A Short Stay in Hell

By: Steven L. Peck

Narrated by: Sergei Burbank

Length: 2 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

An ordinary family man, geologist, and Mormon, Soren Johansson has always believed he'll be reunited with his loved ones after death in an eternal hereafter. Then, he dies. Soren wakes to find himself cast by a God he has never heard of into a Hell whose dimensions he can barely grasp: a vast library he can only escape from by finding the book that contains the story of his life.

In this haunting existential novella, author, philosopher, and ecologist Steven L. Peck explores a subversive vision of eternity, taking the reader on a journey through the afterlife of a world where everything everyone believed in turns out to be wrong.

©2012 Strange Violin Editions (P)2012 Strange Violin Editions

vivid, memorable, and ghastly idea

intriguing story, depressing but vivid description of one possible hell, using psychology vs physical pain to convey the greatest terror.

Starts Off

Starts off strong. Bogs down at midpoint. Finish predictable. Overall a worthy listen. Reminds the listener to heed the important in each life. On reflection theme stays with you in a sneaky way.

Brilliant!

This is a truly original and brilliant story. Very well written and read. Highly recommended.

Breathtaking and saddening.

What do you do when faced with infinity? A Short Stay in Hell questions just that.

This book makes you think🤔

What if we've all been taught the wrong thing about what heaven and hell truly looks like.
This book gives a description of Hell in all its infinite and Glory.
If you would like a different viewpoint on what hell truly look like, this is the book for you!

Borges, Kafka… beautiful

A gem of metaphysical beauty. It lies somewhere between Borges’ prose and imaginations of immortals and never ending libraries and Kafka’s blunt absolutes of this absurd existence. I adored this book.

Great from the top to the unreachable bottom

In all the books I’ve ever read/listened to only a few have I listened/read back to back because I felt they were worth it. For me this book was one of them. It reminds me of Niven & Pournelle’s Inferno, but with less physical pain & more emotional distress. Only criticism is it’s too short. Please mr Peck, we want more. We who loved this short book want to go all the way to the bottom! We want to see someone find their story & place it into the slot, then see where they go! A new divine trilogy?

Problema NP duro

Este libro describe un problema de optimizacion combinatoria que a su vez lo contiene en alguna estantería.

Beautifully unsettling

This short, smart existential novella is a gem. After the protagonist, Soren Johansson, a devout Mormon, dies of cancer, he finds himself in a room with four other people. There, an officious demon cheerfully informs everyone that they’ve all failed to follow the one true religion (which I won’t spoil, but suffice to say, it’s not one of the obvious candidates) and consigns them all to a variety of hells.

For the protagonist, hell is a bigger-than-the-known-universe library containing every possible book (including those whose contents are just random characters, i.e. the vast majority). And the only way out, according to a posted notice, is to find the book containing one’s own life story. Hell does operate according to a few rules, which can’t be broken. There are food dispensers, which give out any meal requested. Non-carried objects return to their place at the end of each day. People who die are returned to life.

At first, Soren does what most people would do: he explores, forms relationships, tests the rules, and discusses solutions to the shared predicament. But days, then months, then years pass. The denizens of the library form societies. Soren experiences wandering and loneliness. He falls in love. Then violent religious mania hits people, and hell really does become hell. So, he escapes to deeper levels, in search of both his lost lover and answers.

I won’t give away what happens from there, but Peck does eventually make it clear that there’s no easy way out. The author’s wry sense of humor makes the haunting philosophical questions go down easy, but that won’t stop them from swirling uncomfortably in your mind later. As I see it, this is a book about what faith really means. What happens if God utterly defies all our expectations? Would we still believe? Could we let go of our belief? And I don’t think Peck is letting non-believers off the hook, either -- if we contemplate the hell of a purposeless reality, might it be better to have some ray of hope in a greater meaning, however slender?

Beautifully unsettling questions. I’m glad I spotted this one in an audible sale.

An extreeeeeeeeeeeeeeemely ironic title

Short listen and thought provoking. Could be depressing to some listeners.
Narrated well and a clever alternative take on the concept of hell.