Nice little mix of fantasy and suspense that kept me turning the pages. I found The Ninth Circle to be smoothly written and vivid and it builds nicely to a satisfying, exciting conclusion. I found all the ( I'm assuming mostly factual) information about angels and demons, hell, etc. quite fascinating. This is Alex Bell's debut novel, and for sure this young author has talent. I'd seen this in the bookstore four years ago and finally got around to reading it. Eager to read more by Bell. ( )

The story opens with a man unconscious on the floor of a flat in Budapest, glued to the floor with his own blood, what follows is his quest for answers.

And having read it I'm left with more questions than answers. This one falls almost into magic realism, where the appearance of angels and demons could be real or could be a product of the traumas of his past Having finished it I'm still not sure.

The end left me somewhat unsatisfied but it was the right end for the story the author was telling. Readable and has made me think but not one of my favourites. ( )

A good premise, and a huge twist about 2/3rds of the way through make this worth persevering with. Not the best update of some of Dante Aligeheri's work by any means, but worth a look. Worth reading, but not rereading ( )

I’d wanted to read this book for sometime and patiently waited till it came out in paperback. It was well worth the wait. The story tells of a man who wakes one day in a pool of blood with no recollection of who he is. The story moves from there written as a journal by the leading character. The story is cleverly plotted, twisting and turning leading to false avenues which cleverly suckered me in. But it is not just a transparent plot, going from A to B, its themes deal with identity and touch upon loneliness and isolation. It’s a tightly written story, well plotted and as a first novel, superbly written. The author’s writing style has a wonderful readable quality to it which makes it hard to put down. And its conclusion when it comes, reveals itself naturally and doesn’t feel rushed or drawn out. Thoroughly enjoyable, was a shame to finish it. ( )

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/node/4846 ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2008/06/24-ninth-circle-alex-bell.html ( )

Yes, but Kindle.