Hellbound (2010)

Sex :
Violence :
Author Tim Hawken
Publisher Dangerous Little Books
Length 113 pages
Genre Heaven and Hell
Blurb Nothing Listed
Country

Review

"Hello, you've reached the office of The Prince of Darkness, how may I help you?" - Clytemnestra

Michael finds himself in Hell with Satan offering sage advice. Hell isn't what we think it is, or at least what the Christian faith claims it to be, and Michael finds Satan strangely wants him to develop as a person. We gradually learn about Michael's history as Satan takes him for a tour of Hell, he was an illegal fighter on the path to self destruction till rescued by the love of his life Charlotte. Unfortunately for Michael God was not best pleased with this relationship and sent the religious zealot Gideon to torture and kill both Michael and Charlotte, hence why Michael has woken up down in the pit.

Seems Michael might be in the right place as he vows vengeance on Gideon and his followers, Satan is only too happy to help out as he believes Gideon knows a secret that can undo God. Michael must first go on a quest to develop his skills before being resurrected and then facing Gideon, who isn't without skills himself. Of course Satan is a liar, is there another agenda Michael isn't aware of?

Hellbound, yes there's a pun in the title - read the novel to work it out, is the first book in a trilogy from Tim Hawken that has already gained cult status and interest from the glittering temple that is Hollywood. The other two books in the trilogy are the promisingly titled I Am Satan, and the just released Deicide. I've never read Hawken before so I went into Hellbound unsure of what the Author might have lurking in wait for me, got to say I've found Downunder literature's answer to Alice Cooper, welcome to Tim Hawken's nightmare!

My preconceptions about the plot of Hellbound were blown away within the first half dozen pages of the novel. This book isn't going to be what you think, in fact it's a whole lot more as Hawken's lets loose the dogs of imagination and creates a Hell that is at once vibrant while being completely alien and yet slightly on the sleazy side of the boardwalk. Christians, the Reverend Fred Nile, and Tony Abbott are going to be marching on Tim Hawken's house with pitch forks and righteous fire in their veins once they read this novel and find the Author has taken the concept of Christianity and gutted it to form a completely new look at God versus the Devil for your immortal soul. Hellbound has a biblical quality about it that brings to mind some of those epic classical Greek poems such as The Odyssey by that Homer bloke, no not Simpson.

Okay pulling the buggy up to the curb here, let's get down and dirty with the details. Hell, in the Christian sense, has been painted and described for centuries in various guises and at the whim of the particular Artist or Writer who have their own agenda. Tim Hawken's throws on a vivid picture of Hell as a sort of insane version of Los Vegas, all the glitter and glamour in amidst the demons, doomed souls, and Lakes of fire and sulphur. The Author has Satan guide our focal character around the highlights and I got to say it's like a Disneyland, presupposing Walt was on crack cocaine when he thought it up. Hawken is able to describe, and get those mental pictures happening in the reader's mind, in a hand full of words and doesn't break the pace of the novel in doing so. Like all good writers, and Hawken is an excellent writer, he doesn't waste words and doesn't fall on the sword of describing things to the nth degree to the utter boredom of the reader. The Author here respects his audience enough to know they'll fill in the colours without going outside the lines he has crafted.

Michael is dropped into Hawken's Hell and discovers its myriad secrets and characters as the reader discovers them. So in essence the Author has pulled off a two shot, we have the traditional hero's journey, as well as a journey of discovery. In fact one of the excellent aspects of Hellbound is the depiction of the secondary characters and the use of standard Christian theory in constructing various locations in the pit. I'm seeing influences as wide ranging as Supernatural, the demonic aspects, and The Pilgrim's Progress, the differing areas and attractions of Hell. Once again Christians may have some problems with Hawken playing fairly loose with the seven deadly sins, but for the rest of us this is some good eating.

While Michael is certainly sympathetic as a character, though the reader is apt to feel uneasy as his all encompassing desire for revenge gets ramped up, it's Satan that deserves the devil's due. Hawken portrays "ultimate evil" as a character who has been done wrong by God for simply questioning a few decisions; moreover Satan is the proactive force in the equation who has worked out a whole system of rehabilitating sinners while God fiddled at the edges. Even more surprising in Hawken's book God is simply one of a number of elemental beings, and Hawken's ensuring he won't be invited to the Vatican any time soon, God is not infallible! Yes I know heresy, got to love a horror outing when it turns wicked on religious theory.

I would like to say a whole bunch more about Hellbound but am out of space and edging right up to boring the crap out of people. This is one book you could certainly spend a godzillion words on reviewing. I've left off discussing the conclusion of this novel due to spoilers, but it's going to raise one heck of a lot of debate.

If you are after something slightly different to read over the summer then grab a copy of Hellbound, then send me a thank you note for putting you onto the book. Tim Hawken writes in a crisp, easy to access style that should have readers both young and old bopping to his beat. There's vivid imagination going on here and I can almost guarantee you won't see the ending of this tale coming at you leaving a trail of brimstone behind it. Full recommendation, a novel to read beside the pool while you listen to the cricket or whatever the hell you do over December. Without a shadow of a doubt you are bound to enjoy this tale.

Tim Hawken has a website right about here! If after your very own copy of Hellbound then hit Amazon for both Kindle and print versions.

Beyond Scary Rates this read as ...

  Outstanding start to the trilogy, we have had our Paradise Lost. what happens next?