Windows Into Hell

Windows Into Hell is a collection of horror stories.
What happens after we die?
Mankind has speculated through the ages that a few righteous or lucky people go straight to heaven. Or so we've come to believe. Good or bad, our journey doesn't end at death. For most of us, the afterlife begins in an office where an overworked and underappreciated demon decides our long term fate.
Life is messy, it’s easy to miss one of the crucial lessons. In order to accommodate our unique shortcomings, a myriad of custom fitted Hells wait with open arms to teach us. No cliché fire and brimstone here, except as decorations. Besides, that would be the easy way out.
Yes, there is a way out. All you have to do is learn one simple lesson. That shouldn't be too hard, right?
Windows into Hell explores what awaits a few people when their life inevitably comes to an end. Featuring bestselling and award winning authors, these stories delve into humanity’s greatest fears- death and the fate of our immortal souls.
A very good read. This is a compilation of stories with some more enjoyable than others. 4*. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book from netgalley.

I requested this on NetGalley because I wanted a spooky read and this sounded like a spooky read. It was not. HOWEVER, it was a very thought provoking read. I learned that there is a genre called “religious horror.” Who woulda thunk? Most religious people I know don’t like horror of any kind. Tey seems to think being forced to endure this wretched life on earth is its specail form of hell. Just goes to show there is a market for anything.

So most of us think that hell is made up of fire and brimstone, but that is not the case with the short stories in this book. Instead, they come up with alternate versions of hell that is unsettling when I stop and think about it. Like in most people are told that they are in hell to learn a lesson then come to the realization that in all time NO ONE HAS MADE IT OUT. I know at first I was like yeah so? Then I got to thinking. What is one of the cruelest things ever? False hope. The second is dispair, and this book has both in spades. So while it is not scary per se it dose lend itself to that deeply unsettled feeling that is hard to shake off. As someone who was raised and later left the fundamentalist church behind I may just be hard to scare what with being told I was going to face hellfire and damnation on a weekly basis. If you lack that background then maybe this book would be scarier? I have no idea. If you lack that experience and read this book let me know ok?

This book is a collection of short stories. As with any short story collection, I liked some better than others. There were a couple that just confused me. Maybe I should have paid more attention in church growing up then maybe they would make more sense. Over all though I am passed with this book as it gave me a couple of new authors to check out.

Windows into Hell by multiple authors was received direct from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Anthologies have been hit and miss in 2016, mostly miss though. This one has a very interesting premise in: what is there to look forward to after death? especially if you are one of those who doesn't follow the religious straight and narrow path to heaven. While the stories did not really spook me and of course some were better than others, if you like to peek into windows into hell, this is a good book to do so with.

4 stars