THE LAST TRAIN OUT OF HELL: DEBUT NOVEL BY JULIE PRICE CARPENTER (FANTASY/HUMOR)
Foreward by Jeffrey Ford.
Librarian Liz Martin finds herself in Hell after being hit by a bus. She's sure she wasn't a terrible person, so how did she end up here? And is the bad place even so bad? After all, Brian—the manager of Hell—is pretty cute when he's not desperately putting out bureaucratic fires and begging minor demons to clean the overflowing toilets. Despite living in her miserable apartment with an annoying cat demon named Dennis, Liz is in the very best relationship of her existence with Brian. But Satan's poor business management and shady real estate deals have done untold damage. In fact, Hell is crumbling and will soon cease to be—along with everyone in it. Liz and Brian decide it's up to them and their ragtag crew to get all the denizens of Hell aboard the last train out.
“Carpenter’s Hell, like our Earth, has bad food, bad beer, bad TV, cranky bureaucrats . . . a host of beautifully drawn characters who light up the novel.” —Jeff Weddle, author of When Giraffes Flew
“. . . sweet, sharp and subversively silly: come for the codependent cat demon, stay for the send-up of reductive dogma that would have us divide people into ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ Fans of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, this book is for you!” —M.B. Valente, author of “Four Words” Pithead Chapel
“‘The Office’ meets Dante’s Inferno.’ . . Parks and Recreation’ meets Needful Things . . . sharp and hip, the social commentary thought-provoking a laugh-out-loud funny, and the characters will stick with you for days after you finish reading. Especially Dennis the dragon/cat/pet/pest.” —Jeff Hill, author of Dead Socials
“Carpenter’s outlandish rendering of Hell is somehow uncannily believable, with relatable characters trying to solve an enthralling mystery.” —Bill Ectric, author of Tamper and Tamper Illustrated
The Last Train Out of Hell is forthcoming (June 26, 2025) from High Frequency Press.
Cover is ARC version; final cover may vary.
Foreward by Jeffrey Ford.
Librarian Liz Martin finds herself in Hell after being hit by a bus. She's sure she wasn't a terrible person, so how did she end up here? And is the bad place even so bad? After all, Brian—the manager of Hell—is pretty cute when he's not desperately putting out bureaucratic fires and begging minor demons to clean the overflowing toilets. Despite living in her miserable apartment with an annoying cat demon named Dennis, Liz is in the very best relationship of her existence with Brian. But Satan's poor business management and shady real estate deals have done untold damage. In fact, Hell is crumbling and will soon cease to be—along with everyone in it. Liz and Brian decide it's up to them and their ragtag crew to get all the denizens of Hell aboard the last train out.
“Carpenter’s Hell, like our Earth, has bad food, bad beer, bad TV, cranky bureaucrats . . . a host of beautifully drawn characters who light up the novel.” —Jeff Weddle, author of When Giraffes Flew
“. . . sweet, sharp and subversively silly: come for the codependent cat demon, stay for the send-up of reductive dogma that would have us divide people into ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ Fans of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, this book is for you!” —M.B. Valente, author of “Four Words” Pithead Chapel
“‘The Office’ meets Dante’s Inferno.’ . . Parks and Recreation’ meets Needful Things . . . sharp and hip, the social commentary thought-provoking a laugh-out-loud funny, and the characters will stick with you for days after you finish reading. Especially Dennis the dragon/cat/pet/pest.” —Jeff Hill, author of Dead Socials
“Carpenter’s outlandish rendering of Hell is somehow uncannily believable, with relatable characters trying to solve an enthralling mystery.” —Bill Ectric, author of Tamper and Tamper Illustrated
The Last Train Out of Hell is forthcoming (June 26, 2025) from High Frequency Press.
Cover is ARC version; final cover may vary.
Foreward by Jeffrey Ford.
Librarian Liz Martin finds herself in Hell after being hit by a bus. She's sure she wasn't a terrible person, so how did she end up here? And is the bad place even so bad? After all, Brian—the manager of Hell—is pretty cute when he's not desperately putting out bureaucratic fires and begging minor demons to clean the overflowing toilets. Despite living in her miserable apartment with an annoying cat demon named Dennis, Liz is in the very best relationship of her existence with Brian. But Satan's poor business management and shady real estate deals have done untold damage. In fact, Hell is crumbling and will soon cease to be—along with everyone in it. Liz and Brian decide it's up to them and their ragtag crew to get all the denizens of Hell aboard the last train out.
“Carpenter’s Hell, like our Earth, has bad food, bad beer, bad TV, cranky bureaucrats . . . a host of beautifully drawn characters who light up the novel.” —Jeff Weddle, author of When Giraffes Flew
“. . . sweet, sharp and subversively silly: come for the codependent cat demon, stay for the send-up of reductive dogma that would have us divide people into ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ Fans of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, this book is for you!” —M.B. Valente, author of “Four Words” Pithead Chapel
“‘The Office’ meets Dante’s Inferno.’ . . Parks and Recreation’ meets Needful Things . . . sharp and hip, the social commentary thought-provoking a laugh-out-loud funny, and the characters will stick with you for days after you finish reading. Especially Dennis the dragon/cat/pet/pest.” —Jeff Hill, author of Dead Socials
“Carpenter’s outlandish rendering of Hell is somehow uncannily believable, with relatable characters trying to solve an enthralling mystery.” —Bill Ectric, author of Tamper and Tamper Illustrated
The Last Train Out of Hell is forthcoming (June 26, 2025) from High Frequency Press.
Cover is ARC version; final cover may vary.
Julie Price Carpenter is a former evangelical—and therefore, an expert on Hell. Along with her cats, she administrates the Sacred Chickens blog and cohosts the podcast “Perdition City Station”. Her short story collection, Things Get Weird in Whistlestop, was the winner of the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Book Award. The Last Train Out of Hell is her debut novel.
MORE AT Sacred Chickens Blog.
Author photo ©Colin Usher