HELLHOLE

Poor Max. All he was doing was digging for fossils when a perfectly round, seemingly bottomless sinkhole opened in front of him. MacLeod Andrews is hilarious as he delivers this darkly funny tale about a boy who finds Satan living in his basement. Satan (or, in this incarnation, Burg) is usually big, red, and has horns, but this one--and there are 666 of them--is wearing a velour tracksuit, eating junk food, and screaming at the TV. Andrews's growly, juicy sounds make Burg sound as if he's a heavy smoker, yet Andrews also manages to sound absolutely adolescent as teenaged Max. Although the story's not big on character development, Gina Damico's wit makes it worthwhile. Andrews's performance makes it even better. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2015]