100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife by Ken Jennings

100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife Reviews

• 
  Nataliya

  Does what it says on the tin — Ken Jennings (yes, that Ken Jennings of Jeopardy fame) takes the reader through brief 100 accounts of different versions of afterlife imagined through different major religions, mythology, books, movies, TV, theater and even music. So we get Nirvana and Gehenna, Valhalla and Hades, Dante’s Inferno and Matheson’s What Dreams May Come, Field of Dreams and Beetlejuice, Lost and Miracle Workers, Hieronymus Bosch paintings, Marvel and DC Comics and even Dungeons and Dragons.
  
  

  

  
  
  It’s a quirky idea which I love, but I wish it went a big further than the light short vignettes. It’s a bit scattered trying to reach that 100 places, with very brief afterlife “visits”. I think focusing on fewer places - maybe 20 instead of a 100 - and going into more detail while developing the travel guide format a bit deeper would have helped, as a few longer entries that stuck more to the promised guide format were certainly more interesting while some shorter ones felt more like filler to reach the number goal.
  
  As is, it’s suited for reading in quick short bursts rather than reading straight through.
  
  I am actually curious though to look for other books by Ken Jennings. He’s clearly very intelligent and has a cheeky sense of humor.
  
  3 stars.
  
  ——————
  
  Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
  
  ——————
  
  Also posted on
  my blog.
• 
  Nancy

  That was the one thing the world’s oldest civilization had figured out about death: that it was extremely permanent.
  
  from 100 Places to See After You Die by Ken Jennings
  Okay, just seeing this book cover made me laugh and I had to get inside it. And, it’s by Jeopardy champ and host Ken Jennings.
  
  It is a book best taken in bites, because, after all, how much time do you really want to spend in places where people are subjected to endless pain and suffering? Like the Inuit’s Adlivun where you meet Sedna’s old man who will pull you under a bearskin rug and torment you for a year. Or the Chinese Diyu, a purgatory where you might be sawed in half. Or worst of all, observe your home town that has happily forgotten you.
  
  Sure, there is the opportunity to get to some really nice places, where you are assured a good hunt at the other end of the Milky Way path to the heavens. Your dog even has his own route there. If you are one of the lucky 144,000, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe you will govern heaven next to Jesus. Swedenborg had visions of communities for the good and the bad; nice parks and gardens for some, shantytowns and thieves for others.
  
  Jennings has scoured sources of all kind–of course mythology and religion but also literature and art and comic books and video games and D&D and movies and television like The Good Place, which my husband and I absolutely loved.
  
  Humanity has imagined a multitude of possible afterlives, but most seem to involve the same dichotomy: we will be punished for our sins or rewarded for good behavior–or after we atone for our sins.
  
  So, as Pascal posited in his wager, it’s better to err on the safe side, and you’d better be good.
  
  I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
• 
  Geoffrey

  (Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)
  
  The array of afterlives covered by this handy tome are a delightfully rich assortment taken from a wide selection of different faiths, books, films, TV shows, plays, and songs. So no matter how much you may think that you know already, and no matter how much media you’ve consumed in general, you’re still bound to be introduced to several new post-life settings the likes of which you’ve never heard of before. And each afterlife’s individual section hits that sweet spot of informative and clearly well-researched without overstaying its welcome, providing both a good deal to learn but (usually) not so much so that it might spoil a reader’s appetite to learn even more on their own. Plus, Ken Jennings’ writing runs thick with wit, and leaves plenty of opportunity for toothy smiles and hearty chuckles.
  
  To say the least, this is not a title to be overlooked. 100 Places to See After You Die hits that fine balance of educational and just plain fun dead on (pun partially intended). Also who knows - if there is an afterlife that happens to be like any of the many covered in here, you might end up unintentionally doing some helpful prep work!
• 
  donna backshall

  I don't exactly know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it.
  100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife was basically just a big summary of afterlife mythology, told in a semi-jaunty manner.
  
  This is a case of the cover being much more fun than the book. I admit I indeed judged, and was quickly reminded what a mistake that was.
  
