Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker

3 reviews

lancemama's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Excrement and Vomit

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Police brutality

islabjb's review against another edition

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

If you watch Saw 3 high on Benadryl while someone explains the Protestant Reformation to you- you will have a similar experience to reading this book. 

Is this book at all related to the Hellbound Heart? No. Is it related to the Hellraiser films? No. Is Kirsty Cotton in it? No. Does this book tell you that Lucifer’s favorite food is pizza? Yes. I considered giving up on this book many times mostly because the first 40% is totally inconsequential to the plot and is just gore for seemingly the sake of being gorey. Pinhead is a totally different character from the movies and first book. I don’t think he is Elliot Spencer in this version because I don’t know what cannon this book follows, but the movie and hellbound heart ‘hell priest’ had a moral code, that was his whole shtick, you open the box- he’ll mess with you otherwise he doesn’t care. This Pinhead just tortures people for no reason, and his actions are inconsequential- by the end he is able to escape death/the devil, and seemingly manifest himself anywhere (not manifest himself with the bells and the lament configuration like previously but just randomly show up behind the protagonists) that is convenient. I know that we are all supposed to worship Clive Barker as this horror god and I do believe he has done a lot of the genre but this wasn’t it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Rape, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Homophobia, and Abortion

seanhussey's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

I don't normally rate books this low. If I don't like a book, I try to chalk it up to a difference in style or perhaps I set my expectations incorrectly. This story is just bad. And after I read several reviews saying as much, I still went ahead and read it and I wish I hadn't wasted my time. If you're on the fence about reading this book, check out some other reviews before you decide. To each their own, but, wow, this was silly and much too self-serious.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail