Hell's Heart
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Description
They are monsters. They are legends.
And they are our prey.
Earth is dead. Which leaves us stuck living in atmospheric domes on planets that will kill us if we blink wrong, or run out of fuel. And by 'fuel' I mean cerebrospinal fluid, harvested at great risk from gargantuan space monsters.
I joined the hunt hoping to get paid and maybe laid, but mostly paid. And I followed a charismatic captain eager to face these beasts and to howl her defiance across the skies of Jupiter. On her crew, I met Q, a woman from the wreck of old Earth, who might have kept me grounded. Or then again, perhaps not.
We were ordered to hunt the greatest leviathan of all, and we fought beasts and ships and one another. Then we finally met our nemesis, there above the red heart of that world. Spoiler: it didn't end well.
'Moby Dick meets Treasure Planet by way of Fleabag - an unbelievable accomplishment from a tremendous author'
- Sarah Gailey, author of Spread Me and Just Like Home
'Hall's best, weirdest, and most snarkily delightful book yet . . . intricate perfection'
- Ruthanna Emrys, author of A Half-Built Garden
'Wow'
- John Scalzi, author of Starter Villain
Book Information
Posts
I am fairly sure this book has changed my brain chemistry. What do you mean there is a narrator in the book that is super chaotic and horny and basically assumes the reader is the same? Seriously, the narrative voice is so unique that I enjoyed myself way more than I thought I would. Yes, whale hunt in space. Post-apocalyptic setting. Morally grey but always thirsty queer characters. If none of this convinced you, then you might want to skip this. I think this would be either a DNF or a surprise highlight for the readers — I can't imagine there is much in between. It definitely worked for me. The narrative voice is chaotic, sarcastic, self-aware, and constantly feels like the narrator is talking directly to you while simultaneously dissecting her own story. It’s weird, bold, and incredibly entertaining. There is also the added mystery of why the narrator is telling us the story in the way they do. The plot and the setting....as I said, chaotic. I do not claim to have understood everything that has happened and why. But I deeply suspect this kind of meandering was taken from the Moby Dick original story. The characters are messy, morally grey, deeply queer, and making questionable decisions left and right. I loved how unapologetically chaotic the dynamics were. You want a tight narrative? Then this book is not for you. You want to go hunt whales in space? Then check this out. The audiobook is perfect, to be honest. The narrator of the audiobook is bringing the narrator of the story to life in a way that enhances everything so much. 4.5/5 stars Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the eARC! #MacAudio2026 #HellsHeart #Netgalley
Description
They are monsters. They are legends.
And they are our prey.
Earth is dead. Which leaves us stuck living in atmospheric domes on planets that will kill us if we blink wrong, or run out of fuel. And by 'fuel' I mean cerebrospinal fluid, harvested at great risk from gargantuan space monsters.
I joined the hunt hoping to get paid and maybe laid, but mostly paid. And I followed a charismatic captain eager to face these beasts and to howl her defiance across the skies of Jupiter. On her crew, I met Q, a woman from the wreck of old Earth, who might have kept me grounded. Or then again, perhaps not.
We were ordered to hunt the greatest leviathan of all, and we fought beasts and ships and one another. Then we finally met our nemesis, there above the red heart of that world. Spoiler: it didn't end well.
'Moby Dick meets Treasure Planet by way of Fleabag - an unbelievable accomplishment from a tremendous author'
- Sarah Gailey, author of Spread Me and Just Like Home
'Hall's best, weirdest, and most snarkily delightful book yet . . . intricate perfection'
- Ruthanna Emrys, author of A Half-Built Garden
'Wow'
- John Scalzi, author of Starter Villain
Book Information
Posts
I am fairly sure this book has changed my brain chemistry. What do you mean there is a narrator in the book that is super chaotic and horny and basically assumes the reader is the same? Seriously, the narrative voice is so unique that I enjoyed myself way more than I thought I would. Yes, whale hunt in space. Post-apocalyptic setting. Morally grey but always thirsty queer characters. If none of this convinced you, then you might want to skip this. I think this would be either a DNF or a surprise highlight for the readers — I can't imagine there is much in between. It definitely worked for me. The narrative voice is chaotic, sarcastic, self-aware, and constantly feels like the narrator is talking directly to you while simultaneously dissecting her own story. It’s weird, bold, and incredibly entertaining. There is also the added mystery of why the narrator is telling us the story in the way they do. The plot and the setting....as I said, chaotic. I do not claim to have understood everything that has happened and why. But I deeply suspect this kind of meandering was taken from the Moby Dick original story. The characters are messy, morally grey, deeply queer, and making questionable decisions left and right. I loved how unapologetically chaotic the dynamics were. You want a tight narrative? Then this book is not for you. You want to go hunt whales in space? Then check this out. The audiobook is perfect, to be honest. The narrator of the audiobook is bringing the narrator of the story to life in a way that enhances everything so much. 4.5/5 stars Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the eARC! #MacAudio2026 #HellsHeart #Netgalley