Alexis Hall (Confounding Oaths) dives deep into adventure and introspection in Hell's Heart, an expansive, sexy, and vibrant retelling of Moby-Dick set in the atmosphere of Jupiter.
"There's... days when my whole life feels like a prison and my body feels like the jailer and something inside me wants to tear out through my chest... That's when I figure it's time to go voyaging," says the narrator, who declines to give the reader a firm name for herself other than "I." Flat broke and in danger of having her expensively modified body repossessed by her debtors, she decides to join an expedition to hunt Leviathans, the "Jovian beasts whose cerebrospinal fluid powered every ship, lamp, relativistic damper, and oxygen diffuser in the system." She meets a harpooner she calls "Q," a woman from a devastated Earth the narrator has heard described as the home of cannibals and criminals. Q speaks primarily by quoting the Bible in Latin, and has glowing tattoos and an "idol" readers will recognize as similar to a tablet or smartphone. The narrator, who was raised in a church that holds consumerism as next to godliness, is both drawn to Q and unable to understand her. The two women find employment on a ship called Pequod whose hull is fashioned of Leviathan bones. The eerie craft is captained by a one-legged woman referred to only as "A." She carries a burning obsession with taking revenge on the Möbius Beast, the vast white Leviathan she claims took her leg. Some call the creature a myth, but A quickly gains sway over the narrator and the entire crew through "the inescapable, neutron-star gravity of her," the promise of possible wealth, and to some extent through being "extraordinarily hot." The voyage brings the narrator up against terrifying beasts, dangerous people with perilous beliefs, and the deepest hells of the human heart.
Hall imbues an American classic with sharp British wit, delivering an update to Melville by way of Wilde with a modern, frequently erotic sensibility. The narrative alternates between propulsive action, uncanny world-building, and the narrator's own soul-searching, but always maintains a constant seeking ferocity at its core. Familiarity with Moby-Dick is certainly not required to enjoy this futuristic revision, but brushing up on the major plot points will enrich the reading experience. This catastrophic prophecy of humanity's spacefaring future marries with scenes of feverish beauty for an imaginative and unforgettable adventure. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads
Shelf Talker: Alexis Hall delivers a sexy, expansive, and vibrant adventure in this sapphic, futuristic retelling of Moby-Dick.