Hellbound Hearts

I'm a big Hellraiser fan and couldn't resist buying this book knowing that the stories would be based in some way around the Hellraiser mythology, even if the stories weren't written by Clive Barker. I was not disappointed and it was worth the money. These stories were well written and very imaginative. Incredibly well done!!

Pleasure and pain. That is the foundation in many ways of Barker's Cenobite mythos, and this anthology had both, which I will explain in a moment. First, this book is a collection of new works based on Clive Barker's original short story, The Hellbound Heart, which in turn, inspired Hellraiser. You will NOT see any of the original characters in these stories, including `Pinhead' but you will see a vast collection of wonderful stories by some of the greatest authors of horror. A complete list of authors and stories follows: * Prisioners of the Inferno by Peter Atkins * The Cold by Conrad Williams * The Confessor's Tale by Sarah Pinbrough * Hellbound Hollywood by Mick Garris * Mechanisms by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola * Every Wrong Turn by Tim Lebbon * The Collector by Kelly Armstrong * Bulemia by Richard Christian Matheson * Our Lord of Quarters by Simon Clark * Orfeo the Damned by Nancy Holder * Wordsworth by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean * A Little Piece of Hell by Steve Niles * The Dark Materials Project by Sarah Langan * Demon's Design by Nicholas Vince * Only the Blind Survive by Yvonne Navarro * Mother's Ruin by Mark Morris * Sister Cilice by Barbie Wilde * Santos Del Inferno by Jeffery J. Mariotte * The Promise by Nancy Kilpatrick * However by Gary A Bauneck and Lucy A Snyder * `Tis a Pity He's Ashore by Chaz Brechley ... and an afterword by Doug Bradley who played the Cenobite who is commonly known as Pinhead. The Pleasures: Most of the stories in this book are brilliant. The Confessor's Tale by Sarah Pinbrough and Sister Cilice by Barbie Wilde are both excellent and deal with a common theme. The Cenobites described in Hellbound Hollywood by Mick Garris and Our Lord of Quarters by Simon Clark were both quite disturbing, and the twist ending of The Collector by Kelly Armstrong had me clapping. I loved these stories and many others in this book. It is well worth the money. You can just sense the love that these authors have for the mythos and the pride they take in their stories. The Pain: Well, Wordsworth by Gaiman and McKean is painful. As a comic book collector I am familiar with the depth and wonder of McKean's art. His complicated mixed media art is beautiful... when reproduced correctly. In black and white on newsprint renders his images flat, and some of the words impossible to follow. It's frustrating. Also, the Cold by Conrad Williams left me in the cold, and `Tis a Pity He's Ashore by Chaz Brechley seemed like the wrong story to end with because I kept waiting for the punch or the point, by I was still waiting by the beginning of Bradley's afterword. All in all, this is one of the best horror anthologies to hit the market in years. Highest Recommendations for Barker fans, for horror fans, for those who want to lose sleep at night.

If you are a Hellraiser or Clive Barker fan then buying this book is a no brainer. But I would highly recommend this book to all horror fans. You need not be steeped in Hellraiser Lore to follow these stories at all. Not one of them is a dud, and it has turned me on to several authors I had not before read and loved their additions to this book. A+ read...

Clive Barker is a master of horror. Were you aware that it was his novella THE HELLBOUND HEART that was the genius behind the HELLRAISER movies? This book is made up of 21 tales by different authors and their own story of a hellraiser. Some Of The Authors: Neil Gaiman Dave McKean Kelley Armstrong Steve Niles Tim Lebbon Christopher Golden Mike Mignola and more... This is a horror-filled, gory mess of a book and I loved every minute of it! HINT: You may need to sleep with the lights on.

What a creepy fun filled read and just at the right time of the year. This book is full of great short stories by wonderful authors. Stories full of Cenobites and creatures made from your worst nightmares. Neil Gaiman's graphic piece was just awesome and Kelly Armstrong's The Collector gave me chills. I really enjoyed this collection of tales inspires by Clive Barker's novella The Hellbound Heart. The stories were so good that halfway through the book I got the urge to re-watch the Hellraiser movies and have since put them on my Netflix queue. If you are looking for a scare this Halloween season, I would highly recommend this book.