"Trampling in the Land of Woe"

[delos13]

Happy New Year everyone!

Absolutely by chance I came across this book "Trampling in the Land of Woe" by William Galaini (published in 2015). It is about Hephaistion searching for Alexander in Hell. Below is the brief description from the author's website (readers' reviews can be easily found by googling the title):

"In New Dis, there is no rest for the dead. Sprouting from the rim of Hell’s depths, not even this bohemian city of the afterlife-- full of mercantile enterprises, engineering innovations, and political intrigue-- is immune from the tragedies filtering down into it as World War I rages on Earth above.

Hephaestion, lover and confidant of Alexander the Great, has one goal: rescue Alexander from the torment of Hell. But far more souls bar his way than he ever anticipated, and Hephaestion will have to use both brains and brawn against the underworld’s least savory opponents, including scheming Jesuits and infamous demons.

Set in an industrialized Dante’s Inferno with steampunk trappings, Trampling in the Land of Woe explores one man’s drive to save whom he cherishes the most."

I don't think this book was ever mentioned here, so I thought I'd share.

[Jeanne Reames]

This is interesting. Thanks. I looked it up, but it costs somewhere around $150 used. I may collect ATG fiction, but that's too rich for my blood. LOL! Still, the author seems to have a page on Goodreads. Their may be another option to get a hold of the novel.

[sikander]

Greetings,

I read the book recently; it may not please every romance fan or Alexanderphile, but I felt the author brought out some interesting questions about love and loyalty, the enduring power of same, and also the hard choices people might have to make sometimes for love...or perhaps confront hard truths about love and its varying nature and human nature. I don't agree with every idea the author presented, but it works in this story.

But it's not just about love- it has fight scenes, questions about what makes a sin a sin and how that can be interpreted, and yes, even what drives people to make some of the choices they make.

I won't include spoilers, but I will say that fans of the Janet Morris "Hell" series will probably find it a good read (it is a trilogy, of sorts), though the author presents the reader with a Hell that is harder than that found in the Morris anthologies, in some ways.

I don't read fiction much at all, but this one, I read in a day- it held my interest, some of the secondary characters (who seemed at times to switch in importance with the main character, Hephaistion) compelled deeper thinking, and at the end, the story provoked a good discussion...

Regards,
Sikander

[sikander]

This is interesting. Thanks. I looked it up, but it costs somewhere around $150 used. I may collect ATG fiction, but that's too rich for my blood. LOL! Still, the author seems to have a page on Goodreads. Their may be another option to get a hold of the novel.

Greetings Jeanne,
I read this book for a book challenge recently; if you look carefully, you can find copies for 10-20 dollars in large paperback format. Good luck!

Regards,
Sikander

[delos13]

This is interesting. Thanks. I looked it up, but it costs somewhere around $150 used. I may collect ATG fiction, but that's too rich for my blood. LOL! Still, the author seems to have a page on Goodreads. Their may be another option to get a hold of the novel.

$150 USD used? I bought a new book on amazon (Canadian site) in the last days of December for CAD$18 and it came from USA. I just look it up and it still the same price. I checked Amazon.com and indeed the price is US$123 for used. What a difference! Can you order it from Amazon.ca?

I second what Sikander wrote. I read the book in 2 days and I absolutely loved it and would recommend wholeheartedly. I loved it despite the fact that I am not a big fan of science fiction. I won't give any more spoilers beyond what Sikander wrote and what you can read of Amazon and Goodreads only reiterate it is a book about Hephaistion and not about Alexander with Hephaistion being the second main character.

[Alexias]

There are cheaper ones on Abebooks.co.uk. Anyone know what the other two volumes are called or about?

[delos13]

There are cheaper ones on Abebooks.co.uk. Anyone know what the other two volumes are called or about?

Yes, the second book is called "Sparks from a Cruel Grindstone" and it is about Boudica, the third one was not published yet, I think. The second and third books are not about Hephaistion but about other characters whom you meet in the book #1. I don't know if Hephaistion is present in any of them.

[Alexias]

Thanks!

[Jeanne Reames]

Thanks to everybody. And I'm very familiar with Morris's "Hell" series, which I enjoyed. So I will try to track it down.