  And I must confess I was turned off very early on, as
  Ken Jennings was describing what he'd be covering throughout the book, when he differentiated between lore of "scripture" and that of "mythology". I'm sorry, what?
• 
  Courtney

  I'm a big Ken Jennings fan and am always interested in things beyond this lifetime, so I was pretty excited when my partner suggested we listen to this audiobook on a long drive.
  
  It gave me a headache.
  
  When we had completed 63% of the book, I finally said: "This book removes everything I like in books, and is just descriptions. There's basically no meaning to be found, and most of the places are similar hells with long, awful details."
  
  Partner: "Yeah, it's a reference book."*
  
  This book transported me to a unique Hell.
  I refuse to finish it.
  
  
  
  *I like reference books and prefer nonfiction, but reading a reference book that basically says the same thing over and over and over again? No.
• 
  Kaye

  Ken Jennings of Jeopardy fame writes a book about the various beliefs regarding the afterlife. It is clever, with dry humor playing on the idea that this is a travel guide. I found some sections very informative. The first to sections are great as brief synopsis for beliefs in mythology and religion. In Mythology areas chapters include Valhalla (Norse), Diyu (China), Hades (Greek) and more. In Religion thoughts from Latter-Day Saints, Hinduism, Kabbalah and others. But the other main sections are more arbitrary with ideas for afterlife based on Books, Movies, Television, Theater and Misc.
  
  This is a book where you can flip to a section or idea that you are interested in and doesn’t need to be read straight through. I learned a lot in the first two sections. But once it moved on to fictional ideas like Heaven based on All Dogs Go to Heaven or a rock and roll song my interest waned. Especially if I wasn’t familiar with the move, book, song etc that the chapter is talking about.
  
  I am glad to have read the book and did like little trivia or tidbits Jennings adds here and there. Thank you to Scribner for the ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving a voluntary review.
  
  (3.5 Stars)
• 
  Kayla Schenck

  Super informational and creative. I think this would be a good book to keep around and open up to a random chapter every once in a while, but was difficult to read through all at once.
• 
  Beth S

  This is a humorous take on a travel guide. It is all places in which you coud go to visit after you have died. It takes beliefs from different cultures and religions, along with what authors have created throught their art forms, and discusses what it would be like to visit. The book is divided into sections of Mythology, Religion, Books, Movies, Television, Music and Theater, and Miscellaneous. Each section has multiple places to visit that would fall under that category. For each location is a description of what it looks like and things/people that you may encounter while there.
  
  This book was interesting, but a slow read. It's not "laugh out loud" humor, it's just humorous in concept. A lot of the places I haven't heard of as I haven't seen the movie, read the book, or learned about a particular culture. So, this book can be enjoyable for two types of people: those who have a broad knowledge of history and/or those who are interested in learning more.
  
  While I liked this book, I didn't love it. It's very much geared toward those who appreciate dry humor.
  
  Thank you to #NetGalley for an eARC of #100PlacestoSeeAfterYouDie by #KenJennings
  - 3 stars
• 
  Matthew Picardat

  I received an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.
  
  This book was quite a bit of fun and I definitely recommend it to any fans of humor, satire, or history. The Jeopardy star writes an enjoyable work of satire as he creates his own travel guide through historical events of the past.
• 
  Michelle Wrambel

  Many thanks to Scribner and Net Galley for the eARC. This book is set to publish in June of 2023.
  
  Wow, what an enjoyable read! This text is both informative and clever, borrowing extensively from research while condensing information from some massive reservoirs of information into manageable chunks. We used to do a short unit in my class on creation myths, but I found this study on the afterlife across cultural mediums much more fascinating. It rang true once more than archetypally across generations, views on the experiences of the soul and the afterlife are not all that different. I found this a wonderful reference source that I'll be borrowing from for my classes. It's a very handy text to have on hand.
• 
  Olivia

  Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
  
  100 Places to See After You Die was a book unlike anything I’ve ever read, in the best possible way! Jennings manages the perfect balance between witty and informative. I loved getting to learn about afterlives I was familiar with, and about all the ones I hadn’t heard of. The blend of mythological/religious with the media afterlives kept the book entertaining the whole way through.
• 
  Elaine

  Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of 100 Places to See After You Die.
  
