Yesterday, Melissa and I went to Barnes and Noble. I had a great conversation about books and authors with someone that worked there, and he recommend this book to me. I wouldn’t have found it otherwise, since I mostly hang out in the Fantasy and Science Fiction sections, and this was in General Fiction.

Brian’s Summary:

What if there is one true religion, and it’s Zoroastrianism? The main character, Soren Johansson, a devout Mormon, discovers the truth the hard way, when he dies and goes to Hell. The story is about his journey through a particular hell, in which he must find the book of his life before he can move on to heaven.

The Review:

I’ll try to do this without spoilers, though apparently the book has been out for 13 years or so.

It’s very good! I recommend it.

I appreciate the craft of it. The prose, and the execution. It manages to cover a nearly unimaginable scope of time and space, without losing track of the character and emotional journey.

I’ll say it again: It’s very good.

It’s written in first person. It’s short. Probably around 25,000 words. I easily read it one sitting, with gray daylight streaming in the window and a cat on my lap.

While reading it, I thought I could see something of a puzzle in the story.

When I finished reading it, I sat back and thought about it for a little while. I’m not sure the conclusion is satisfying, but then, I don’t know that there is a satisfying way to conclude this kind of story.

I hadn’t looked at blurbs on the back until I finished. When I did, I discovered a familiar name: Dan Wells. In his blurb, he says ‘it will haunt you, fittingly, for a very, very long time.’ The next time I see Dan, I’ll ask if he still thinks about this story.

I think Michael Gallowglas will enjoy this book. The next time I see him, I’ll give him this copy.

Other Thoughts:

I’m not sure I’m particularly good at book reviews. I’ve only done a couple, and I feel like I should do more.

The problem is that I’m critical about some things that most people don’t care about, and I’m more forgiving about some things that other people complain about. I want to fall into a story and feel something, and if the prose is too cheap or lazy, I’m going to be distracted by that and fail to engage. Once I’m into the story, though, I can forgive and ignore plot holes or inconsistencies, as long as the emotions I’m feeling are real.

I didn’t have those problems reading A Short Stay in Hell. The writing was far from lazy, and the emotions I felt were profound.

If you’ve read it, let me know, and maybe we can talk about it. If you’d like to see more reviews from me, let me know that, too.

The title of this post is killing it.

Anyway.

Earlier today, Stephen King posted this to BlueSky:

Don’t know how you feel about Brad Sigmond being executed by firing squad in SC, but the report in THE GUARDIAN kinda glossed over the fact that he beat his gf’s parents to death.

— Stephen King (@stephenking.bsky.social) 2025-03-08T17:03:19.978Z

The replies to this are mostly people “debating” the merits and follies of the death penalty, and since I just got up from a ridiculously long nap, I figured I’d talk about it and potentially, alienate some people that disagree with me.

The question: Am I strictly opposed to the death penalty?

My answer: It’s complicated.

I don’t trust The State to execute people, but I can probably get behind a jury deciding that the evidence surrounding a crime is sufficient to warrant execution.

Maybe I need to go back a few steps and start with: Is killing ever acceptable?

I detest war, but soldiers are going to kill each other on the field of battle. So, I’m not going to blame a Ukrainian soldier fighting and killing the forces invading their country. I will judge harshly the people that started the war, however, but the soldiers put into a position where they must fight or die are blameless, in my eyes.

I also believe self-defense can justify lethal retaliation. This is not Brian Buhl saying that it’s okay for one kid to kill another kid on the street because they got in a fight. However, if someone were in their home and another person entered it, brandishing a weapon with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, the person defending themselves may have no choice.

The details matter.

I can imagine scenarios where homicide is justified. It follows, then, that I can imagine a legal system which allows for the death penalty.

What about the case Stephen King is citing?

I don’t know anything about that case. Without looking at evidence, I’m opposed to killing the accused. Is there video evidence of Brad Sigmund beating his girlfriend’s parents to death? Did the police pull up to the scene and find him in the act, with bits and pieces of the victims all of Brad Sigmund, in his hair and in his clothes, all while he was grinning like The Joker and slavering to keep going?

It’s okay to kill an irredeemable monster, in my opinion. The word “irredeemable” and “monster” are doing a lot of work in that sentence, though. If someone was out of control of their actions, and the condition that put them into a murderous state is curable, then we shouldn’t kill them. They should spend the rest of their lives trying to cleanse their soul.

I guess this is a long way of saying that I’m not completely opposed to the death penalty, but I believe the justification for its use requires an overwhelming preponderance of evidence. The crime must be comprised of actions so heinous that no other punishment can be justified. And, the evidence must convince a jury.

I’m not going to look up Brad Sigmond. I think the firing squad thing is iffy. I’m not sure any of the execution methods we have are humane enough. Maybe we shouldn’t have death penalties until we figure out that anesthesia should be involved, or something.

In other news, my birthday was fine. Very quiet, which is what I asked for. Since I deleted Facebook, I didn’t wake up to a ton of messages. I got a card from my mother-in-law yesterday, and a card from Mary Robinette. I played games with Mike, John, and Nick, which was nice. And then the next day, an Nvidia update tried to eat my computer.

Last weekend, I wrote 1100 words in the next Mel Walker novel. Tomorrow, I’m hoping to finish that chapter and move on to the next.

I hope you all had a great Brian-mas!