The Pit
2.35/5
This book does that thing that I hate beyond all things – instead of being just a book, it is Book One of some sort of series of books. I have said this before, and just in case you have missed my feelings in some previous rant where this came up, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a series. Take Stephen King's The Dark Tower series – each book follows from the last, but really, up until about book 5 (of the 7), you could pick up any of them and have them function as a complete novel. Likewise for about a hundred other successful series. Granted, sometimes later in any given grouping, the novels become less self-sufficient, but I maintain strongly that any novel (especially the first) needs to read as a stand alone. So, I am sure you see where this is going: The Pit despite any of its other virtues, fails miserably at reaching the stand alone criterion. The whole novel is just an introduction to the action to come once you throw down your cash for book 2 and 3 and who knows how many. This whole thing is especially upsetting in this case since there was so much promise here. We follow a group of folks from North America (more or less) who arrive in Hell. It is clear immediately that none of these people are the sort you would expect to be condemned to eternal torment – not that that appears to be exactly what Hell actually is – which makes the reader immediately interested in finding out what exactly the sin (in The Pit terminology, the Ultimate Rule violation) is that our characters have committed. And similarly, what exactly is Hell? We do find out what gets someone to Hell in The Pit, so at least that was solved in book one, but all the other elements introduced: The opposing warring generals Marcus and Virgil and how their fight plays out, what redemption truly means for any soul, which characters really choose what side, and so on are just left floating. Baird must resolve some of this, any of this in the next entry meaning if I want to find out the conclusion to The Pit, I have to buy the next entry in the series. Which would be fine if it wasn't that what I was really paying for was the ending to this novel. So, am I intrigued by Barnes' version of Hell? Yes. Am I interested in the characters? Yes. Did I find the writing interesting and funny? Yes. Are the characters interesting? Yes. Will I recommend this book? No. It is a horrible let-down to find out you were suckered into a novel with no conclusion and just teased into hoping one will come somewhere farther down the road. Thank you to BookBaby, L. A. Barnes, and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book to review.
