The Towers of Hell

Hell Herders, creatures that are half-human and half-reptile, have enslaved humanity for many years and they hold sway in the Towers of Hell. Lexa has only ever lived in Level 5, the vast fifth floor of the towers, where existence is tough. The lower you are in the tower, the more comfortable life is. During their Moment of Choice, everybody gets one chance to experience a different level, temporarily or permanently, but those who come back to their own level retain only vague memories of their trip. Furthermore, everyone knows that whichever level you choose, there’s a big chance you’ll be sent somewhere else. Lexa’s father has the Sickness and has been give up for dead. She is therefore hoping that in her Moment of Choice, she and her best friend Mico will get into Level 1, where a medicine might exist. But Mico breaks their agreement and chooses Level 9, the hardest level. Lexa can’t understand it. When she finds herself, completely unexpectedly, in Level 1, nothing is what it seems. Revolution is brewing in the Towers of Hell. But who is on the right side? And why does Lexa turn out to be so important?

In this first volume of a trilogy, Hannelore Bedert creates a grim world featuring an extreme form of the class-based society. With intriguing fantasy elements like the Hell Herders and the ‘algam’, a liquid used to travel between the different levels of the towers, she proves herself a natural at the genre. You could cut the tension with a knife at any point in this page-turner full of mysteries. Some of those mysteries remain unexplained, making readers eager for parts two and three.