Customer Reviews

On Earth As It Is In Hell (Hellboy (Pocket Star Books))

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Brian Hodge really does himself proud in this novel and does justice to Mike Mignola's wonderful characters. For both Liz and Hellboy, Hodge gives some insight into their psyches that is quite moving. And, of course, Abe is there as the ultimate rock of support for both. I believe I liked that aspect of Hodge's effort even more than the story itself.

However, I found the story of Angels attacking the Vatican to be an intriguing one and especially found the whole bit with the Leviathan fascinating. I enjoy a Hellboy story that doesn't make him too invincible; much more drama can be found if he loses once in a while, or, at least, has to fight with every ounce of his energy. Frankly, I wouldn't find it worth reading if Hellboy never had to struggle, either with himself or with the monsters he must defeat.

But of course, in the long run, Hellboy, Liz, and Abe must overcome the foe by overcoming their own inner turmoils. As I said before, Hodge really comes up with some very moving stuff.

Brian Hodge is a top-notch imaginative writer of horror, crime fiction, and lotsa other things you need to seek out. Mignola's HELLBOY is a pulp-flavored blend of Lovecraft and James Bond that redefines the genre.

Sometimes good writers farm themselves out to shared worlds with mixed results. That ain't the case here. Seeing a great writer (and avowed Hellboy fan) like Hodge immerse himself in this dark and twisted world results in a terrific story that reads like THE DA VINCI CODE on LSD, written by David Cronenberg and directed by David Lynch.

Would I rather be reading an original novel by Brian Hodge? Sure. But he clearly makes this piece his own. Nobody else could write a Hellboy novel like this one. If you're a fan of either Hellboy or Hodge, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up.

This is the third Hellboy novel I've read, and the first by an author other than Chris Golden (who, let's face it, writes everything). The most obvious difference is that this book is 360 pages of small print. Brian Hodge likes to spend time on story and characters and the result is a rich, complex story, more occult mystery than action adventure, and that suits me fine, since there's nothing better than a good read that lasts more than a couple hours. One of the pleasanter results is that Liz Sherman, the female lead of the film, gets to be a fully developed character. The fire starter is suddenly much, much more.

The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense usually doesn't have much to do with the Vatican. When your lead agent is a demon, there are serious communication difficulties. But sometimes events call for strong action, and this time the Vatican is attacked not by demons, but by angels. An entire section of the Vatican Library has been destroyed. Only an accident has preserved an ancient manuscript written by Jesus, many years after he was supposed to be dead. If you were thinking that 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' has suddenly come to Hellboy, you would be at least half right.

Only the situation is even worse. It's not the New Testament that has come to life; it's the old bible of the Hebrews. And the taking of sides is strange indeed. Not just seraphim, but Leviathan, and the old and horrible gods that the Hebrews left behind as soon as they could. And within the Church itself lies the Opus Angelorum - an order of priests that have turned to the use of magic to fight the good fight. But, as in any struggle, not everyone can have power over the angels and remain uncorrupted. Brian Hodge has written a Hellboy novel even darker than the usual efforts, and this conflict rings especially true.

But the answers to who stole Jesus' manuscript out from under Hellboy's guard and to what end all this is intended is disquieting and incomplete. Perhaps because the struggle is really unending, and each player must find their own was of coping as they put out one conflagration after another. This book lingers with you for a bit, because you too know that it may be over, but nothing has ended.

I liked The Lost Army a lot, but the 3 last books have been deceptions for me. So this one took me by surprise!

Brian Hodge manages to bring in what works really well with Mike's comics: the mood and the humor. But he also brings something that's sadly missing from Hellboy's drawn stories: the sense of details. I mean when you have so many cool objects and characters and locations and monsters... it's a pity that the whole thing is gone in 2 or 3 little comic books, isn't it?

At least with this book we get to dive in some of the characters' previous life and the result is that we start caring about them. And I don't get that a lot from the comic book...

Then again what we DON'T have is Mike Mignola's beautiful artwork which is what made me buy the first comics back then. A cover is ok but some inside illustrations would have been better.

In the end I have really enjoyed this book and will buy the next ones.

Those who only know HELLBOY from the uneven, but solid, film will be a bit surprised here. Unlike in the film, HELLBOY is a well known, and celebrated, figure and force in the world. He's also "old news" when it comes to people as well - when he passes he still turns heads, but unless he's chasing you, people turn their heads back just as quickly and get on with their lives... just as HELLBOY does. As for the BPRD, that's still something of a mystery to the world, as well as HELLBOY's true adventures and missions.

