Rating: 
Summary: Just remember Clive has written great ones.
Review: The only thing worse than the style and content of this novel was the length of this novel. It was as if this great author knew how bad this was and tried to write his way out of it---I'm sorry to say that he never made it. Oh so predictable one dimensional characters permeate a plot that wanders and never really comes into focus. His attempt to write dark erotica was pitiful and I felt for his futile efforts. If this book could've been half as long it would've been twice as good---but even at that length it still would've been lousy.
Rating: 
Summary: From a devoted fan, "You did it again, Clive"!
Review: I loved this book! It's a great read. It was a hoot that Mr. Barker used real movie stars as characters and the backdrop of Hollywood decadence and fantasy were blended perfectly! I have read all of his novels, and he hasn't disappointed me yet!
Rating: 
Summary: Greatly marred by editorial errors.
Review: Clive Barker, Coldheart Canyon (Harper Collins, 2001)One of the most disappointing things one can come upon is a weak book by one of one's favorite authors. Especially if the book isn't weak by dint of the story, or the writing, or anything else that ordinarily allows for a good slagging. Coldheart Canyon is 98% vintage Clive Barker; weird, quasi-Biblical stuff, compelling characters, the kind of sex that wakes Jesse helms up at 3AM in sweat-soaked sheets. And the 2% that makes the book painful is editorial mistakes. Someone wasn't firing on all cylinders here, though who it was will probably remain a subject of debate among nitpickers until the end of time. Most readers may not even notice the slight logical slips. But we're not getting paid to. The editors at Harper, on the other hand, are, and so is Barker. It was said in a book for kids about monster movies that I read way back when that it's impossible to be scared by King Kong when his rampages are interrupted every fifteen minutes by a deodorant commercial. In the same vein, when the attentive reader finds protagonist Todd Pickett asking an acquaintance of his for the number of a doctor whom he's already called three chapters before-as if he's never had it-the atmosphere drains from the book as if someone had pulled the stopper out of the tub. (And this after one of the book's most emotional scenes.) More galling--and this heresy can be laid squarely at the feet of Messrs. Harper, Collins--the book jacket synopsis contains a major spoiler regarding the fate of one of the other main characters. This is stuff that any entry-level proofreader should be capable of catching. Those things aside, if you can put them aside, Barker has turned out another page-turner. It is unfair to compare any of Barker's other novels to Sacrament, one of the finest novels of the twentieth century; but this compares quite nicely to Galilee or Weaveworld for readability. And while the world Barker spins here is much more contained than the ambitious alternate reality of Weaveworld, it can be just as easy to get lost in...if you're not thrown by the devil who lives in those details. *** ½
Rating:
Summary: How did I hate this? Let me count the ways....
Review: There was so much to dislike about this book I could write a book about it. Right off, the character names revealed the superficiality that was forthcoming. It seems that Mr. Barker wasn't sure of what kind of novel he wanted to write and so the storyline wandered and there was no continuity. His attempt to write erotica was poor and overdone as if someone were telling him to heat up his novels. He was torn between writing a Hollywood tale, a creepy tale and an erotic tale and it turned out to be a bad episode of DARK SHADOWS. I gave this book 2 stars out of respect for the body of work this author has written in the past. This book was a minus. For a thrilling tale about Hollywood, filled with hot erotica and an original storyline, check out OLDE HOLLYWOOD by Thorne Peters. Mr. Barker should write in the style that has brought him to greatness rather than trying to appease outside demands and if he does so I would buy his next book on the spot, because the man is a fantastic author and this one strike should not count him out.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely amazing...
Review: I've been a big Clive Barker fan ever since I first picked up "The Great and Secret Show" (and that is my least favorite since reading all of his other novels). I didn't think that anything he could write would ever top "Weaveworld" either. I was completely blown away by this book. The hollywood satire in this novel is hilarious. There are about a hundred pages that reminded me of a well-written pornographic novel, but then the plot carries on. He could've ended the book with no problem after the villain meets her doom, but he goes on with the aftermath and does so in a way as not to bore the reader to death. Rarely do I have a feeling of closure when I finish a book, but I did with this one. If you liked "Weaveworld" or "Galilee", this book falls somewhere in between. It's definitely worth the read.
Rating: 
Summary: An embarassing read .....
