Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Hellbound Heart: A Novel by Clive Barker

13 reviews

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Awesome book with good writing. I would definitely read it again.

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I liked the writing style but I found it hard to get into the book. 

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dark fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Astounding book, every page contains imagery so densely described that it somehow invites you to imagine it in multiple ways. 

Barker’s writing style reminded me what can only be achieved in a book, and what makes it such a distinct medium from film. Giving you insights into a characters psyche in ways that couldn’t really be naturally achieved in any other way.

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dark fast-paced
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A wonderful little excess of desire and blood

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dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This book was fine, but overall it was disappointing to me. The characters all felt very one note and unrealistic (Julia's actions were at least interesting but her reasons for doing them were pretty stupid), aside from
Julia's murders
the gore almost all takes place off-page or is barely described (why else am I reading this?) and the prose was so overwrought and goofy.
There is a part near the end where Barker wants to convey that a dead character is possessed by one of the cenobites so that character turns to Kirsty and essentially just says, "I'm a cenobite!"

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

 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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