• Hell's Super

  • Circles in Hell, Book One
  • By: Mark Cain
  • Narrated by: Michael Gilboe
  • Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (795 ratings)

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Hell's Super  By  cover art

Hell's Super

By: Mark Cain
Narrated by: Michael Gilboe
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Publisher's summary

"If you like Christopher Moore or Tom Holt, read Hell's Super.... Hilarious!"

How can one damned handyman keep all of hell running when everything's always breaking, devils and demons plot against him...and he's terrible at fixing things?

Steve is hell's super, its handyman. Being Mr. Fixit to the underworld keeps him and his assistant, Orson Welles (yes, that Orson Welles), pretty busy, since things go on the blink all the time down there. No malfunction has ever created so much inconvenience, though, as the malfunction of hell's escalator, which leads from the pearly gates to the depths of Hades. What's worse: The breakdown appears to be sabotage.

Satan calls in Steve to investigate. But Steve is distracted these days. He's in love with Flo, a gorgeous, almost saintly figure who has come to hell by choice to ease the suffering of the damned. What's more, she seems to like him, but romance in hell? That could never be. Still, solving the mystery of the escalator could earn him some points with Satan, maybe even a chance with Flo. Or maybe not.

Hell's Super is the first volume in the satire/fantasy comedy series Circles in Hell. It has been compared to other works of "hell fiction" including The Screwtape Letters and Good Omens and to the paranormal humor of Tom Holt, Christopher Moore, and Douglas Adams.

©2013 Mark E. Cain (P)2015 Mark E. Cain

What listeners say about Hell's Super

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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Story
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  • 3 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What would your hell be?

I was grabbed by the description which seemed to promise a funny story of misadventures in hell. The book delivered that and more. It is also a story of someone trying to hold onto his humanity while enduring damnation. Despite being doomed to a job in hell for which he is ill-suited (thus fulfilling the promise of eternal damnation through eternal disappointment, irritation, and emotional suffering); Steve Minion still takes his job description seriously and tries to fix what he can. He does this despite knowing it will just break again. This results in a funny story with a view about how hell hell could be personalized based on individual personalities to maximize each persons suffering.

There are some fun cameos in the book with historical characters such as Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford. etc making appearances in hell. This was a neat aspect of the book because there are some people you would think should have gone to the other place. While you never get to know exactly why some of those people ended up disqualified for heaven (Louis Braille how’d you end up in there?), it is interesting to see the author’s imagining of what those people’s personal hells could be.

Good narration for a comedic novel is essential to getting the full effect of the author’s humour. Here I think the narrator succeeded in getting the timing and tone right for the story. It was worth listening to the book (as opposed to reading it) since it comes across as though Steve himself is telling you of his misadventures in hell. There were however accents that I was not feeling (which made me want to drop it to 3 stars) but credit to the narrator for putting in the effort to do accents. Thankfully, the worst offending accent turned out to be part of the plot (which I’m going to assume means the narrator read the work in full prior to starting the production - thus restoring the narration to 4 stars).

Overall: the story is a nice mix of subtle puns, ironic character mixes, and funny situations. Combined with the narration, it is an entertaining listen.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not bad for a first

The story was pretty decent, if a bit predictable. Fun listen.

The narrator is decent, but not great. He can't do any non-American accent to save his life, and it gets pretty painful to listen to. On top of that, his pronunciation of certain thing (Cerberus as "kurb-er-us", for example) are just jarring.

Not bad, not the greatest. Would listen to more if more comes and the narrator takes voice acting lessons

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

NOT a Pratchett alternative

Hyperextended hipster nerd humor is American cheese to Pratchett's country Stilton.

Yes, we all read the oatmeal; Edison < Tesla... Got it.

How many times does the author make the same "bat out of hell gag?" I dunno, I got to 3 before I decided I was over this book.

Pair that with being read to by a narrator who sounds like he got his start in the Applebee's Digital Training circle. I cannot listen to his horrible WASPy attempt at a "gay accent" without feeling like I should go donate to GLAAD in penance.

Can't really say this whole book sucked because I dumped it at 1/5 in.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I only made it to 3 hours

Any additional comments?

Unfortunately, I only made it to exactly 3 hours before I quit. I tried, I really did. But I can sum up the first 3 hours in a few sentences.
Steve is the superintendent to Hell.
Satan's escalator is broken.
There's a ton of name dropping, all famous dead people.......the ONLY characters mentioned, famous dead people.
That completely sums up the entire first 3 hours. I can't go any further.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Devilishly funny

Great story, very amusing. Love the generational mix of characters. Narrator did a great job. Not appropriate for kids but not offensive either. Look forward to the rest. I received this audiobook from the author narrator or publisher for free via audiobookblast in exchange for an unbiased review.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • CM
  • 03-24-16

pretty good

Once you get past the obvious Christianity plug it's a great book. I would recommend it

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Should be a sitcom

Clever fresh and innovative. Should be a sitcom. First 4 seasons in the can better than anything on television. Bravo Mr Cain.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Snark Rules in Hell

Hell's Super had me hooked from opening through epilogue with the entertaining story line and characters, both human and demonic.

Steve Minion and his assistant Orson Welles are hell's only repairmen and when the only way into hell breaks, the hilarity begins. Along the way you get to meet up with famous personalities and discover what hell might be to them.

One of my favorite characters is BOOH (Bat Out Of Hell). The antics he is involved in had me in snickers and wishing I could borrow him.

Mark Cain has written a well thought out, intelligent comedy that is great fun to read with lots of surprises.

Michael Gilboe is a master at the voices and inflections. You can really feel each character's feelings through his vocalizations.

This audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Kept my attention

I primarily listen to my books while doing the floors and other cleaning up tasks at work. this book demanded just the right amount of my attention so that it didn't interfere with work but still entertained me.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best of the series

If you could sum up Hell's Super in three words, what would they be?

Well thought out.

Which character – as performed by Michael Gilboe – was your favorite?

The Super of course.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Funny, sarcastic worth a listen

Any additional comments?

If you enjoy self-deprecating humor and bathroom humor this will be a good book for you.

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2 people found this helpful