The Hellbound Heart

Rating:
Summary: Very good!
Review: I loved this book! It inspired the movie series "Hellraiser". I saw the movie! It was just like the book. You should also see the seqeuls of Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, Hellraiser 3: Hell On Earth, and Hellraiser: Bloodline. I heard there is going to be a part 5!

Rating:
Summary: Not much to it
Review: I read Barker's WEAVEWORLD several years ago and loved it. I was also aware that this book was what the HELLRAISER movies were based on. I'd seen bits and pieces of them and found them interesting. Needless to say, I had high expectations for this book. I was a bit disappointed to find that there wasn't much meat to it. The main impetus behind this book was the dichotomy between pleasure and pain. Unfortunately, this intriguing concept, along with the Cenobites (those purveyors of pain as pleasure), was never threshed out to my satisfaction. Yes, the book is full of disturbing images and Barker provides just enough detail and forces the reader to fill in the blanks with their own imagination. Unfortunately, I finished the book feeling a bit empty as far as his ideas behind the concepts he introduced.

In addition to this, the characters that populated the book seemed interesting, but they were not developed enough in order for me to care about them. Each character's individuality was roughly outlined and their interrelationships were hinted at, but not enough to fully realize them in the reader's imagination. Yes, the book weighs in at less than 200 pages, but I've seen Stephen King fully flesh out a character, their motivations and desires, and their relationship with other characters in a story in only a couple of pages. Barker fails to do this almost completely.

I don't mean to bash this book completely. It was interesting and had some intriguing concepts and characters, but, unfortunately, Barker does not do enough with them to get me to care. I finished the book and wished there had been another 200 pages so that he could have filled in what was missing. Maybe I should just write this off to one of his early attempts at structuring a story and pick up another of his books. I don't regret reading it, but, aside from the imagery of the Cenobites and the idea of the box, it's pretty forgettable.

Rating:
Summary: Not much to it
Review: I read Barker's WEAVEWORLD several years ago and loved it. I was also aware that this book was what the HELLRAISER movies were based on. I'd seen bits and pieces of them and found them interesting. Needless to say, I had high expectations for this book. I was a bit disappointed to find that there wasn't much meat to it. The main impetus behind this book was the dichotomy between pleasure and pain. Unfortunately, this intriguing concept, along with the Cenobites (those purveyors of pain as pleasure), was never threshed out to my satisfaction. Yes, the book is full of disturbing images and Barker provides just enough detail and forces the reader to fill in the blanks with their own imagination. Unfortunately, I finished the book feeling a bit empty as far as his ideas behind the concepts he introduced.

In addition to this, the characters that populated the book seemed interesting, but they were not developed enough in order for me to care about them. Each character's individuality was roughly outlined and their interrelationships were hinted at, but not enough to fully realize them in the reader's imagination. Yes, the book weighs in at less than 200 pages, but I've seen Stephen King fully flesh out a character, their motivations and desires, and their relationship with other characters in a story in only a couple of pages. Barker fails to do this almost completely.

I don't mean to bash this book completely. It was interesting and had some intriguing concepts and characters, but, unfortunately, Barker does not do enough with them to get me to care. I finished the book and wished there had been another 200 pages so that he could have filled in what was missing. Maybe I should just write this off to one of his early attempts at structuring a story and pick up another of his books. I don't regret reading it, but, aside from the imagery of the Cenobites and the idea of the box, it's pretty forgettable.

Rating:
Summary: Very good!
Review: I watched "Hellraiser" (the film this novella ended up being) several years ago, and I vividly remember the hideous graphic quality of the violence described on film. In the book, it's just as graphic if not more. Barker dabbles in hellacious imagery, torture, eroticism. It's a very short book but shockingly effective in its purpose of leaving the reader disturbed throughout the story's development, but at the same time anxious to see what will happen. For fans of horror written with style, this is the kind of book that needs to be on their bookshelf.

Rating:
Summary: PINHEAD IS ONE SCARY DUDE
Review: IF YOU LIKED THE HELLRAISER FILM SERIES, YOU MAY BE A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED, BUT JUST A LITTLE. tHE BOOK IS VERY SHORT AND GRAPHIC, BUT THE CHARACTERS ARE VERY UNDERDEVELOPED. I AM BARKER'S BIGGEST FAN, SO IT PAINS ME TO SAY THAT I WOULDN'T PAY A WHOLE LOT FOR THE BOOK. TRY WEAVEWORLD AND THE DAMNATION GAME INSTEAD. THOSE CANNOT BE BEAT BY ANY LIVING HORROR WRITER!

