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allowvera's review against another edition
3.0
Oof, this is a hard book to rate. I love the Hellraiser film and so I decided to pick this up. While, it didn't disappoint it is worth noting it is nothing like the film. After doing research, since this book thoroughly confused the hell out of me at first, apparently Barker doesn't like to stick to the lore he creates so every book/series you pick up about either the Cennobite/Pinhead will be a little bit different.
That being said, this was a pretty cool book in the end but dear God did it take for fucking ever to get there (hence the 3 star rating). At first it feels excessively grotesque like Rob Zombie's "Lords of Salem" but in reality I would say it compares closer to an Anne Rice gothic feel without actually being it. I am sure there is a better way to describe it but my baby brain is allowing me to come up with it...
If you can trudge through the first third of the book and get past the weird set up to the story with no explanation, it begins to piece together and present a pretty unique hellscape full of disturbing imagery, imaginative magic, and naked 8 foot tall Lucifer.
*Trigger warning for those who may need it, it does contain rape. It isn't particularly gratuitous or heavily described but it is there quite a few times none the less. *
That being said, this was a pretty cool book in the end but dear God did it take for fucking ever to get there (hence the 3 star rating). At first it feels excessively grotesque like Rob Zombie's "Lords of Salem" but in reality I would say it compares closer to an Anne Rice gothic feel without actually being it. I am sure there is a better way to describe it but my baby brain is allowing me to come up with it...
If you can trudge through the first third of the book and get past the weird set up to the story with no explanation, it begins to piece together and present a pretty unique hellscape full of disturbing imagery, imaginative magic, and naked 8 foot tall Lucifer.
*Trigger warning for those who may need it, it does contain rape. It isn't particularly gratuitous or heavily described but it is there quite a few times none the less. *
br1sr3alm's review against another edition
3.0
Great opening that fizzled into a journeyman story left dangling for sequel possibilities. Read like a feature with many unanswered questions. I enjoyed it, but it is definitely not his best.
renee_ng's review
has no one tried holding a really strong magnet to pinhead’s head? just asking
frankoctopus's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
scottjp's review against another edition
1.0
The first thing that you should know is that this is not the epic you have been waiting for.
The story, as much as there is one: The Hell Priest (don't call him the P-name) has had enough. He wants to do his own thing, so he murders his order and cuts a swath through Hell on the way to his final destination. He wants detective Harry D'Amour to chronicle this fall and kidnaps one of his friends so that he has to follow him round.
The bulk of the novel is basically a long chase scene.
But worse than the lack of plot is the actual quality of the prose. The book starts out with a great prologue in which the Cenobite tracks down the last of a network of magicians and takes them apart in his own special way. It's a wonderful sequence, frightening and with a dark humor that doesn't detract from the horror. After that it goes straight to hell, metaphorically as well as literally. The writing, in particular the dialogue, becomes so atrocious that it feels like they dug up Richard Laymon, sat his remains down in front of a typewriter, and forced it to work without pay. But seriously, was most of this book ghost-written? That's how jarring the shift in quality and style is.
Barker has long expressed his hatred of the name "Pinhead" (and I don't blame him) but if this book was an attempt to reclaim the character, then it has failed. Being canon, it's done more to wreck his mythology than any number of bad direct-to-video movies could ever do.
The story, as much as there is one: The Hell Priest (don't call him the P-name) has had enough. He wants to do his own thing, so he murders his order and cuts a swath through Hell on the way to his final destination. He wants detective Harry D'Amour to chronicle this fall and kidnaps one of his friends so that he has to follow him round.
The bulk of the novel is basically a long chase scene.
But worse than the lack of plot is the actual quality of the prose. The book starts out with a great prologue in which the Cenobite tracks down the last of a network of magicians and takes them apart in his own special way. It's a wonderful sequence, frightening and with a dark humor that doesn't detract from the horror. After that it goes straight to hell, metaphorically as well as literally. The writing, in particular the dialogue, becomes so atrocious that it feels like they dug up Richard Laymon, sat his remains down in front of a typewriter, and forced it to work without pay. But seriously, was most of this book ghost-written? That's how jarring the shift in quality and style is.
Barker has long expressed his hatred of the name "Pinhead" (and I don't blame him) but if this book was an attempt to reclaim the character, then it has failed. Being canon, it's done more to wreck his mythology than any number of bad direct-to-video movies could ever do.
zenerat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
liam_s's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
alyx30's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
summerseeds's review against another edition
4.0
Really good until the end. The ending was a total let down.