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I'll summarize. This was an excellent book. The premise is awesome. I don't want to share too much to avoid spoilers.

The basic idea is that the main character is a journalist who has died and gone to hell, and is now a Evening News in Hell anchorman. Oh yeah, and he's co-habitating with Anne Boleyn. Right, the Henry the 8th Anne Boleyn. The author has cooked up some seriously demented "punishments" for the various denizens. You may consider this a modernized Dante's Inferno if you wish, but that wouldn't be doing this justice.

There are some odd skips in perspective that take some getting used to. The author puts you into the mind of other characters the main character meets so you can see the mental process they are going through that defines their torment. This happens often, is accompanied by italicized text, and is outside the flow of the main plot, though it certainly lends more fuel to the plot line.

It is also, and perhaps even mainly, a social commentary. Many modern people are down there (perhaps indicating this is set somewhere in the near future), and the authors torments on them are clear indication of his thoughts on them. This book is probably not on the Catholic church's "recommended reading" list, as, well... as you might expect with anything that lends detail to what the Church considers itself the authority on, there are definitely some views expressed here that would not be acceptable to them. Not to mention some of the religious figures from history (and modern times) that are down there as well. At least he doesn't pick on them specifically. All the major religions are well represented.

The there are certainly political views expressed (based on the treatment of some of the world's politicians), and though I would consider the author's general views as liberal and left-leaning, enjoying this book does not require you to lean any particular way politically. You will find plenty of things to laugh at even if they weren't all the things I found.

Yes, it is generally a comedy, but I do think the social commentary is quiet serious, and by the end of the book, you will find yourself thinking more and laughing perhaps a bit less. The balance is brilliant, and definitely a recommended read from my perspective.