Hell's Acre by Lilith Saintcrow |
Hell’s Acre was a really different book from what I presumed by the description, cover, and previous books by the author I’ve read. I expected a fast-paced alt-world urban fantasy told in first person narrative. But it’s an alt-Victorian gaslamp fantasy told in third person by multiple point of view characters, with an overly florid narrative style that is incredibly slow to read, as every sentence is packed full in a convoluted fashion that forces the reader to go back several times.
The world isn’t what I thought either, based on the description: a country that has refused to accept Christianity and where Rome never fell. I presumed it would be based on Roman gods and traditions, or since this takes place in England, Anglo-Saxon ones, or a combination of both. Mithraism, for example, in the temple of which the book starts, would’ve had rich, distinct rituals and interesting underground architecture that would’ve immediately made this world unique.
What we have is a very traditional Christian setting, like convents structured like Christian ones and organised by gender, and Priories and Abbeys, with a few token words of other religions and cultures in the mix to make it seem something else. Character names are based on Bible. Even the name of the book directs thoughts to Christianity, even if the concept of hell isn’t solely Christian. The world feels half thought out and is a great disappointment.
It took a long time to get a hang of the characters too, as the narrative doesn’t really dwell on their inner thoughts, and reader is more observing them from the outside. Yet, for all the floridity, characters are very sparsely described, and long after the reader has already formed their own image of them.
The story emerges slowly and in a roundabout way, with every character’s POV chapter opening mid-action with little or nothing to orient the reader. Beth, going by Gemma Dove, an orphan, has been living in this world’s version of France to hide her from powers who want her for something that isn’t specified. But her guardian has died and she’s returned to England (Albion) to revenge her parents’ death. She’s well trained in self-defence and believes in her abilities, but it isn’t easy to go after her prey even with powerful backers.
She takes a job as a teacher of boys in an orphanage near the bad part of town, Hell’s Acre, and that fills most of her days, with some adventures in the mix. She catches the attention of Avery Black, who leads a group of vigilantes (or something, I never quite figured out) in Hell’s Acre. Reader doesn’t learn much about him, or Hellions, the organisation he belongs to (but not the vigilantes?), but he’s after the same man as Gemma.
The book description gives to understand that the two team up. However, while their paths cross from time to time, the two don’t realise their mutual goal before the book ends. The ending is a cliffhanger. There’s a hint of interest, but no romance. I’m not sure I need to read more to find out what happens next. The story wasn’t interesting enough, and it was too much work to read, with too little given in return. I’m giving it three stars though, because I did finish it and it doesn’t quite feel like a two-star book despite everything I found lacking.
I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.