Glenn Cooper does a fantastic job in writing this type of book, I really enjoyed the way the characters and world were presented and developed. It was everything that I wanted in a opening chapter to the Down series and was glad it was everything that I was looking for and am excited for more in this world. It uses the SciFi historical thriller perfectly and had that feel that I was looking for and was glad it was so well done.

I totally thought that this book would be my cup of tea, but boy was I wrong. I honestly was bored to tears and struggled to get through the book. I kept leaving it and reading something else and coming back because I wanted to try to give it a chance. I will definitely not be reading the next in the series thank you to NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I'm going to be honest, I think I got a little bit dragged in by the hype. Inferno reimagined as Game of Thrones? Sounds right up my alley.

It was not right up my alley.

I can just about wave away the physics leading to wormholes with an alternate Hellverse on the other end; this is a science fiction book and there should be some science fiction in it, and exchanging mass between universes makes some sort of sense. But I found the rest of the book somewhat tedious. It didn't help that the formatting meant that point of view changes weren't well defined, so I had to read sentences back to myself to realise that suddenly we were with Henry the Eighth in Francia rather than John Camp in Italia or whatever.

I'm not a fan of the gender morality of the Hellverse, and I found a lot of the descriptions to be a little bit cringy, with certain situations being far too on the nose. The ending did provide a half-decent hook for the next book in the series, but not enough of one for me to consider continuing the series personally.

Down Pinhole by Glen Cooper is a brilliantly crafted story that showcases his signature talent for weaving history, mystery, and vivid imagination into one gripping narrative. From the very first pages, Cooper’s masterful character building draws the reader in, giving each figure—both fictional and historical—a depth and authenticity that makes them leap off the page. The addition of real historical figures, especially as they appear in the other dimension, adds a fascinating layer of realism and familiarity, making the story feel richly textured and immersive.
Fans of Glen Cooper will not be disappointed, as the pacing is perfectly balanced to keep the reader fully engaged from beginning to end. Every chapter builds anticipation, compelling you to turn the page and discover how the intrigue unfolds. It is a clever, thought-provoking, and thoroughly enjoyable read that continues Cooper’s tradition of blending history and adventure with a sense of the extraordinary.
I would highly recommend Down Pinhole to both long-time Glen Cooper readers and newcomers seeking a captivating novel that dares to explore the bounds of history and imagination.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book to review. All opinions are entirely my own.

A fun and entertaining adventure to Hell and back again. It was hard to put the book down, even on vacation, and I can’t wait for the next one!

This began with an explanation of physics and stuff connected with it. I had no earthly idea what any of this was about, but I continued to read.

Through some cosmic joke (has to do with physics), Emily is transported to hell and a murderer (I think his name was Woodhouse) is transferred to the living earth. John (another member of the physics team) decides to go find Emily and bring her back. In John's place, Duck (that's his name) was transferred to the living earth.

So - Emily and John are in hell, Woodhouse and Duck are on the living earth. Problem is, the aroma. Death has a peculiar, awful aroma. Figure this out.

So hell is NOT full of fire and brimstone. It is mostly full of people who have killed other people. You'll meet King Henry VIII, Stalin and Himmler among others. They are all still intent on killing each other, but how do you kill someone already dead?

One thing I did not like is the amount of animals in hell. No animal has done anything deserving of that fate.

So there are four stories going on. Emily is trying to survive in hell. John is in hell looking for Emily. Woodhouse is killing people on earth. And the lab folks are trying to get the two dead people back to hell and John and Emily back out of hell. Simple enough, but there was no warning when the story shifted from one set of characters to the other.

It was a most interesting read (except for the physics part).