Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

10 reviews

leafhead's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A fun read! Very similar to the movie that was made based on it. A staple for horror fans, and for good reason!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Sexual violence, Blood, Body horror, Torture, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Addiction, Medical content, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

uhhlexiconic's review

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

A brilliant story that loses some of its steam in the switch from Julia to Kirsty as the viewpoint character, the Hellbound Heart is a wonderful meditation on desire and greed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Gore, Murder, and Toxic relationship

vael's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Murder, Death, and Gaslighting

mfrisk's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Having watched the movie ahead of time it made the book come alive even more so reading it. This was a super fast paced and gory read which expands upon the movie to take us into an evil underworld and shows us how far humans will go to achieve the good things they feel they are owed. Not my typical horror read as I would have liked a bit more time with the characters but I did enjoy it for the most part. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Rape, Torture, and Sexual harassment

apollo0325's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

A really solid introduction to the world of Clive Barker’s works and of course a stellar entry of one of horror’s most iconic characters: the Cenobites.

I’ve never read any of Barker’s works, but I enjoy the Hellraiser movies and wanted to read this novella since this was their introduction. It was gross, alarming, and fun (in the sense of watching a horror movie. This was not a fun experience for our characters lmao). Also a quick read! It really put you in this story fast and got the ball rolling almost immediately.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Vomit and Sexual harassment

jblago's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Very engaging for how short it is and dripping in macabre style. The creativity on display is also compelling and commendable even through the sort of morbid parts, of which there are plenty. 
The plot does feel somewhat predictable even if you haven’t seen the film adaptation but admittedly the general premise is just… cool. The sort of subtle suggestion that there is a larger “lore” is also very tantalizing. The writing is detailed enough and focuses on what I would consider the more interesting parts of a gruesome and uncomfortable story. 
Although, as not a big fan of sort of “erotic horror”, and the many possibilities that sub genre can lead to, there were some parts I liked less than other. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Addiction and Gaslighting

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

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.

erizee666's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape and Toxic relationship

monsterofidaho's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

In a way, reading The Hellbound Heart feels like a dissection. He peels apart layer after layer of skin, sometimes clinical, sometimes crazed, sometimes both at the same time. Piece by piece, Barker reveals one plane after another and raises the stakes each time until, if you're like me, you'll have to remind yourself to slow down and actually read the book instead of skimming in a panic to find out what is even going on. Spooky and surreal, this classic will haunt any reader until the bitter end -- and, depending on your perspective, for some time afterward. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Body horror, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

cyanide_latte's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I'm not sure what I could really say, other than that this book feels like a very gothic, "decadent macabre" horror, and I'm also glad to have read this to get the background on the story before I ever go on to watch the movie Hellraiser.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, and Murder

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt