'''Heroes in Hell''' is a series of [[shared world]] [[fantasy]] books by [[Janet Morris]], [[C. J. Cherryh]], and others set in a fictional [[afterlife]].  The 12 books in the series were published by [[Baen Books]] between 1986 and 1989.

==Background==
Despite the title, the [[fictional world]] of the setting bears little resemblance to the traditional Western concept of [[Hell]].  As depicted in these works, Hell is actually quite like the land of the living, but with a significantly more chaotic political environment.

Partly this is due to the underworld being populated by many great military leaders and statesmen from history such as [[Julius Caesar]], [[Napolean Bonaparte]] and [[Sargon of Akkad]].  These leaders vie for power, sometimes relying on [[diplomacy]] but often resorting to [[subterfuge]] and [[military]] action to achieve their goals.  When war does break out, the faction leaders employ [[military technology]] from throughout history.  Caesar, for example, may address his sword-bearing [[Roman legion]]s from the back of a [[World War II]] era [[Jeep]] equipped with a [[machine gun]].

The power structure in the Hell of these books is fairly decentralized, although the "Father of Lies" can exert his will when he chooses to do so.  For example, rather than allowing [[Marilyn Monroe]] to reside with any of the individual factions in his underworld, he has installed her as his executive assistant.

Additional color is provided by the presence of historical legends of [[literature]] and [[philosophy]] such as [[Ernest Hemingway]], [[Niccol� Machiavelli]], and (of course) [[Dante Alighieri]].  Some of these characters serve as advisors to the various faction leaders and live in their households.

Because of the interactions between historical figures of similar eras in some of these stories -- [[Augustus]] (Octavian), [[Mark Antony]], and [[Cleopatra]] for example -- the works borrow elements from the subgenre of [[Historical fantasy|Historical Fantasy]].  But because they are set in the afterlife, they are more properly classified as [[Bangsian Fantasy]].

==Books in the series==
There are five novels in the series and seven anthologies of short fiction.  Janet Morris edited all seven anthologies.
#''Heroes in Hell'' (1986), anthology
#''The Gates of Hell'' (1986), novel by C. J. Cherryh and Janet Morris
#''Rebels in Hell'' (1986), anthology
#''Kings in Hell'' (1987), novel by C. J. Cherryh and Janet Morris
#''Crusaders in Hell'' (1987),  anthology
#''Legions of Hell'' (1987), novel by C. J. Cherryh
#''Angels in Hell'' (1987), anthology
#''Masters in Hell'' (1987), anthology
#''The Little Helliad'' (1988), novel by Janet Morris and Chris Morris
#''War in Hell'' (1988),  anthology
#''Prophets in Hell'' (1989),  anthology
#''Explorers in Hell'' (1989), novel by [[David Drake]] and Janet Morris

==Contributing authors==
Authors who have contributed to this series include:
* [[Lynn Abbey]]
* Michael Armstrong
* Nancy Asire
* [[Robert Lynn Asprin]]
* [[Gregory Benford]]
* [[Martin Caidin]]
* [[C. J. Cherryh]]
* [[David Drake]]
* [[George Alec Effinger]]
* George Foy
* Richard Groller
* Bill Kerby
* Brad Miner
* Chris Morris
* [[Janet Morris]]
* [[Diana L. Paxson]]
* [[Robert Sheckley]]
* [[Robert Silverberg]]
* Alexandra Sokolov

==Gallery of book covers==
All cover art in the series was done by [[David Mattingly]], except for ''Prophets in Hell'', cover art by Peter Scanlon
<gallery>
Image:CherryhMorrisKingsHellCover.jpg|''Kings in Hell''
Image:CherryhLegionsCover.jpg|''Legions of Hell''
Image:DrakeMorrisExplorersHellCover.jpg|''Explorers in Hell''
Image:MorrisWarHellCover.jpg|''War in Hell''
Image:MorrisProphetsinHellCover.jpg|''Prophets in Hell''
</gallery>

[[Category:Bangsian fantasy]]
[[Category:Series of fantasy books]]
[[Category:Fantasy short story collections]]
[[Category:Fictional universes]]
[[Category:Shared universe]]
[[Category:C. J. Cherryh]]