Though temperatures will be cooling down in most places when most of the books in these listings hit stores, a handful of forthcoming fiction titles have themes that call to mind a very warm spot indeed—hell, in fact—or its most notorious resident.
William Sleator's Hell Phone, a September novel from Amulet Books, promises to make readers jump at every ring of their cell phones. In the story, a boy buys a used cell that seems like a bargain—until strangers begin calling, begging for help and making demands, and then a gripping power drives him to commit crimes.
Hell is the setting for Anthony McGowan's Hellbent, which Simon Pulse will release in October. When Conor gets hit by an ice cream truck, he is sent straight to hell, where he is confined to a torture chamber that's personally attuned for maximum suffering: he is surrounded by boring books and must listen to educational radio. His goal is to swap with someone whose eternal damnation involves babes and video games.
A witch detective and her associate attempt to track down the perpetrator of a series of gruesome murders in Devil's Tango, the second installment of Hervé Jubert's Devil's Dances trilogy. Previously published to critical acclaim in France and the U.K., this October novel from HarperCollins/Eos follows Dance of the Assassins and precedes Sabbat Samba, due in summer 2008.
Other devilish doings are at the center of a September release from Penguin's Razorbill imprint, which the publisher describes as "a YA take on Faust in a Catholic girls' high school." Maureen Johnson's Devilish tells of a student who, in exchange for popularity, sells her soul to a devil masquerading as a sophomore. The author will visit bookstores in the fall.
And from Delacorte comes The Hand of the Devil, Dean Vincent Carter's novel about a young journalist who receives a letter promising him a once-in-a-lifetime story. He jumps at the opportunity, not realizing that his life is exactly what the story might cost him.
Such are some of the offerings for readers who prefer their horror fiction on the hot side.