Rating:
Summary: A nice, dark story
Review: If you're into that dark, twisted kind of horror, then you should buy "The Hellbound Heart" by Clive Barker. It's about temptation and giving into it, man's deepest, darkest desires, and the deep, dark places in all our hearts being unleashed into one big nightmare story. The book is short, so it's fast, but it also develops itself pretty well, rather than being one of those stories that is completely and totally devoid of plot and character development. If you don't take graphic violence too well, then the odds are pretty good that you shoudn't read this, but if you can take it, then definitely dig in. "Hellbound Heart" was the basis for the movie "Hellraiser," so if you saw that, the book is much better than the movie. It's a good, twisted story, and I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A miniature gem of horror
Review: Most people believe they have an understanding of what pleasure is. Whether it be the the enjoyment of a fine wine, the exquisite intellectual stimulation of a good novel, or the simple feel of skin against skin, pleasure is something instinctively sought out by the human species. But what is pleasure to one person may not be pleasure to another; there are a wide range of experiences which can arguably be contained withing the broadest definition of the word.

Clive Barker knows this, and he exploits it in his novels; they are constantly filled with pleasures both subtle and gross, satisfying both the higher aspirations of the mind, and the basest depravities desired by the body. His quest for the union of these contradictory elements is on full view in his novella THE HELLBOUND HEART, and it is breathtaking to behold.

HEART circles around the complex puzzle box of Philip Marchand, reputed to open a window to a world of experimentation in the higher levels of pleasure. Frank Cotton craves this world, having tired of the pleasures to be had on Earth. His brother Rory is content to subsist on the meagre pleasures marriage provides him, while his wife Julia has already tired of him. Rory's friend Kirsty pines away for him, desiring nothing so much as simple smile from his lips. Into this simple domestic saga, Barker unleashes a parade of grotesqueries that can only be described as Barkeresque.

Barker is a purveyor of the flesh, the literary equivalent of filmmaker David Cronenberg. He infuses this theme with a gothic, Grand Guignol style of description, visceral in its impact on the reader. He also displays a nuance some would not expect to find in such a genre. His style sways far more towards the literary qualities found in the works of Eric McCormack, Patrick McGrath, and Jim Crace, rather than the lesser likes of Bentley Little and Dean Koontz, whose works sit next to Barker's on the shelves.

Barker adds humanity to insanity with his characterizations, each finely sketched with a minimum of fuss (it is, after all, a novella, and necessarily short). In few words, Barker creates whole souls; Kirsty, the mousy friend; Julia, the scheming temptress; Frank, the greedy and immoral cad. Barker manufactures wholly believable characters, and inserts them into scenes of relentless horror, resulting in true suspense. This elevates him far above most of his genre contemporaries, who forget about characterization, and mistake gore for suspense.

In recent years, Barker has strayed away from the horror genre, branching out into the fantastic realms of IMAJICA and the upcoming ABARAT quartet. While these immense tomes contain multitudes of pleasure, Barker should not forget his roots. THE HELLBOUND HEART is a masterpiece of horror; Barker would do well to revisit the genre.

Rating:
Summary: a book you don't want to end
Review: Ok so this is obviously the inspiration behind Hellraiser which is easily one of the most original and gory horror movies ever. The book is definately Clive's style, and seems to be more descriptive and gory than they could have done for the movie. It's not a full length novel, but it's a good read.

If you're a fan of the Hellraiser movies definately pick this one up. Even if you're not a fan, you should at least be able to appreciate Clive Barker's creativity and originality. And the man has a knack for gore.

Rating:
Summary: The First chapter is engrossing!
Review: The first chapter is just absolutely stunning. No wonder it's a best seller. The last chapter is nearly as brilliant. Unfortunately, that's all this book has. Everything in between is only filler. If only Barker could keep up what he started.

Rating:
Summary: King Who?
Review: The first thing that drew me to Clive's writing was the way the stories effortlessly flowed through his poetic words; something King could never accomplish. This story is as brutal as it is elegant. Within the walls of a London house, a family is literally torn to shreds. From one man's obsession to a woman's desires, to the evil of Frank to the ulta-shocking perversity of the Cenobites. Passion and hunger; pain and pleasure. Dare yourself to pick it up, but I'd double-dare you to put it down.