By Laura Moreno
“Hell’s Heart” is Alexis Hall’s first sapphic science fiction novel set in outer-space. This 464-page retelling of the literary classic “Moby-Dick” by American LGBT author Herman Melville was recently released.
“Civilization has collapsed into a fragile web of corporations, collectives and churches, each struggling to control what little remains.”
Earth is ruined and pockets of humanity survive in precarious places across the solar system. They sustain themselves by hunting colossal Leviathans in Jupiter’s atmosphere not for oil, but to harvest a hallucinogenic substance from their cerebrospinal fluid.
The captain of the vessel, known only as A, is an Ahab-like obsessive figure driven by personal trauma and his determination to hunt a specific particularly dangerous Leviathan known as the Möbius Beast that threatens to destroy their entire mission. Melville’s whale Moby-Dick was based on a real whale in the Pacific, an albino called Mocha Dick, that Melville had read about. It sank or destroyed 20 ships and had dozens of harpoons embedded in it when it was finally killed.
Hall’s narrator, known only as “I” (perhaps a trans woman) signs on to a whaling vessel for a perilous hunt. She has joined only to escape debt and financial desperation. She is literally owned by ruthless medical creditors.
The crew includes Q, a striking, otherworldly beauty whose skin shines with holographic light and is a Latin-speaking hi-tech harpooner and Old Earth survivor. She becomes an emotional anchor for “I” as the voyage becomes more and more obsessive. Their bond is the heart of the story in an environment that is otherwise increasingly alienated and agitated as conditions deteriorate.
As the ship plunges deeper into Jupiter’s storms, reality is overtaken by dread, strange visions, and psychological chaos that stirs up inner demons.
The title “Hell’s Heart” comes from chapter 132 of “Moby-Dick,” The Symphony, in which Captain Ahab declares in a maniacal rage: “From Hell’s Heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.”
The British writer known as Alexis Hall made a name writing artful romance novels and urban fantasy. His/their/her (Hall is not particular about pronouns) spicy novel “Boyfriend Material” was named one of the best books of the year. He is a three-time Lambda Literary Award nominee.
Textured prose, love in the Berkshires & gay marriage
To be sure, Melville’s “Moby-Dick” (1851) and Hall’s “Hell’s Heart” are both highly symbolic, profound explorations of our unknowable universe. But naturally they are written in radically different styles and are constructed very differently.
Melville’s 19th century style is dense, layered and described as baroque, like luxurious brocade fabric. Hall’s 21st century style, in contrast, is visceral, sharp and unsettling contemporary prose. That said, I’ve noticed some American readers tend to find writing by Brits, including this book, a bit old-fashioned, even labeling it pretentious on that basis.
Surprisingly, “Moby-Dick” flopped when it was first published. It challenges accepted notions like the existence of God, and actually ended Melville’s literary career. He was forced to take a job as a customs official. Not until 1919, after the nightmare of WWI, did the public discover the genius of “Moby-Dick,” which speaks directly to 20th century sensibilities.
Notably, “Moby-Dick” is dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne who lived nearby in the Berkshires of Massachusetts: “in token of my admiration for his genius.” His many all-consuming love letters to Hawthorne are a testament to their relationship.
“Moby-Dick” even includes a “marriage ceremony” between Ishmael (the lone survivor of the whaling boat the whale wrecks as it is killed) and Queequeg (a savage and cannibal) in the chapter entitled A Bosom Friend 155 years before the first legal gay marriage took place in Massachusetts.
Both “Moby-Dick” and “Hell’s Heart” are postmodernist stories about storytelling. And both books wrestle with how we frame stories and make meaning of tragedy and desire. Hall’s opening directly echoes Melville’s: “Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in their purse, and nothing particular to interest them on shore, Alexis Hall thought they would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. Unfortunately the boat they were in sank with all hands, and they were rescued only by a passing whaler.”
But “Hell’s Heart” isn’t for everyone, the author admits. Readers who find Melville’s digressions too long with way too many details will find a similar if much reduced tendency here.
More importantly, the book’s explicit sexual content, gore, and unhinged energy fill many more chapters than readers seeking lighter fare may expect. Be advised, this book would be rated NC-17 if it were a film.
But “Hell’s Heart” manages to be lyrical and philosophical while being bawdy and profane, just as the superhuman sci-fi technology is juxtaposed against raw emotion, obsessions and human frailties. It’s a fascinating mix of horror, violence, psychological turmoil, queer desire, and engaging satire (mostly of capitalism and religion) that has been described as “Gideon the Ninth” meets “Murderbot.” It is also a USA Today bestseller.
It’s clear Alexis Hall is a master storyteller whose expansive world-building provides an immersive reading experience, making the future world of “Hell’s Heart” completely believable. It is, in short, a literary triumph.
“Hell’s Heart” by Alexis Hall, McMillan Books, $29.99