Amazon Customer: Barker dosen’t waste anytime getting to the horror/action in this one. For an author who often over writes this is an excellent exercise in brevity. Love the idea and almost wished he spent more time delving into the world/lore of the Cenobites. Good fun horror.
United States on Sep 24, 2023
Dylan: Totally a hell yeah
Australia on Aug 01, 2023
Rodrigo Rego: If you’re into the horror romance type novels, this is a must have, one of the most powerfull books in terms of lyric resources in my opinion, the way clive barker uses the simple words to make such a strong enviroment is fundamental.
Spain on Jun 20, 2023
Chris Thomas: I watched Hellraiser just a few years after it came out and was taken aback by its originality. The Scarlet Gospels is up next!
United Kingdom on Mar 18, 2023
niklas: One of Clive Barker's masterpieces.
Sweden on Mar 05, 2023
Sam Quixote: Spooky box summons spookier demons who wants to suck on souls cos theys spooky demons what sucks on souls! Then soulless victim haunts house of newlyweds - for blood! Ready to get stoopid? Here’s The Spiky Heart Thing!
The Hellbound Heart is the book that the iconic ‘80s horror movie Hellraiser was based on (if you’ve not seen it, you’ve probably seen the image of the dude with spikes in his head). I didn’t like the movie at all but I thought I’d give Clive Barker’s novel a shot as I’ve never read any of them before. And, like his movies, I won’t be rushing to experience another one again soon - The Hellbound Heart is dumb and boring!
Barker is just not a very good storyteller. He doesn’t really explain who or what the Cenobites are - they’re “theologians of the Order of the Gash” (heh) but that’s meaningless twaddle - while the other characters are a parade of one-note, paper-thin cutouts. Frank, the Cenobites’ first victim, just wants to get laid. Rory is a flatline whose wife, Julia, falls out of love with him at the drop of a hat and begins doing what she’s doing for Frank for beyond unconvincing reasons.
And who the hell is...
United Kingdom on Feb 02, 2023
Negan 88: I started this read with such fervor! I absolutely love Clive’s work! As I read the book I was intrigued at how much I missed that was different from the film when I read it years ago. Therefore, after I breakdown the novella I decided I would compare it to the film. But first the novella by itself.
I have to admit it was a different journey reading this at 32 in comparison to my early 20’s and younger. I suppose possibly I have become more familiar with the film since then. (It is one of my favorites).
The plot is very simple, yet it grabs your attention at the very moment Frank is introduced in the beginning chapter. It has a very mysterious quality to what actually happened to him once he opens the Lemarchand Configuration. Not until later does it become apparent.
Once the box is opened the Cenobites, although independent, seem to have a oneness. It is also interesting that the Cenobites really don’t feel as menacing, or evil as Frank is in the novel.
Julia seems to be a holier than thou type of human. She sees others as inferior, and also has the air of what she wants she gets. In other words a B*^$&. Turning into an evil B*^$& later...
United States on Jul 15, 2020
Noah C. Patterson: Some of the darkest stories with the most exceptional writing are the shorter ones. The need for a lengthy novel isn't necessary for telling a good story--specifically a good horror story. Clive Barker's novella, The Hellbound Heart, is one of the finest examples of a brilliant, mystical, and harrowing story told in a shorter format.
Thanks to the development of the e-book and devices such as Kindle and Nook the writing form of novellas and even novelettes are finally coming back into vogue. These types of stories you can sit down and read in one to three reading sessions. This would be in lines with Edgar Alan Poe's criticism of literature. He believed and wrote that good literature should be brief. A reader should be able to sit a read a story in one sitting therefore receiving a full experience without interruptions.
But Clive Barker was one man who was writing novellas before the rise of the internet. Clive Barker stands as one of the most influential and versatile horror author's of the modern age. And likely his most well known and influential books is The Hellbound Heart.
Most fans of the horror genre will know this little story for its film adaptation...
United States on Nov 23, 2015
| Clive Barker's "The Hellbound Heart": A Gripping, Unforgettable Novel | Stephen King's Joyland: An Illustrated Edition of the Classic Thriller | "The Chilling Tale of a Boy Raised by Ghosts: Neil Gaiman's 'The Graveyard Book'” | |
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| B2B Rating |
89
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97
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96
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| Sale off | $2 OFF | $12 OFF | |
| Total Reviews | 105 reviews | 279 reviews | 174 reviews |
| Paperback | 164 pages | 368 pages | |
| British & Irish Horror | British & Irish Horror | ||
| Dimensions | 5.31 x 0.4 x 8 inches | 5.83 x 1.12 x 8.82 inches | 5.12 x 1.02 x 7.62 inches |
| Item Weight | 5.6 ounces | 1.06 pounds | 12.5 ounces |
| Occult Fiction | Occult Fiction | ||
| ISBN-10 | 0061452882 | 1783295325 | 0060530944 |
| Ghost Fiction | Ghost Fiction | Ghost Fiction | Ghost Fiction |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0061452888 | 978-1783295326 | 978-0060530945 |
| Language | English | English | English |
| Best Sellers Rank | #8 in British & Irish Horror#35 in Ghost Fiction#99 in Occult Fiction | #243 in Ghost Fiction#315 in Hard-Boiled Mystery#1,696 in Murder Thrillers | #15 in Ghost Fiction#33 in Children's Spine-Chilling Horror#102 in Children's Fantasy & Magic Books |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5/5 stars of 6,279 ratings | 4.5/5 stars of 16,924 ratings | 4.7/5 stars of 14,402 ratings |
| Publisher | Harper Perennial; Reissue edition | Hard Case Crime; Illustrated edition | HarperCollins; Reprint edition |
United States on Sep 29, 2023