Rating: 
Summary: Exhilirating and Enjoyable
Review: Peter Straub is a fantastic writer, and THe Hellfire Club is a wonderful book. It belongs most to the thriller category, and his subtle use of language dwarfs that of thriller authors Patterson and Harris. Frim page one, Straub weaves an intricate plot that has echoes of everything from The Magnificent Ambersons (the dysfunctional publishing magnate and family) to The Stepford Wives (the "perfect" suburb of Westerholm). Add in splendid characterizations (no character is two dimensional, no matter how small) and the creepiest serial killer I've ever read in a novel (it's true, he looks just like everyone else...no Buffalo Bill/Hannibal Lecter stuff here), and you've got a thinking man's thriller.Is it a literary mystery disguised at a thriller? OR a thriller disguised as a literary mystery? You be the judge. I found it to be simply excellent. 4 1/2 stars out of five; five being reserved for books like Cat's Cradle or Ulysses...
Rating:
Summary: Exhilirating and Enjoyable
Review: Peter Straub is a fantastic writer, and THe Hellfire Club is a wonderful book. It belongs most to the thriller category, and his subtle use of language dwarfs that of thriller authors Patterson and Harris. Frim page one, Straub weaves an intricate plot that has echoes of everything from The Magnificent Ambersons (the dysfunctional publishing magnate and family) to The Stepford Wives (the "perfect" suburb of Westerholm). Add in splendid characterizations (no character is two dimensional, no matter how small) and the creepiest serial killer I've ever read in a novel (it's true, he looks just like everyone else...no Buffalo Bill/Hannibal Lecter stuff here), and you've got a thinking man's thriller. Is it a literary mystery disguised at a thriller? OR a thriller disguised as a literary mystery? You be the judge. I found it to be simply excellent. 4 1/2 stars out of five; five being reserved for books like Cat's Cradle or Ulysses...
Rating: 
Summary: Hated it, couldn't get into it, needlessly complex
Review: Peter Straub is at his best when writing with another author, I assume because the other authors are able to cut through some of his verbosity. The man just doesn't know when to stop piling on the details, until the reader is drowning in a sea of unnecessary information written in an extremely turgid style. I frankly don't understand this writer's appeal
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent. Not Straub's best novel, but my favourite.
Review: Peter Straub is far and away my favourite author, and this - while not his best novel - is my favourite one. I've just recently finished reading it for a third time, and I absolutely adore it. There's so much to savour. I have so many favourite parts - the history behind "Night Journey" (which is obviously reminiscent of "The Lord of the Rings") like Paddi Mann and The Hellfire Club of the title, Dick Dart's wonderfully twisted campness, Daisy freaking out at Nora's opinions of her sprawling novel (the Poison family are very funny!), the brief but intense flashbacks to Nora's Vietnam experiences, the story of Katherine Mannheim, Davey being reduced to a child by his father, the excellent finale in Shorelands, and ... oh, so much more! One of my friends thought Dick Dart was too unbelievable to be scary, but I disagree. His over-the-topness certainly makes him scarier and a change from the usual brooding, boring sociopaths in most other novels of the same themes. I highly recommend this excellent novel. If you've read Straub before, you'll love it. If you've never read him before, it makes the perfect introduction to his world.
Rating:
Summary: Best book by favorite author
Review: Peter Straub is my favorite author, and this novel is certainly his best. Full of suspense and intriguing twists of the plot, this book will fully capture your attention. If you like Peter Straub, don't pass this one up. You may also want to read Peter Straub's Mystery and Floating Dragon; they are captivating.
Rating:
Summary: I Love Nora
Review: Peter Straub, like Stephen King, to my mind, is at his best when he is not doing straight horror. Case in point: "The Hellfire Club", which has at its center, one Nora Chancel. I love Nora because she is a survivor, a pure heroine. In a story of good and evil, she is kidnapped, abused, sexually tormented, and yet, strangely coddled, in a perverse sort of way, by one of the darkest sick-os ever to drop out of Straub's pen. This is the story of a story ("Night Journey") - who wrote it, who didn't, who stole it, who killed for it. Tie in one Dick Dart, a serial killer who was born in the darkest recesses of Straub's imagination and we are, as Bette Davis would say, "in for a bumpy ride". For Straub has created a villan who is the most sadistic, vile, malevolent creature this side of Hannibal Lector. Every time he said "Nora-pie", chills ran up my spine and I heard, in my mind, "Hello Clarice". Don't get me wrong, this is a horror story, but it is about the horror within our own souls. It's a page-turner and you have to love Nora. I did. To paraphrase a song done by the late Artie Shaw, I had it bad and that ain't good. But "The Hellfire Club", that's good. Plenty good indeed.
Rating:
Summary: I Love Nora
Review: Peter Straub, like Stephen King, to my mind, is at his best when he is not doing straight horror. Case in point: "The Hellfire Club", which has at its center, one Nora Chancel. I love Nora because she is a survivor, a pure heroine. In a story of good and evil, she is kidnapped, abused, sexually tormented, and yet, strangely coddled, in a perverse sort of way, by one of the darkest sick-os ever to drop out of Straub's pen. This is the story of a story ("Night Journey") - who wrote it, who didn't, who stole it, who killed for it. Tie in one Dick Dart, a serial killer who was born in the darkest recesses of Straub's imagination and we are, as Bette Davis would say, "in for a bumpy ride". For Straub has created a villan who is the most sadistic, vile, malevolent creature this side of Hannibal Lector. Every time he said "Nora-pie", chills ran up my spine and I heard, in my mind, "Hello Clarice". Don't get me wrong, this is a horror story, but it is about the horror within our own souls. It's a page-turner and you have to love Nora. I did. To paraphrase a song done by the late Artie Shaw, I had it bad and that ain't good. But "The Hellfire Club", that's good. Plenty good indeed.
Rating:
Summary: HELLFIRE AND KITTEN'S BRITCHES
Review: Straub, who has written two of my favorite books--"Ghost Story" and "Floating Dragon" is at his top literary form in this book. Although not one of his best, it is a superlative story filled with many twists and unusual characters. No synopsis; it's already out there. A good book, though.
Rating:
Summary: HELLFIRE AND KITTEN'S BRITCHES
Review: Straub, who has written two of my favorite books--"Ghost Story" and "Floating Dragon" is at his top literary form in this book. Although not one of his best, it is a superlative story filled with many twists and unusual characters. No synopsis; it's already out there. A good book, though.
Rating:
Summary: UTTERLY, UTTERLY ADDICTIVE
Review: Straubs latest book, leapfogs over any other book published by his dear friend, the increadibly over rated, Stephen King. Dick Dart, is a most orginal character, in a twisted, sick, phycopathic way.
Great twists, even better characters, with evil sins and shadowy pasts.
"This world is populated by ingrates, morons, assholes and those beneath them." So true.
Straubs finest to date. Brav
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