Hell Bent
“Gut-wrenching and deeply human, this book will tug at your heartstrings even as it chills you to the bone…. Standing head and shoulders above the already impressive Ninth House, Hell Bent is one of the best fantasy novels of the year.”
―BookPage, starred review ★
BOOK TWO in the Ninth House Trilogy
Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy “Alex” Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory—even if it endangers her future at Lethe and at Yale.
Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies’ most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it.
US Retailers
International retailers
Praise
4 Starred reviews
from Kirkus, BookPage, Publisher’s Weekly, and BookList.
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy of 2023 and an AudioFile Earphones Award
Appeared on over 60 Most-Anticipated and Best-Of Lists
Including USA Today, New York Times, The Today Show, The Washington Post, Paste Magazine, New York Magazine, Town & Country, Book of the Month, SFF World, Cosmopolitan, Barnes & Noble, and more.
“A tour de force of suspenseful pacing and empathetic writing… The beauty of Hell Bent is that for all the bleakness, the sense of wonder somehow still remains.” ―The New York Times
“All hail the queen of dark academia!… Ninth House and Hell Bent may be Bardugo’s first books for adults, but you’d never know it, or care, because you’re so busy following all of the action…you’ll want to capture your copy quickly.” ―NPR
“[T]he return of protagonist Alex Stern and her mystical version of the Ivy League is very welcome… Watching this damaged loner bring together a squad of ride-and-die friends is endlessly fun, and Bardugo finds new depths to most of her supporting cast.” ―The Washington Post
“Hell Bent is a taut, complexly plotted headrush, stocked full of complicated monsters, entitled academics, and grifters big-time and small.” ―Book of the Month
“Hell Bent is everything fans of Bardugo’s Alex Stern series could have asked for: It’s thematically richer, its characters are more complexly rendered, the darkness lurking at the edges of its New England-set world of privilege is more frightening, and its wit more biting.” ―Paste Magazine
“Although Hell Bent is one of my first reads of 2023, I can confidently see it being a top read of the year by the end of it.” ―SFF World
“Thrilling … fascinating supporting players … The taut plot, often grisly magic, lavish scene-setting, and wry humor combine to make this just as un-put-downable as the first installment. Readers will be wowed.” ―Publisher’s Weekly, starred review ★
“Bardugo doesn’t flinch from the dark sides of magic and human nature….This portrait of a survivor’s dogged determination to accomplish her goal will appeal to readers of dark academia, urban fantasy, and horror.” ―Booklist, starred review ★
“Vivid, intelligent, and funny at just the right moments, but best of all are the complex characters.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review ★