Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

4 reviews

hearth_hobbit's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Rating: 4 Stars - I liked it

Summary: A man named Frank summons sex demons called cenobites to show him the epitome of sadomasochism only to find out he’s bitten off more than he can chew. Frank’s brother, Rory, and his wife Julia move into the house where Frank first summoned the cenobites and accidently summon Frank’s spirit. Before his spiritual banishment, Frank and Julia carried on an affair under Rory’s nose. To become human again, Frank needs humans to feed on and calls on Julia to lure men to him so they can be together again.

What I Liked: For such troubling subject matter, the writing was actually very beautiful. Barker paints a very messed up picture well. The cenobites are such interesting creatures. I want to read the rest of the series just to learn more about them.

What I Didn’t Like: I did not like the characters but they’re definitely not written to be likable, so that is more a point in favor of the story.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Body horror, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

This is a very uncomfortable story if you do not like horror and body horror. Definitely look up trigger warnings if you are on the fence. It can get pretty descriptive.

desarroi's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Absolutely thrilling, a perfect work of the macabre with a healthy dose of cosmic horror.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Blood, Murder, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

cosmic horror, supernatural horror, psychological horror

jenniferlynnkrohn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, and Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism

caidyn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Wow. I finally took the plunge and read one of Barker's most known books. I have never watched the movie series that this spawned, but now I want to. This book was delightfully creepy and twisted. It's so short, yet I was entirely captivated and he put so much into the story. Just spectacular and I really want to read more by him now. I will add that this book is also a product of the times, such as the whole "hausfrau" and other sexist stuff got on my nerves very easily.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Torture, Violence, and Sexism