Review of Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall

Having never read the original Moby Dick I was coming into this debut with no expectations. The writing is beautiful: dense with similes and feelings and truly thoughtful metaphors that bring the world of space and leviathan hunting to life.

I will admit that I found it a difficult book to read, however I would encourage anyone who even briefly considers picking it up to read it through to the end, for the ending makes the read worthwhile. It takes an immense amount of skill to so successfully transpose a work from near two hundred years ago and maintain the deeper emotional levels that work from start to end.

In itself, it is a sensitive transposition of the original text, taking the original characters and locations and politics and transporting them into a system that we cannot understand for it is not our own world, the act of which is a clever replication of what the original text was striving for. While the use of language remains firmly within the conventions of the 19^th century, and the pace is as slow and thought provoking, it uses the language and pace to deeply explore the human condition. It is an exploration into the paradox that is the tragedy that you may never be more than you are, and yet you must always strive to become more than you ever will be. 

Published on 12.03.2026 by Tor

Reviewed by Rebecca

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