  This was a hilarious, tongue in cheek book about the various kinds of afterlives found in literature, music, mythology, television and movies.
  
  I liked the author's funny comments and travel tips about what to expect, what to avoid, and how to traverse some of the fascinating, gruesome, and frightening afterlives found in various cultures.
  
  I also learned so much!
  
  I knew about Valhalla and the Tibetan Book of the Dead but there were so much more about afterlives I didn't know about in so many cultures.
  
  It was both intriguing and disturbing to know more about how other cultures understand and approach death and the afterlife.
  
  A big thumbs up to the author and his team of researchers; each afterlife is described in detail in straightforward terms, no flowery language, and I love the sidebars on trivia and fun facts, some which were dark and creepy.
  
  This isn't for everyone but if you're looking for something different to read, something funny and amusing and also learn something, this is for you.
• 
  Gregory Melahn

  After a full day visiting the British Museum focusing mainly on the ancients, I remember thinking as I left “There have been a lot of Gods”. And yes those Gods all seem to have their own version of Heaven, Hell, and places in-between.
  
  In this book, Ken Jennings provides a lighthearted summary of many of these final destinations in the form of a travel guide. Included are visions from mythology and religions but also from books, movies, TV, popular music, theater and even comics. It’s very funny and irreverent and l actually learned a few things.
  
  The cultural references are the most entertaining. The existence of cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo’s Hell was all new to me, as was the film “Cabin in the Sky”. Both just before my time. Great stuff to follow-up on.
  
  I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by the author. Even though the descriptions are lighthearted I could only hear so many of these before they start to run together. Perhaps it would have worked better in the form of a weekly podcast. A podcast wouldn’t have to stop at one hundred. There’s a lot of material out there and it could go on and on … maybe even into eternity?
• 
  Beth Cato

  I received an advance copy via NetGalley.
  
  Jennings’s new release is an inventive, diverse tour guide to the afterlife, ranging from world religions to The Good Place to the Marvel Universe. Each chapter is a quick, snappy read, many only three or so pages in length, with a few more prolonged and detailed. To use an irresistible pun, the book is enlightening. There were several faiths and media-based afterlives I knew nothing about, and I appreciated Jennings’s tone. His humor can be dry, but there is never a sense that he is picking on someone.
• 
  Laina Johnston

  This book is a fabulous way to learn a little snippet about various eschatologies and afterlife trivia featured in both global religions and pop culture. For readers who like Ken Jennings, gaining “fun facts” knowledge, or readers in general who just like reading fun things ✔️
• 
  Tim Armstrong

  This was fine. Kind of interesting. Only read it because I like the author.
• 
  Cassandra Manning

  Such a unique concept! Hilariously engaging, instantly likable, bite-sized chapters you can easily come back to. I highly recommend this book as a gift as well!
• 
  Lauren

  A perfectly enjoyable book of history, religion, and pop culture with a fun conceit. Ken Jennings was on his way to a vacation when he spotted a book in one of those kitschy airport bookstores - 100 Places to See Before You Die! But it was upside down, and he mistakenly read it as 100 Places to See AFTER You Die. Of course, he thought that would be a great concept for a book, a sampling of humanity’s collective depictions of what happens in the afterlife, framed as a travel guidebook.
  
  Ken covers mythology, religion, books, movies, TV, and music, with topics such as Valhalla, Gehenna, Aslan’s Country, Dante’s Inferno, Field of Dreams, San Junipero from Black Mirror, My Mother the Car, Coco, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and so many more. Some of the earlier chapters are long, the later pop culture chapters are sometimes just a few pages.
  
  Although Jennings writes these assuming the reader has no familiarity with each topic, I definitely enjoyed the sections that I had already seen/read/had prior familiarity with much more. He covers material that spans ancient mythology to pop culture as recent as Upload, the 2020 Amazon Prime show, so you’ll undoubtedly find something you haven’t seen before. Regardless, Ken is an excellent writer whose words are engaging and funny all the way through, and the “Traveler’s Tips,” “Where to Stay,” and “What to See” sections make the book fun.
  
