Quote:
Originally Posted by
St. Troy
I just finished The Hellbound Heart and have a question for anyone who might know: is this story (or its world/background etc.) continued anywhere other than the Hellraiser movies and The Scarlet Gospels?
I ask because it seems there's quite a jump between the end of THH and the beginning of TSG, which has lots to do with Pinhead (I've read a short online sample of TSG ), and so TSG can only make sense if the reader has either read something else from Barker in the meantime concerning the Order of the Gash, or if there wasn't anything written, then the Hellraiser movies (and if so, are they all canon? (and I hate asking such a question)).
If it matters, I have read The Damnation Game, The Great And Secret Show, and Weaveworld, but haven't read any of the Books of Blood (the title of which sure evokes the Order, but I believe the BoB predate THH (I'm not certain of this - correct me if I'm wrong)).
Bottom line: I'd like to pick up the story after THH, hopefully without watching the movies, but I'll do that if necessary to understand TSG.
My advice to you: enjoy the memories you have of The Hellbound Heart. Maybe watch the first two movies as well. If you get the need to revisit the cenobites, re-read the book or re-watch the movies. Pretend there is no such blasphemy as The Scarlett Gospels--I don't care how goddamned gorgeous that Earthling Edition is (OK, you can buy it for the signature, but do not read it!).
Seriously, Hellraiser: The Toll is supposed to pick up where The Hellbound Heart left off. And then The Scarlet Gospels is supposed to close the tale. But The Scarlet Gospels was just a trashing of everything that makes Barker readable and brilliant. It smeared the entire legacy. The Hellbound Heart is a brilliant book about the lengths people will go to for love and the betrayals that are inevitable. The Scarlet Gospels is like Barker wrote a PS to that powerful letter, stating only "jk LOL."
I've never been more disappointed.
Also, if you want a Hell Priest fix, you can check out the Hellraiser comics from EPIC. I collected those and some of those stories were fantastic.