The story is set in a world where the existence of God, souls, Heaven, and Hell are obvious and indisputable, and where miracles and angelic visitations are commonplace—albeit not necessarily benevolent.

The story focuses primarily on Neil Fisk, a widower whose wife, Sarah, is killed by the collateral damage of an angel's visitation.

Janice, a motivational and spiritual speaker, is met with a lukewarm response during a meeting after her visitation when she suggests that her gift is a test of her devotion to God rather than a blessing.

[4] In interviews Chiang has explicitly stated that "Hell Is the Absence of God" is "straight fantasy",[5] because it takes place in a universe "in which the scientific method doesn't work".

[8] Robert J. Sawyer and David G. Hartwell described "Hell Is the Absence of God" as the "best single SF story of 2002".

He wrote that despite the story's religious underpinnings, there is no "moralistic Sturm und Drang", and Chiang "does not descend to the finger-wagging one might expect from a liberal intellectual".

[12] Ken Liu wrote "Single-Bit Error", a short story published in 2009, in response to "Hell Is the Absence of God".