The Hellbound Heart: A Novel
by Clive Barker
List Price:
Our Price: $6.78
You Save: $5.21 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $6.00 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Clive BarkerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-02
ISBN: 0061452882
Number of pages: 164
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Book Reviews of The Hellbound Heart: A Novel
Book Review: Thrilling
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book as I felt like reading the book that the film, Hellraiser was based on, would help me like the film more than I originally did. I found the film tedious and at times just downright confusing, so to read the book I should not have been surprised to find it was much better than the film in almost every way. The fact that Clive Barker not only wrote the book, but had almost everything to do with the first movie is almost disappointing. It seems to me that the film would have been better if made by a fan of the book and not the author itself, as the film seems to have taken on a more simple view and drawing a lot away from what made the book the exhilarating read I found it to be.
The plot of the book focuses around the object of the Lemarchand Puzzle Box. This puzzle box opens a portal to hell which releases torturous demons known as Cenobites, who reveal themselves to the person who unlocked the puzzle and promise them eternal pleasure, which turns out to be unthinkable sadomasochistic torture. Rory and his wife Julia move into an old house inherited by Rory and his brother Frank from their deceased grandparents. Frank hasn't been seen by Rory since his wedding, but he was in their new home just a year before alone trying to solve the Lament Configuration. Since his solving of the puzzle and meeting the Cenobites, he hasn't been seen since, but that is until Rory cuts his hand thus starting a murderous rampage.
The story is exhilarating from start to finish and at times purely frightening to the point where I expected to be startled at an event I was certain would be coming. Unfortunately that startling event didn't happen, but what did happen was a series of descriptively gifted events that set the tone for a truly great book. The character of Julia is someone I hope I never meet. Although defined as almost biblically beautiful, her dark and sinister lust brought out an evil side that I found myself believing it to be unlikely to exist. Rory is a dorky and forgettable character and the Cenobites don't play a huge role in the book which is surprising, considering the cult status gained by the movie version of the pinhead Cenobite which is in the book also.
The Cenobites seem almost more human in the novel than their movie counterparts which I felt was a let down to what was up to that point a flawless book. You don't expect the demons to converse in a normal and social style, but in this they do tend to take that position especially with their first confused introduction with Frank. Apart from the forgettable Rory, the characters featured within are brilliant in their human reactions to events taking place. Julia is a woman you know has that dark streak but hides it well. Kirsty who in the book takes the form of a neighbour is the caring and curious friend of Rory and Frank of course is the first person to succumb to the wrath of the Cenobites and looks at escaping their grasp by getting his confused lover, Julia to bring him bodies to feed on.
It's a delightful book with all the workings of a true horror, and I think the first Hellraiser could have been much better if Barker hadn't tried changing some of the best parts of the whole book to try and make what he must have thought to be a better movie. If you haven't seen the movie, then I would say give this a go first, and if you like this then try the movie but don't expect a carbon copy.
Summary of The Hellbound Heart: A Novel
Frank Cotton's insatiable appetite for the dark pleasures of pain led him to the puzzle of Lemarchand's box, and from there, to a death only a sick-minded soul could invent. But his brother's love-crazed wife, Julia, has discovered a way to bring Frank back?though the price will be bloody and terrible . . . and there will certainly be hell to pay.
Clive Barker is widely acknowledged as the master of nerve-shattering horror. The Hellbound Heart is one of his best, one of the most dead-frightening stories you are likely to ever read, a story of the human heart and all the great terrors and ecstasies within.
Horror Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Horror Books
Let the Right One In: A Novelby John Ajvide Lindqvist
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2008-10-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus: The 1818 Textby Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 1982-03-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.00
Price in other shops:
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Oxford Bookworms S, Stage 4)by Robert Louis Stevenson
Oxford Univ Pr (Sd); Published: 1991-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.79
Price in other shops:
The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (Oxford Books of Prose)Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2001-11-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $50.00
The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, Book 3)by Stephen King
Penguin Audio; Published: 2003-08-26; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $149.99
![Thinner [UNABRIDGED] Image](/images/Thinner-UNABRIDGED-0140862668-X.jpg){kind=small}
Thinner [UNABRIDGED]by Stephen King
Penguin Audio; Published: 1996-09-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
The Crow: Temple of Nightby S P. Somtow
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 1999-11-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Brains: A Zombie Memoirby Robin Becker
Eos; Published: 2010-05-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.23
Price in other shops:
The Strain LP: Book One of The Strain Trilogyby Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck Hogan
HarperLuxe; Published: 2009-06-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.45
Price in other shops:
Prince of Darknessby Barbara Michaels
HarperTorch; Published: 2005-04-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.60
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Hellraiser Mystery BoxUnknown; Toy
Best price: $20.88
Price in other shops:
In the Fleshby Clive Barker
Pocket Books; Published: 2001-01-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.38
Price in other shops:
Clive Barker's Hellraiser Vol. 1by Clive Barker, Christopher Monfette
BOOM! Studios; Published: 2011-10-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.72
Price in other shops:
Hellbound HeartsPocket; Published: 2009-09-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.36
Price in other shops:
Imajica: Featuring New Illustrations and an Appendixby Clive Barker
Harper Perennial; Published: 2002-08-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.81
Price in other shops:
Cabalby Clive Barker
Gallery Books; Published: 2001-01-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
The Damnation Gameby Clive Barker
Berkley; Published: 2002-11-05; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.38
Price in other shops:
Weaveworldby Clive Barker
Gallery Books; Published: 2001-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.94
Price in other shops:
The Great and Secret Showby Clive Barker
Harper Perennial; Published: 1999-11-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.30
Price in other shops:
Clive Barker's Books of Blood 1-3by Clive Barker
Berkley Trade; Published: 1998-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.39
Price in other shops: