The Hellbound Heart

Rating:
Summary: CLIVE BARKER IS A LITERARY GENIOUS!!!!!!!
Review: This novel is definetily Mr. Barker's most brilliant excursuion into terror. The plot was well constructed, the narrative was beutifully written, and the characters were interesting and very real. However I think the Cenobites were the most facinating aspect of this novel. Clive Barker has created a set of very intriguing demons whose mannerisms are very consistent with standard Christian theology. Not only does the nature of these creatures have a very apealing familiarty but Clive Barker has also interjected his own nightmarish visions into the appearence and behavior of these hellspawn thus creatring demons that are very traditoinal yet unique and original as well. Overall this novel is profoundly disturbing and overwhelmingly macabre It is also very poetic and morbidly entertaing.I particuraly enjoyed the idea of foolish humans like the character of uncle Frank who seek a release from the daily mediocrity of their lives by searching for the ultimate experience. but upon opening the forbidden box and unleashing the Cenobites into their earthly realm they do not encounter boundless pleasures and untold fortunes as they had expected, but are instead greeted by 5 hideous monstosities that have crawled forth from the blackest infernoes of hell. It is then that these creatures grant the mortal's wish by allowing them to experience a sensation that is not in any way pleasurable as they had anticipated but is so overwhelming that it is excruciatengly painful and maddeningly terrifying. Then this person must pay for the unholy experience with their very soul. It is then that they come to the horrible realizattion of hell's forgotten promises and the unbridled pain and suffering of the abyss. Not only is this novel absolutely mindblowing in the ferocity of it's horror but throughout the course of it's intricate plot the author explores some of the darker aspects of humanity such as lust, betrayl, temptation, and, suffering. I strongly reccomend this novel and the films that it inspired to anyone who t! houghroly enjoys exellence in horror fiction . This next section is adressed to the author himself. Dear Mr. Barker as an aspiring novelist and filmmaker as well as a devoted fan I certainly hope that you are able to take time from your grueling schedule so that you may look at these reviews periodically to see what your fans think. It would also bring me great pleasure to know that you have seen my appreciation for your work. - Steven Peluso age 14

Rating:
Summary: very great horror book
Review: Thrilling, suspenseful as well as chilling. For a book its small size it has great detail and a very interessting storyline

Rating:
Summary: An interesting and creative (but flawed) work
Review: Well, I just read this book, and I've come up with a pretty even opinion of it. The character and story holes are a bit noticeable, though, and that detracted from my full enjoyment. Kirsty's relation to Rory, Frank, and Julia is honestly not that clear, even though I presume Rory was Kirsty's father from an earlier marriage. That, and I wanted more examination into the full mix of arrestingly S&M like pain and pleasure imagery that assaulted the first few scenes. But now to the 85% good. Very, very good. This book is an intriguing little masterwork about human greed, desire, erotic sins, ecstasy, and the temptations and evil longings of human nature; all of these are well personified in the vanity and selfish pleasure-seeking of Frank and Julia; two of the best characters I've seen in a while. Besides being a dark and erotic novella about the temptations and ultimate sensations and pleasures locked within the farthest reaches of human nature and the mind, Clive Barker really lets the grotesqueries within his mind roll, and most of the imagery (centered on bones, gruesomely greasy flesh and blood, scraps of skin, and hooks) comes together to create some great and morbidly creative scenes straight from the corners of Clivey's mind. The Cenobytes have an intriguing but minor role, they were exploited to a greater extent in the good film adaptation, Hellraiser, also directed by Barker. This is the first Clive Barker book I've read, and I plan to read some of his longer works.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most imaginary books I ever read.
Review: When I first glanced at the cover, I thought that I would notlike the book. When I had bought the book from the bookstore, I wassurprised. The first ten pages tell you that the book will be good. Although this book is gory and contains a few scenes of sexuality and eroticism, it still has some scenes of imagination. These are on of the reasons I like Clive Barker. He creates creatures beyond the human mind. For example, the demons from hell, led by pinhead. He combines gory violence with sexuality and imaginative monsters. If your are looking for something bizarre, I would recommend this.