"The magic and violence of 'Hell Bent' comes to life in audiobook form." - USA Today
"This fervently delivered audiobook engrosses the listener through every twist and turn, making this sequel nearly impossible to pause."- AudioFile Magazine (Earphones Award)
Wealth. Power. Murder. Magic. The Ivy League is going straight to hell in the sequel to the smash New York Times bestseller Ninth House from #1 bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.
"Bardugo's imaginative reach is brilliant." –Stephen King
Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy "Alex" Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory—even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.
Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can't call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies' most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren't just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she'll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university's very walls.
Thick with history and packed with Bardugo's signature twists, Hell Bent brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all too real monsters.
A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.
"The magic and violence of 'Hell Bent' comes to life in audiobook form." - USA Today
"This fervently delivered audiobook engrosses the listener through every twist and turn, making this sequel nearly impossible to pause."- AudioFile Magazine (Earphones Award)
Wealth. Power. Murder. Magic. The Ivy League is going straight to hell in the sequel to the smash New York Times bestseller Ninth House from #1 bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.
"Bardugo's imaginative reach is brilliant." –Stephen King
Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy "Alex" Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory—even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.
Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can't call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies' most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren't just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she'll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university's very walls.
Thick with history and packed with Bardugo's signature twists, Hell Bent brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all too real monsters.
A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.
Reviews-
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Starred review from October 31, 2022
Bestseller Bardugo, best known for her YA Grishaverse novels, returns to the more adult struggles of Alex Stern, low-level L.A. drug dealer turned Yale scholarship student thanks to her ability to see and corral ghosts (“Grays”), in this thrilling sequel to 2019’s Ninth House. Now employed as a Virgil by Lethe House, the Yale body that oversees the magical rituals of the campus’s many secret societies, Alex is pulled in several directions as she tries to fill the role left empty when her upperclassman mentor, Darlington, was sent to Hell by a diabolical dean. Ignoring her patrons’ instructions to move on, she persists in digging into the secrets of Lethe’s past, searching for a way to open a portal and bring Darlington back. Alex’s own past will not stay hidden either; her L.A. supplier, Eitan Harel, having learned of her ability, comes calling with jobs for her, including intimidating a strangely unaging former Yalie. Bardugo surrounds Alex with fascinating supporting players, among them a damaged New Haven cop and a naive roommate excited by the lure of the supernatural, while keeping the story’s drive firmly in Alex’s grip for another scrappy underdog tale. The taut plot, often grisly magic, lavish scene-setting, and wry humor combine to make this just as un-put-downable as the first installment. Readers will be wowed. -
Lauren Fortgang and Michael David Axtell return to narrate the second audiobook in the Alex Stern series. Determined to break her mentor, Darlington, out of the underworld, Alex teams up with unexpected allies in a forbidden ritual. Fortgang, the primary narrator, voices Alex with overconfidence that masks her dark secrets, emotionally connecting with her distress and sorrow as she confronts the ugliest parts of her guilty past. The gravelly timbre Fortgang gives the demons is full of believable menace. Axtell voices Darlington with outward poise and inward passion as he wrestles with the dark desires of his own demons. This fervently delivered audiobook engrosses the listener through every twist and turn, making this sequel nearly impossible to pause. A.K.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
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April 1, 2023
Lauren Fortgang and Michael David Axtell return to narrate the second installment in Bardugo's "Alex Stern" series. The fall semester has started at Yale, and Alex must convince the other members of Lethe that Darlington is alive--as much as one can be when stuck in hell. After a failed rescue attempt, it becomes apparent that something wicked has arrived in New Haven. Alex and her colleagues look for other ways to save Darlington without the support of Lethe superiors, facing the demons from their past while battling the demons that have escaped into their world. Performing the majority of the audiobook, Fortgang transports listeners into Alex's story, allowing them to see the world through her eyes. Distinguishable voices capture the characters' personalities, keeping listeners immersed in the tale. Fortgang's narration captures Alex's disenchanted nature and the scars she's developed after years of psychological torment. Axtell's performance is short, narrating the few sections that are from Darlington's point of view. The choice of a male narrator for those sparse chapters adds something extra to the engaging production. VERDICT Fortgang's and Axtell's performances will have listeners eagerly awaiting the next book in Bardugo's wholly engaging, well-narrated series.--Amanda L. S. Murphy
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
