The sequel to Hellbender is coming out very soon. And as proof, here is the new cover made by Ethan Nicolle:
And here is the description from the back cover:
This is the sequel to the novel Hellbender.
I’m not sure what to do here. If you read and enjoyed the first one, I don’t feel like I need to sell you very hard on this one. The characters you love from Hellbender — Doug, Bryce, Lulu, and Charlene — get into further misadventures, while I also expand on the lore from the first one. Are the people in charge really demons? What happened in the Last War? Well, there are more answers and more questions in the sequel — you know how it works.
If you haven’t read the first one, it seems like I should just point you to the blurb for that novel. I mean, I made my best attempt at explaining the story in that one. It’s a post-apocalyptic comedy. There’s a mercenary gang of loveable losers (called Hellbender) in constant conflict with more powerful forces out to destroy or oppress them. And Satan — or a guy who says he is Satan — is involved. It’s intriguing, and it's funny.
In this one, Hellbender faces an indescribable horror, a terrorist group that just enjoys terror and makes no demands, and a bunch of nuclear weapons. The gang is in way over its head again, and it’s going to be fun. I am excited for you. You know what? If you haven’t read the first one, just go ahead and jump into this one and read the first one later — consider it a prequel. You can call this book Hellbender and the previous one Hellbender: Origins.
I don’t have an exact release date, but it’s coming very soon. And if for some crazy reason you haven’t read the first one yet, you still have some time to catch up.
Also, about the time I release the sequel, I’ll be putting up a brand new Hellbender short story here on this Substack, free to all subscribers (though you’ll enjoy it more if you’re a paid subscriber).
Hellbender needs to be made into a major motion picture. As long as Frank maintained creative control, I'd watch it in a heartbeat.
Frank, I second Austin's recommendation below. Have you considered shopping Hellbender to Hollywood or independent movie producers?
I'd be surprised if Netflix hasn't contacted you already!