a little better but Edward Lee’s ability to describe hell, and the thought process in what to describe is well done.
The main character of the first book is back, but everyone else is new.
There’s no rest in the story and as accustom to Mr Lee’s books a few plot twists and surprises.
Regardless of the subject Edward Lee can tell a story.
The follow up to City Infernal was right on point, if you read the first installment Infernal Angel is a must.
I thought the first book was a little better but Edward Lee’s ability to describe hell, and the thought process in what to describe is well done.
The main character of the first book is back, but everyone else is new.
There’s no rest in the story and as accustom to Mr Lee’s books a few plot twists and surprises.
Regardless of the subject Edward Lee can tell a story.
March 4, 2023
i m very perplexed on how to rate this...
on the LEFT hand (path) we had
many things i love from lee, some of his most gory and most fantastical settings, cassie bein awesome, an original mythos/cosmos
on the (not so) RIGHT hand (path)
this whole thing would be better hand-led (haha) by a fantasy writer and not an awesome splatterpunk author. many easy solvings of dead ends, an op heroine, much much much exposition and it gave me the impression that he was going along with the plot and making the rules at the same time
had a good time tho
on the LEFT hand (path) we had
many things i love from lee, some of his most gory and most fantastical settings, cassie bein awesome, an original mythos/cosmos
on the (not so) RIGHT hand (path)
this whole thing would be better hand-led (haha) by a fantasy writer and not an awesome splatterpunk author. many easy solvings of dead ends, an op heroine, much much much exposition and it gave me the impression that he was going along with the plot and making the rules at the same time
had a good time tho
March 5, 2024
despite some convenient plot beats and deus ex machina (literally!) I still enjoyed this book. It’s nothing extraordinary literature wise but it’s fun and the world building is amazing. Interested to see how the other two books are since this story concluded here.
Edit: I’m dropping a star because I just remembered something that really bothered me. There was a few pages in this book that were directly copied and pasted from the first book. Not even paraphrased or anything, just copied. It felt really lazy and bothered me a lot.
Edit: I’m dropping a star because I just remembered something that really bothered me. There was a few pages in this book that were directly copied and pasted from the first book. Not even paraphrased or anything, just copied. It felt really lazy and bothered me a lot.
July 28, 2019
This is the first Edward Lee book I read and I don't know what to think; I'm not disappointed, but I'm not too fond of this book either. I did like the gore and some of the characters, but it was too "fantasy" for me. I will admit, I have not read much fantasy and need to venture into it more and was lost with this being the 2nd book in the series. I hope to find more from the author and am not giving up on him yet.
Read
January 20, 2022there’s something about it, anout these stories that for me encapsulates the thrill of imagining and writing with the thrill of reading and cross-referencing and knowing that the writers read each other & it isn’t at all about marketing or sales, but how boss of a story one can get out of the brain through the hand onto the paper into the eyes into the brain
this pandemic has done wonders for my sense of book-wonder.
this pandemic has done wonders for my sense of book-wonder.
October 17, 2019
Probably would have made for a better RPG setting then a novel. Interesting locations, but pretty flat stock characters. On the plus side it wasn't a chore to finish. Fair warning this book has some pretty offensive stuff in it so know what you're getting into before you start.
May 11, 2020
Not as good as the first, City Infernal, but only because it went through too much from the first. I really didn't need a word for word recap of the first book. Other than that I had no complaints with Infernal Angel.
March 20, 2023
Glad to see that Cassie's story was continued. I hate when characters are dropped mid-story. Interesting new characters as well. Once again, Edward Lee has written a grotesque, amazing, and enthralling story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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