Posted: October 28, 2022
The Hellbound Heart
A refreshingly fast read. But during that time it will suggest things lurking in the shadows, barely glimpsed. And leave you wanting more.
From its first scene when it introduces a strange box that unlocks a path to another world "The Hellbound Heart" gripped me with it's gory details, sensual tidbits, laser-focused storytelling, and it never let go. Clive Barker did not place a single word wrong in this book. Not a single word.
Among its pages you will meet the Cenobites, visitors from another world or perhaps another dimension, of which Barker gives us just enough details to keep them extremely interesting. I'm left trying to speculate on the rest. Their appearance, well, you'll have to read about that, I wasn't able to look away at their utter, morbid, fascinating appearance and to speculate about how and why they look that way. With no answers forthcoming whatsoever. And I don't mind at all. I find that Barker keeping the Cenobites an unsolved mystery is just the perfect way to present them.
You'll meet two brothers Frank and Rory and the woman they're both attracted to, Julia. Julia looks like an angel but she's far from it, and that's the best thing about her. Then there's Kirsty, the girl-next-door who's internal doubts I most empathize with. So these four and that box, that wonderful, terrible box, and the Cenobites that it summons, with these components, Barker weaves the perfect horror tale. So glad I read it.