Republished for its tenth anniversary, this novel by Aiden Truss (who wrote the award-winning short film Pareidolia) reads as fresh as ever and gives a world in which the Underworld is as much of a political hotspot as the UK parliament.
Priest, one of Hell’s demons, decides he wants to experience life as a mortal for a short time. So he picks a young woman, Rose, sleeping rough after a lifetime of abuse and nasty experiences. He transfers his powers to her so he can walk amongst the human race. However, all hell is literally breaking loose in Hades, as archdemons and lesser entities are fighting it out to take control of the Underworld as Lucifer has gone missing.
While on the surface, Gape could appear to be another Bad Omens-style ‘demons on Earth’ romp, it’s actually more involving than that. Characters are intently developed and the jealousy and hierarchy evident in Hell makes for entertaining reading. The pacing has a cinematic quality, with the story switching focus from character to character. The action is described in enthralling detail and often gets very gruesome. Despite the gore, there’s also enough humour to lighten things occasionally, with the dialogue in particular standing out and darkly comedic.
If you missed the book ten years ago, now’s the perfect time to catch up.
GAPE is out now. You can purchase it here.