  This would definitely make a great gift or coffee table book, something to peruse through when you want a laugh or to learn a little. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via NetGalley.
• 
  Sara

  I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
  I am a big fan of Ken Jennings circa Jeopardy and didn't realize he was such an accomplished author with so many books under his belt. The title of this book definitely made me want to read it. However, it's a hard book to read straight through. I see it more as a coffee table book that someone will pick up and read a couple of sections rather than zip through it in a straight line as I attempted to do. It has some humor, but is mostly a pretty straightforward telling of what people/civilizations around the world throughout time have come up with to explain what happens after we die.
• 
  Sara Planz

  There's one thing in the world we are all going to face eventually, and that is death. But what happens in the afterlife and why are there so many versions of the story? Ken Jennings takes a quirky look at the great thereafter in "100 Places to See After You Die". Written in the style of a travel guide, Jennings takes the reader on an exploration of the worlds to come. Ranging from mythology to religion to pop culture, Jennings lays out 100 different possibilities and makes it informative and entertaining at the same time. Witty and decidedly satirical, this book is a fun look at what might happen when our worldly bucket lists are over.
• 
  Gabriela Hammersmith

  This books reads like a satire travel guide, which I absolutely loved.
  
  The sarcasm in the book was hilarious, the puns absolutely genius.
  
  Not only was this book entertaining, but also very interesting. I was making a list of the places mentioned in this book because I wanted more information about them, I added new books to my list that were listed in this book, as well as movies. I ended up with quite a list.
  
  I will be adding his other books to my never ending TBR list because his writing had me so entertained, and I learned a thing or two. This author is hilarious.
  
  Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and the author for giving me a chance to win an ARC copy of this book.
• 
  Irene

  As entertaining as it is informative, this book takes us on a tour of what some of the world's religions tell us about the afterlife, to the depictions of the afterlife in books, movies, tv shows, music and games. As far as travel guides go, it includes a lot of very unappealing options, but I guess it's best to be forewarned.
• 
  Sarah

  I’m so bummed that I’m not loving this. I want to love it! I love the premise and I love Ken Jennings but this is just underwhelming me right now.
• 
  Sarah

  Pulling from Norse mythology to the iconic film "Field of Dreams" and everything in between, Ken Jennings takes the reader through 100 different possible "afterlives" go visit in his newest book, which is as informative as it is funny. It is abundantly clear the sheer magnitude of research that went into creating this book, and Jennings lays it all out for the "still living" in ways that are easily understandable and make you want to keep reading.
  
  This was an absolute joy to read (not someone one usually says about death!) and could easily be updated and expanded as time continues its never ending march forward. I would absolutely recommend this book to others - you'll be shocked by how much you learn without realizing it! (I've had many of Ken's books on my TBR for quite a while, but this was my first to cross off the list. I'm very excited to continue through his catalog of seemingly unending knowledge.)
• 
  Hobart

  ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
  This originally appeared at
  The Irresponsible Reader.
  ---
  WHAT'S 100 PLACES TO SEE AFTER YOU DIE ABOUT?
  Ken Jennings provides a handy tour guide through one hundred visions of the afterlife for the modern reader. Complete with tips on places to see, areas to avoid, local lingo, bits of trivia, dining tips, and so on, it's just the kind of thing you're going to want to peruse before you shuffle off this mortal coil, so you know where to go.
  
  The book is broken down into: Mythology, Religion, Books, Movies, Music and Theater, and Miscellaneous. Then (alphabetically) Jennings looks at a variety of afterlife locales in each category.
  
  For example, the Books section covers:
  

  Aslan’s Country • The Bridge • The Cemetery • The Empyrean • The Five Lessons • Half-Life • The Inbetween • Inferno • The Kingdom • King’s Cross • Mansoul • The Null • Pandemonium • Paradiso • The Parish • Purgatorio • Riverworld • The Third Sphere • The Time Bubble • The Undying Lands • The Valley of the Shadow of Life*

  
  * From Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and The Great Divorce; O'Connor's story "Revelation"; Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo; Milton's Paradise Lost; Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven; Dick's Ubik; Sebold's The Lovely Bones; Dante's The Divine Comedy; Twain's "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven"; Rowling's Harry Potter; Moore's Jerusalem; King's Revival; O'Brien/O'Nolan's The Third Policeman; Farmer's Riverworld; Matheson's What Dreams May Come; Oliver's The Time Bubble; and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
  
  Jennings describes each place with wit, humor, Dad Jokes, puns, irreverence, and plenty of facts.
  