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HELL is topical, well written and speaks as easily to fans of the series and those new to the whole story. All the players are outlined. Their pasts are fleshed out, and much of the humor and horror of the comics (and the film) carry over onto the pages pretty much intact. While perhaps a bit too linear in plot (you'll solve most, if not all of it, long before Hellboy does), and the characters seemed to be boxed a bit too neatly to avoid adding anything really new to their backgrounds, or change their continuity - they do come across very well. For me, LIZ never got enough time in the film, and this book goes a long way in giving us more time inside her head, and with her powers (without giving too much away as to where they come from, or how they really work - but there is something of a clue for those close readers), while ABE as well is given room to move and act. Hellboy is Hellboy, his quest continues, his search for answers unending, his past always coming up and the dim future, unstoppable, ever approaching.

Well written, with a story at once both packed with action, monsters and adult themes and contemplations on the matter of faith - ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HELL is a quick fix and good read for everyone intrested in the HELLBOY series. The only things that drop it are its linear nature of plot, and the DEUS EX MACHINA ending that makes all the build up and action in the first third of the book feel like the rushed ending it is.

For fans, worth it - for newbies, a solid jumping in point.

I liked it. Good solid story, albeit a tad confusing at times. Characterizations seemed spot-on enough. New characters got just enough of spotlight, so that the story didn't seem to be just about the headliners.

The flaws? Well the author falls into the trap of giving the backstory of all the headliners. Nothing all too horrible, but I've read just enough franchise-turned novels to see this is a reoccuring problem.

Personally, if an author feels the need to do this, I suggest taking a leaf from a Farscape novel I read once. In said book, before the story even began there was a single page that outlined all the headliners, with brief descriptions & whatnot. Afterwards, the book just treated them as characters, and didn't drag the reader through a re-envisionment of a backstory that fans of the series should already know.

The only other problem I had with this novel was that I found it a tad confusing. There was a bit much mythos to be had, and sometimes it was fairly difficult to wrap your head around it all.

I found this to be an enjoyable Hellboy yarn but the writing was at times clumsy at best. The author also tried to integrate real world problems with the church and while I appreciate the effort it came off too much as a newspaper editorial and wasn't integrated very well into the story line. Great concept and atmosphere but execution was nowhere near as good as the concept.

I love the Hellboy movies and took time researching the reviews on novels available to continue that love. This was just what I wanted - an interesting book that made me want to keep reading. I purchased it on the Kindle and have to say this is one of the first downloads that kept my attention long enough to actually finish it in 2 days. My favorite characters were there - Hellboy, Abe and Liz - with enough suspense and action to make me entertained over the Memorial Day weekend. Others have commented on the storyline so I'll leave it to them. Let me just say, this purchase was money well spent for me.

The hard part is now deciding which next to purchase since many other Hellboy novels have very mixed reviews.

I just love the humor of Hellboy and this novel gave me a few chuckles. I'd recommend!

This book is considerably longer, and perhaps the better for it, with room for more characters. It is much longer than the two preceding Golden works, and does not have the dozens of illustrations those had, either, so a story with some more depth and background.

While the other books have been a little more action oriented, this is more introspective and melancholy. Given that it literally depicts a battle between the forces of heaven and hell, with the BPRD caught in between. In clear and present detail you see the effects of their jobs and fights upon their own psyches, as well as the victims.

This is based around the struggle for The Masada Scroll. This document was written by Jesus as a septuagenarian or thereabouts, shortly before a certain Roman officer had a landscaping party at the Masada fortress, forcing a mass suicide.

It comes to light in the mid 1900s, and is buried in the Vatican. Found again, the Opus Angelorum faction send seraphim to destroy it, while the demon Moloch is plotting to other ends.

Hellboy is swallowed by Leviathin, a rookie psychometric has to read a demon after Liz battles angels, and the veteran field team end up in Tartarus.

Pretty hardcore. Not a lot of light hearted wisecracks and jokes to be found here, just stressed out black humor and nasty choices.

Never read anything else by Brian Hodge, but certainly worth looking him up now, I think.

This novel started off slow and i do mean slow. The writing was slightly confusing at times or hard to understand, like he was trying to reinvent English. I had got bored with the book and put it down several times but by midway through geez-la-weez. I could not put it down and i became an insomniac, staying up till 4:30 in the morning to finish it because it was that damn good.

On a side note, i also thought this was a Comic/Graphic Novel with nice beautiful art by Mr Mike but twas not. Not like i hate reading, its just what i was looking for and what i got were two different things, so be weary. Amazon needs to state it somewhere or at least let us look inside the damn book