Short Story:The Hades Business: Difference between revisions

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The Hell business is just not paying. No-one's been down there for two thousand years except some chap called Dante, who got ''quite'' the wrong impression. The Devil wants Crucible, the owner of the Square Deal Advertising Company, to help him get it back up, with people having day trips, a grand day out for all the family and such. The entire place becomes increasingly popular, with restaurants and bars popping up all over the place, and teenagers flocking there, until it's only Hell for one person: the Devil himself.
The Hell business is just not paying. No-one's been down there for two thousand years except some chap called Dante, who got ''quite'' the wrong impression. The Devil wants Crucible, the owner of the Square Deal Advertising Company, to help him get it back up, with people having day trips, a grand day out for all the family and such. The entire place becomes increasingly popular, with restaurants and bars popping up all over the place, and teenagers flocking there, until it's only Hell for one person: the Devil himself.


Originally posted in ''Science Fantasy Magazine'', and redone in {{BS}}, this was the first piece of writing ever published by [[Terry Pratchett]], when he was thirteen. He apparently wrote it for a piece of homework...
“The Hades Business” was [[Terry Pratchett]]’s first published work. He originally wrote it for an English assignment at the age of thirteen (so probably in 1961), and it was published in Pratchett’s school magazine, ''The Technical Cygnet'', under the original title “Business Rivals”. He submitted it for publication to ''Science Fantasy Magazine'' where the editor, John Carnell, suggested some further edits. Pratchett tightened up the opening and added to the story’s length, and in 1963 Carnell accepted it for publication under the final title.
 
The ''Science Fantasy Magazine'' version was later reprinted in {{OMWF}} and {{BS}}.


== External links ==
== External links ==
* * [https://archive.org/details/Science_Fantasy_v20n60_1963-08_SLiV/page/n67/mode/2up ''The Hades Business'' in ''Science Fantasy''] at archive.org
* * [https://archive.org/details/Science_Fantasy_v20n60_1963-08_SLiV/page/n67/mode/2up “The Hades Business” in ''Science Fantasy''] at archive.org


{{DEFAULTSORT: Hades Business, The}}  
{{DEFAULTSORT: Hades Business, The}}  
[[Category:Short Stories]]
[[Category:Short Stories]]

Revision as of 07:32, 29 May 2024

The Hell business is just not paying. No-one's been down there for two thousand years except some chap called Dante, who got quite the wrong impression. The Devil wants Crucible, the owner of the Square Deal Advertising Company, to help him get it back up, with people having day trips, a grand day out for all the family and such. The entire place becomes increasingly popular, with restaurants and bars popping up all over the place, and teenagers flocking there, until it's only Hell for one person: the Devil himself.

“The Hades Business” was Terry Pratchett’s first published work. He originally wrote it for an English assignment at the age of thirteen (so probably in 1961), and it was published in Pratchett’s school magazine, The Technical Cygnet, under the original title “Business Rivals”. He submitted it for publication to Science Fantasy Magazine where the editor, John Carnell, suggested some further edits. Pratchett tightened up the opening and added to the story’s length, and in 1963 Carnell accepted it for publication under the final title.

The Science Fantasy Magazine version was later reprinted in Once More* *with Footnotes and A Blink of the Screen.

External links