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BACKGROUND Despite the title, the Fictional World of the setting bears little resemblance to the traditional Western concept of Hell . As depicted in these works, Hell is actually quite like the land of the living, but with a significantly more chaotic political environment. Partly this is due to the underworld being populated by many great military leaders and statesmen from history such as Julius Caesar , Napolean Bonaparte and Sargon Of Akkad . These leaders vie for power, sometimes relying on Diplomacy but often resorting to Subterfuge and Military action to achieve their goals. When war does break out, the faction leaders employ Military Technology from throughout history. Ceasar, for example, may address his sword-bearing Roman Legion s from the back of a World War II era Jeep equipped with a Machine Gun The power structure in the Hell of these books is fairly decentralized, although the "Father of Lies" can exert his will when he chooses to do so. For example, rather than allowing Marilyn Monroe to reside with any of the individual factions in his underworld, he has installed her as his executive assistant. Additional color is provided by the presense of historical legends of Literature and Philosophy such as Ernest Hemingway , Niccolò Machiavelli , and (of course) Dante Alighieri . Some of these characters serve as advisors to the various faction leaders and live in their households. Because of the interactions between historical figures of similar eras in some of these stories -- Augustus (Octavian), Mark Antony , and Cleopatra for example -- the works borrow elements from the subgenre of Historical Fantasy . But because they are set in the afterlife, they are more properly classified as Bangsian Fantasy . BOOKS IN THE SERIES There are four novels in the series and seven anthologies of short fiction. Janet Morris was the editor of all seven anthologies. #''Heroes in Hell'' (1986), anthology #''The Gates of Hell'' (1986), novel by C. J. Cherryh and Janet Morris #''Rebels in Hell'' (1986), anthology #''Kings in Hell'' (1987), novel by C. J. Cherryh and Janet Morris #''Crusaders in Hell'' (1987), anthology #''Legions of Hell'' (1987), novel by C. J. Cherryh #''Angels in Hell'' (1987), anthology #''Masters in Hell'' (1987), anthology #''Explorers in Hell'' (1989), novel by David Drake and Janet Morris #''War in Hell'' (1988), anthology #''Prophets in Hell'' (1989), anthology CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS Authors who have contributed to this series include:
GALLERY OF BOOK COVERS All cover art in the series was done by David Mattingly , except for ''Prophets in Hell'', cover art by Peter Scanlon |
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