  DANCING THROUGH A MINEFIELD
  It's one thing to talk about places like Valhalla, Hades, The Bad Place, Bill & Ted's Bogus destination, or Futurama's Robot Hell in a light-hearted or flippant fashion. It's an entirely different can of worms to discuss the LDS Three Kingdoms of Glory, Jannah, Jahannam, Ariel Toll Houses/Telonia, and so on—in the same tone.
  
  I will not say that Jennings was able to fully succeed in discussing the afterlives described in some major religions in an unoffensive manner. Primarily because I'm not an adherent of any of the religions he discussed, so my tolerance for that is really high. Had he tackled something I believe in, I very well could've been at risk of insult.
  
  That said, I think he did okay. Yes, he walks close to irreverent. But he maintains a decent degree of respect. The humor largely comes from the way he describes the beliefs not at the expense of an article of faith.
  
  Still, some people might want to skip over a chapter or two if they're worried about getting their toes stepped on. (but those people probably aren't going to be reading this book in the first place)
  
  A FEW HIGHLIGHTS
  Ohhh, there are just so many.
  
  The Books section was my favorite—followed closely by Movies and Television—this is the kind of thing I blog about, think about, and so on, so it makes sense that those sections resonated with me most. The Books section, in particular, discussed portions of those works in ways I could really sink my teeth into.
  
  But there were multiple highlights in each section—I learned a lot about D&D, I couldn't help singing "Ghost Riders in the Sky" during that chapter, I think he pointed out a good plot hole in It's a Wonderful Life (I don't know, maybe he's not the first), I loved the discussion of Bosch's paintings, and so on.
  
  The chapter on The Good Life was fantastic—a great systemization of the series' take on the afterlife (and several characters). The chapter on Nirvana was sublime.
  
  Books, movies, mythologies, songs, etc. that I've never heard of, much less, read/watched/listened to/studied were described in enough detail that I could appreciate those chapters and maybe even develop an interest in following up on.
  
  PROBLEMS/QUIBBLES/THINGS THAT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME
  Um. Hold on, I'll think of something.
  
  ...
  
  ...
  
  oh! Here's a problem: the eARC came with the typical "don't quote from this version until verified by the published edition" warning—but it was more pronounced than usual. I really want to use samples throughout this post, but I can't. (and I wouldn't have even without this warning, because I know things get tweaked in the final stages).
  
  Actually, I do have a legitimate gripe. There are no footnotes—or even endnotes*—for anything that Jennings says. Most of what the book contains could fall into the category of "General Knowledge" (at least for people who know anything about The Good Place, Dante, or the religion of the Maori). But I wouldn't have minded a point in the right direction to learn some more details, context, or background on many, many, many things Jennings wrote about.
  
  * It's been decades since I haven't asked why a book uses endnotes when footnotes exist, and yet I'd have liked to have them in this book more than the nothing we got. That's how much this bothers me.
  
  I CAN'T HELP PONDERING...
  Given the argument of Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture by Ken Jennings, I wonder about his approach to the subject of the afterlife. Sure, even Planet Funny was frequently funny as it critiqued the overuse of humor in our culture, but for his next book to take this tone, seems to undercut the work.
  
  Or maybe it just shows that even as he can look with clear eyes at some of the weaknesses of our culture, he's part of it and is subject to the influences. It's almost like he's human.
  
  SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT 100 PLACES TO SEE AFTER YOU DIE?
  This section is going to be shorter than usual because I think I've pretty much answered the question already.
  
  From the "throwaway lines" to the big ideas, this was a delight from start to finish. I thoroughly enjoyed this approach to the subjects—quick hits that tell you the essentials and make you smile while telling them.
  
  Jennings' style is one I aspire to, and can't say enough good things about.
  
