The Hellbound Heart

by Clive Barker

Paperback, 164 pages

English language

Published Nov. 1, 1991 by HarperTouch.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-100282-3
OCLC Number:: 24634586

(52 reviews)

In a quiet house on a quiet street Frank and Julia are having an affair. Not your ordinary affair. For Frank it began with his own insatiable sexual appetite, a mysterious lacquered box- and then an unhinged voyage through a netherworld of imaginable pleasures and unimaginable horror… Now Frank - or what is left of Frank - waits in an empty room. All he wants is to live as he was before. All Julia can do is bring him her unfulfilled passions… and a little flesh and blood…

10 editions

Cari Fisher reviewed The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker (Hellraiser, #1)

Review of 'The Hellbound Heart' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I figured it was about time I read this. I have read Barker before, but it was years ago and I honestly can't remember much. I did really enjoy a graphic novel of one of his stories, about some monster or other. Anyway, I didn't really care for this one that much. What was there was good, but it was too short for my liking. There was so much more to be had! I felt cheated. Granted, it's only the first installment, but still ... Too short and lacking.

~erin reviewed The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker (Hellraiser, #1)

A Strange and Wonderful Story

5 stars

The Hellbound Heart is a wonderfully written horrifying novel.

I read it after I saw the Hellraiser movie however. I love the imagery in the movie, but the book is great too.

It's very well written, and never really gets boring or slow. It is a bit strange in parts, but I like that.

Daniel Andrlik reviewed The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker (Hellraiser, #1)

Review of 'The Hellbound Heart' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Every once in a while I give Barker a try again, but it never works out for me. But two stars for creation of the iconic Cenobites, but otherwise left me cold.

A. Rivera reviewed The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

Review of 'The Hellbound Heart' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I will feature a full review on my blog later, but here are some quick impressions. If you have seen the film it is based on, then you may want to forget it a bit as the original book is different in some very significant ways. If you read the book first and by some miracle you have not seen the film, then I'd say lucky you.

This is a novella/short novel, and you can read it in one sitting with a bit of time. It is well done, tight, good element of horror, and it develops just enough of the mythology to leave things open for future possibilities. It could have ended there, but the option was there (and as we know, Barker and others ran with it). A lot of people speak how this book was great for its time when compared to the other horror that was more "schlocky" at the time. However, I want to look at it as a work on its own, and based on that, it really holds well and it is well worth reading. Whether you like Barker's later works or not (for instance, I read his -Great and Secret Show-, which I did not really like), this by now is a classic of horror, and to be honest, the movie (good as it is for some people), does not do it justice.

Jack Phoenix reviewed The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

Review of 'The Hellbound Heart' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Familiarization with the far more popular movie version may make this a weak read for some, but The Hellbound Heart is still a well-written, sexual romp with unique imagery.

The Gnome King reviewed The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker (Hellraiser, #1)

Review of 'The Hellbound Heart' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The book that Hellraiser was based on, loved the movie, not so much the book. the only good thing about the book is the characters come across as being far nastier than in the movie (I'm talking about the humans here not the Cenobites). A lot of the background story is missing from the movie too and that does make some interesting reading. Maybe I would have given this a higher rating if the book hadn't been so short.

Rin reviewed The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker (Hellraiser, #1)

Review of 'The Hellbound Heart' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Fantastic, imaginative horror from a master storyteller. I wished there was more time spent with the Cenobites, though :P

LemmiSchmoeker reviewed The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker (Hellraiser, #1)

Review of 'The Hellbound Heart' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

For the first three quarters, the story is almost identical to the Hellraiser movie, but at that point, some subtle differences make this a very satisfying read even if the movie is known beforehand.

The writing is, once again, highly stylised and wide awake, and still warm enough to elicit care for the characters.