Rating: 
Summary: Seventeen cassettes later. . .
Review: Frank Muller's breathless monotone, punctuated with bad Bela Lugosi impersonations does nothing to improve this over-long ghost story. If the author's intention was to make Anne Rice read like Mother Goose, he succeeded, but only with his repetitive detail of every excess, moral deviation, grotesque sexual practice and vile genetic atrocities. The text needed a heavy handed editor. Twelve cassettes would have told the story(e.g. why devote almost an entire cassette to the details of the death of a pet who had no role to play in moving the story along, and failed in its attempt to portray the "hero" as "human"). Barker has no way with words, belabors the plot and certainly has no idea how to wrap things up!This is the first book by this author I've read, and frankly, it will be the last.
Rating: 
Summary: Oddly Touching.
Review: I think what the whole book is really about is fame. Fame and the consequences of fame and the consequences of losing fame. The virtual reality of the "Devil's Country", that all of Hollywood's ghosts are trying to get back into for it's magical properties... In other words, "The Devil's Country" and Hollywood are, much like how he describes Cold heart Canyon as running parallel to Coldwater, one and the same. A place where one can, if lucky, be made to feel as high as a mountain, as beautiful as a flower and as content as a bear with a a pot of honey However, again, like Hollywood, the Devil's Country is only made of tile, paint and light. Much like a one sided house on a backlot, there's not much there... Viewing "Cold heart Canyon as less of a horror story and more as a dissertation of the downfall of fame makes the book a rewarding and at times touching experience. It leaves one with the idea that a place that was from the beginning made to bring pleasure to make dreams come true can also do the exact opposite of that.
Rating:
Summary: Boo! from Hollywierd
Review: Once again, Clive Barker turns out a masterpiece. Back from some of his softer, more "new agey" work, here's a great read that hits on a number of levels. Okay, so Imagica it's not. But, combine an insider's satire of the Hollywierd world of today and the great silent movie area with liberal touches of lewdness, spirits, demons, and the inevitable ordinary characters that get sucked into unexpected roles, and you have a highly enjoyable piece of reading.
Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST BOOK I'VE READ IN A LONG TIME !
Review: One of Clive Barker's best works. It was hard to put this book done, but i'd find myself doing so after every few chapters just to keep the suspense going a little while longer. I hated to see this book end ! Just where he could have actually ended the book he goes even futher with it. Really makes you think about what Hollywood and the "stars" are all about. It is truely a wonderful book !
Rating: 
Summary: Is Clive Barker following a formula?
Review: Well, I just finished all 672 pages of "Coldheart Canyon," and I have to confess being just a tad disappointed. While each of Clive Barker's novels may have its own unique plot, too frequently it seems he falls back on a familiar device: The Alternate Supernatural Realm. Whether it be the eponymous "Weaveworld," the Dominions of "Imajica," or Quiddity in "The Great and Secret Show," these are fantastic worlds populated with all manner of monsters and weirdos that exist just a dream's-breadth from our own. In "Coldheart Canyon" we are given The Devil's Country, a sort of virtual reality created within walls adorned by ancient, enchanted Romanian tiles. Today we find this chamber installed in the bowels of a Hollywood mansion inhabited by Silent Era movie actress Katya Lupi, a woman reminiscent of Gloria Swanson (circa 1920), whose youth and beauty have been remarkably preserved by the supernatural powers of The Devil's Country. Unfortunately the ghosts of many of Hollywood's powerful past producers, actors and actresses have been corrupted and held in the thrall of The Devil's Country as well. Now the seemingly immortal Katya has her sights set on one Todd Pickett, a thirty-something movie heartthrob who feels his career just beginning to go on a downward spiral. True to form, Clive Barker includes some genuinely disturbing erotic imagery in the proceedings, especially in the first two-thirds of the novel, in which he weaves an increasingly ominous and surreal spell around the reader. But in the last third of the novel the narrative starts careening out of control, and I found myself skimming over pages of overwrought and occasionally absurd dialogue. It's also a bit anticlimactic toward the end. In the genre of horror literature this is a pretty good book, but by Clive Barker standards it's only fair. The first story I ever read by Barker was "Dread" (Books of Blood, Vol. 2), and by the time I finished it I was convinced that the author had signed a pact with the Devil; it was that gruesome. So I was happy to read on his website that a future project will be another volume of short stories, something I think he does very well. I would also hope that in the future he might try his formidable narrative skills at a good old fashioned serial killer story or some other real-life horror. It may be time for him to give the old Alternate Supernatural Realm ploy a rest.
Rating:
Summary: forever young
Review: The old Hollywood of the 1930s and 1940s meets the Hollywood of the 21st century. The emphasis is on staying young and the lengths the rich and famous will go to stay young. This book is REALLY CREEPY and will leave you breathless at the end.
Rating:
Summary: Clive Barker Returns to His Twisted Roots
Review: Let's face it, no one tells a story like Clive Barker. Some writers push against boundries, Barker smashes them, then picks them up and kicks them across the block. After reading Galilee, which I enjoyed, I wondered what happened to the mutalations? Where are the horrific, twisted creatures and the detailed depictions of sexual deviance? Well, this book has all of that and more. The story starts off pretty slow, centering around a soon to be washed up Hollywood actor staying at an old mansion in the hills. The story quickly picks up the pace, involving ghosts, a strange room, kinky sex and some other "surprises". Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Barker is clever and imaginative, but missed his mark with his latest novel. The book seized me at the beginning, but soon grew wearisome. Barker strained to drag the story along for the last third of the book until he could finally find closure. I suggest reading some of his previous noteworthy works first and avoiding this one.
Rating:
Summary: Like buttah
Review: This goes down like butter at first. But after a few hundred pages you realize...ick...I'm eating butter.
Rating:
Summary: Coldheart Canyon....
Review: No, this was not his best, but unlike many of the people who reviewed this story, I do not take off points for grammatical errors. All I care about is the story and the story was good although it was very far from Barker's best. That said, this book is still 100 times better than most of the crap on the racks in this genre. I hope he can return to the Barker of years ago, but I don't think any of the writers really can. They peak, and then fall or die. That is the way of things.
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