Rebels In Hell

The third volume in the Heroes in Hell series returns the action to New Hell and its surroundings. The adventure that Caesar, Alexander, Cleopatra, etc. are off on in the second book, The Gates of Hell, is referenced, and by the end of this third volume, that adventure is apparently over and the main characters have returned. Since this happens all off-screen, it is a bit confusing and you are left feeling like you missed something. To me, that was a poor editing decision; there should at least have been a short piece explaining what had happened in between. Otherwise, this volume was probably the best so far (ignoring a story by Bill Kerby that I could not finish, it was too stylized and rather pointless, to my taste). My favorite story in this volume was Martin Caidin's "There Are No Fighter Pilots Down in Hell," about a dogfight between Satan and the best fighter pilot in the world, with a nice ending that makes you reconsider what might have actually happened.

Toward the end of this novel, it seems like the next part of the story to be set up has to do with Gilgamesh and Enkidu in the Outback. So, given the odd pacing of this series, I will not be surprised if I find that the next book, Kings in Hell, has nothing to do with that. I guess we'll see.

Edit: After reading the fourth book, Kings in Hell, I realized that the events in that book and in Rebels in Hell take place at the same time, EXCEPT for the last story in this book, "Graveyard Shift," which should be read after Kings in Hell in order to make more sense. (There is still a problem, in my opinion, with the lack of acknowledgment in Graveyard Shift about what happened to Achilles in Kings In Hell, but it can be overlooked.) ( )