Review: I am not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but this book is nothing more than a poor excuse for near-hardcore porn. What a colossal waste of time! Back in his "Books of Blood" days, Barker showed so much raw talent, but now that he can publish anything he writes, it's almost as if he's toying with the print industry, saying "Ha! I write this [stuff] and you have to print it - and everyone makes a buck!" Do not waste your time or money on this one - it would have made a 3-star short story, but a 700-page novel? I think not.
Rating: 
Summary: A hit from a hit or miss writer
Review: Clive Barker is often categorized as a horror writer, and while he certainly uses some of the elements of the genre (ghosts, etc.), he is a far different writer from a Stephen King, Peter Straub or Dean Koontz. The worlds Barker creates are far more bizarre than anything you see in a standard horror novel; sometimes this works well, but other times, Barker's works are so strange that their very strangeness weakens his stories. In this case, however, Barker has done a fine job in creating his own version of a haunted house story. Having recently read King and Straub's Black House, as well as other older classic haunted house stories such as the Shining (by King) or the Haunting (by Shirley Jackson), I am familiar with the conventions, but Barker is successful in twisting these conventions into new directions. The haunted house in this case is located in an isolated canyon in Los Angeles. A former party house for silent film stars, it has been seeemingly abandoned for years, until a modern movie star retreats there while recovering from plastic surgery. The ghosts of the old stars are still here, drawn to a power within the house; also here is the house's owner, still alive and as young as when she was a silents star herself. The forces in the house are not so much driven by evil as by lust. This creates a sexual explicitness that may turn off some readers who are caught unaware, but it is essential in the context of this story. The main character is not so much threatened with death (although this is always a possibility) as with being seduced by the powers within the house. This is one of Barker's better efforts, a well-written work that - despite its length - I was able to finish in just a couple of reasonably idle days. If there is a flaw in the book, I think it is in the last 100 or so pages, which serve more as an extended epilogue than a true part of the story. Overall, this is a good book, however, and worth the effort for fans of horror or dark fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: This fantastic author has produced 700 pages of dreck
Review: I have read all of Clive Barkers work. When I saw this on the "new in paperback" shelf I snatched it up without hesitation. Clive Barker has several fantastic works, such as Weaveworld, Imajica, The Great and Secret Show > Everville. This is not one of those greats. "Hollywood Ghost Story" - yes. Satire smacking of Ben Elton's Popcorn but rather than the old fashioned kinky lunatic murderers of Elton's work this features soft porn-meets-hardcore beastiality-meets-necrophilia. All this in more than generous portions which exhibit both a lack of original thought and a lack of common decency. This novel is deranged, and anything imaginative seems to be recycled from other Barker novels. Unlike most of Barker's characters in his other novels the characters in Coldheart Canyon generally lack depth. The inclusion of famous characters from history and the implications made of them goes beyond bad taste and might be called: slander. Right, but it's only fiction. Fiction or not I didn't find it necessary to deliberately trash the names of over thirty celebrities as it was done here. The plot? Not much to speak of. Tedious, redundant, and more predictable than most of Barker's work. A few suprises and a few notable change of character personalities that Barker has always done help, but not much to speak of. If you want a good Barker book try Imajica, Weaveworld or Great and Secret Show (followed by Everville which is part II of secret show). This isn't worth the time it takes to read.
Rating:
Summary: Wow... This Was Bad
Review: I've been a Clive fan for quite some time and I was pretty excited to read this book when I received a positive review from a friend. Well, I just finished it and it was a very unsatisfying read. The kink factor in this book is quite high... to the point of being tedious. The Devil's Country was just a retread of previous Barker imaginary worlds. The dog scene, and many others, were not needed. No character was of interest from the narcistic hero and the demonic diva "in love" with the guy she stabs in the next scene, through the reformed agent, to the worst of all... an obese Ripley character. Then there were the plot inconsistencies and the three endings to the book, each ending successively worse... And I thought Stephen King had lost it.
Rating:
Summary: Barker strikes out here
Review: First I will say that I am a big fan of most everything CB has ever done, but this book is a major waste of time. He mentions that it started as a short-story, and honestly, it would have made a good short story. He also mentions that his father's death and his dogs death figured into the story, which is painfully obvious. The book appears to be therapy for Clive, as there are parts that have nothing to do with the plot, but are obvious reflections of real-life and his attempt to deal with his own loses. Overall, as has been said, the editors really needed to take another look at this one again as well. There as some major plot problems (both in flow, appearance of characters, and the order in which things occur) and some major mistakes. On the positive side, the book does start out well, and interesting, there is a piece there that shows it would have been a very good short story. It should have stayed as such rather than being inflated far beyond what was needed.
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