  I can't think of a reason not to give this 5 Stars, but my gut tells me not to. So I'll knock it down to 4 1/2 (which isn't a big deal since Goodreads, NetGalley, etc. won't let me use 1/2 stars, I'll round up). It's educational, it's entertaining, and it's thought-provoking. You can't go wrong with this.
  
  Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Scribner via NetGalley in exchange for this post and my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.
• 
  Megan

  Broken down into sections on Mythology, religion, books, movies, and more this book was entertaining and educational tour through the underworld. Laid out like your traditional travel guide this title gives brief overviews for each location as well as traditional travel guide fare like "must see" and "places to stay". You will see many familiar places as well as some new ones. One of my favorite things about reading nonfiction is finding one that makes me want to learn more about the topic, and this one had me adding a couple of books to my "to be read" list and a couple of movies to my "watch list".
  
  You can read the book straight through (I did) or pick and choose what you are interested in, either way this a great book to prepare you for the last let down.
• 
  Jessica

  As some one fascinated with death practices and culture this was a fun and interesting book. Each section focuses on a different description of the afterlife from religion, mythology, books, music, etc. This is by no means all inclusive, but it shows the highlights and the humorous narrative style keeps it fun (without dropping into disrespectful). I appreciated the broad range of cultures that are highlighted (not just Western or religious examples) and there are many that I bookmarked to learn more about.
  
  I think this is a great book for anyone interested in death culture and a great conversation starter (as a coffee table book for even for a book club).
  
  Copy from netgalley
• 
  Diane

  Ken Jennings, the author, narrated this book himself. Usually I'm not a big fan of that, but I enjoyed his reading.
  
  I am fascinated with religion in general (I minored in comparative religion in college) and with beliefs about the afterlife in particular. So this book was right up my alley. Initially I was a little disappointed with the "100"- part of this- that's a LOT of ground to cover and the result is a book that teases each afterlife more than really getting deeply into it. We get very little info. Otoh, this IS a travel guide and not a textbook, and travel guides don't give voluminous amounts of info about their destinations either. So, once I got into the swing of it, I really had fun. I haven't watched Jeopardy since the 1990's so I hadn't really heard of Ken Jennings. I was happily surprised to find that he is very funny- and this was certainly the funniest book I've ever read about the afterlife. For an example of the humor and the tone of the book, here's an excerpt of Jenning's take on "Rock n Roll Heaven" (this book doesn't JUST cover religious afterlives!):
  
  

  "Is rock n roll heaven a subdivision of regular heaven or its own discrete artist's-only world? The song stubbornly resists theological enquiry..."

  "The bridge of the song suggests that there is a spotlight waiting for you there as well, because everyone's a star, raising the horrifying possibility that rock n roll heaven is actually some kind of karaoke stage."

  
  The funniest parts of the book touch on afterlives as they are portrayed in music, movies (like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "All Dogs Go To Heaven"), plays (like "Cats"), and television (think "The Good Place" and "The Leftovers"). Even paintings that depict the afterlife get some attention (Hieronymous Bosch needs an afterlife full of therapy!). Books and religion were funny as well, but there was a bit more meat to these, obviously. I was happy to learn something, however little and light hearted about some of the religions that my education had ignored, for example: Haitain Vodou, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormonism. Looking at the religions in general, it became really clear that what people want most is to continue (for death not to be the end), to see loved ones who have died again, and to have justice (rewards for the good, punishment for the wicked). Seeing all the ways people have imagined that could happen will always be fascinating to me.
  
  Finally, as to the afterlife as it is portrayed in books, the funniest one to me was Flannery O'Connor's bicycle based afterlife from "The Third Policeman" (which I had never heard of). I also made a note to read "Lincoln in the Bardo"- George Saunders and "Jerusalem"- Alan Moore as both of those sounded intriguing.
  
  The beginning (religions) was the slowest part (it can be harder to make all those descriptions of hells sound funny) and I didn't love the section referencing art as I'm mostly an artwork heathen and didn't know much about any of the works he referenced. However, the book overall was light hearted and funny, informative (by making me curious to read more about different religions and check out some books that were otherwise not on my radar), and definitely useful to anyone who ever plans to travel to an afterlife. "A-"