I love this book. The whole thing felt like a giant middle finger at Hollywood. There was some genuine anger in there, it was brilliant. And Tammy! I adore Tammy. She brought so much heart to the story, as well a sort of grounding influence. Everyone else was so big and on top and then you have the fan girl with with failing marriage.
This is one of my favorite Barker books and I'm glad to have stumbled upon this review. Listening to your thoughts on it has brought back many fond memories of the book and other classic Barker works.
A mistake you made in this video, Katya is not a ghost and she is the only owner of the Coldheart Canyon. Nobody else owned it. Now onto my opinion about this book. I have to say that I am a big fan of Barker. Weaveworld and Imajica are probably the best books I have ever read. Definitely in top 5. But Coldheart Canyon? This one just didn't do it for me. And if I wasn't listening to it in an audiobook format, narrated by Frank Muller who did an amazing job, I probably would never have finished this book. Coldheart Canyon is such a boring book, I am shocked it was actually written by Barker. And no, I am not talking about all the porn that people usually complain about. It's just that the story and the characters in this novel are so incredibly uninteresting. Not to mention that this book has no business being this long for the type of story it's trying to tell. I swear you could cut 50% of this book and nothing would change. There are so many events and chapters in this novel that range from "no purpose at all" to "almost no purpose at all". We had to go through an entire arc at the start of the book about Tod's dog dying, why? No idea. The dog is only mentioned once briefly in the epilogue again. I get that Clive attempted to make Tod relatable and show his human side, but meh. That section had no payoff and was too long for no reason. There was this whole thing about the niños in the canyon during the first third of the book and then we never see them again. A brief appearance near the end of the novel. Katya and her Terror whip? Only used once and never again. Maxine and Tammy suddenly become BFFs because they spent 5 minutes together in the last part of the book? Makes absolutely no sense considering they hated each other for YEARS previously. Speaking of Maxine, she suddenly becomes a "survivor" at the end and a very relevant character, why? She wasn't even in the house for more than 30 seconds and then she ran out when the quake started. Sure she had the little event outside play out for her, but she didn't even see 90% of the actual things that happen on the Canyon. Ghost orgy happened only once when they initially showed themselves to Tod, but we keep hearing how they do it all the time in the Canyon. There are so so many of these throwaway scenes that only serve to increase the page count of this book and nothing more. Not to mention that this book recycles several elements from Weaveworld. Weaveworld has a world in a carpet, Coldheart has the Devil's Country in the tiles of a room. Weaveworld has Immacolata, Coldheart has her polar opposite Katya (which you mentioned too). Both of them have an angel of sorts at the end for some reason. And speaking of the Devil's Country, this book spends a criminally low amount of time exploring it. I wanted to know so much more about it. About Lilith, about Qwaftzefoni, about the Duke and how that place functions in general. The book keeps teasing us about it for so long. And once we finally see it, it's a nothing burger and then it's gone. This is the first, and hopefully only, Clive Barker book that I lowkey actually hate.
Tend to agree. I loved Weaveworld. In that book you totally trust the writer. You know he knows and loves these men in a pigeon loft by a railway in Liverpool. He knew these people growing up and they seem fully human. And then the outlandish fantasy world. You know that’s him and his imaginative world. He’s lived there too. Then we get to Coldheart Canyon and he’s writing about things he has decided on an intellectual level he’s interested in. I believe he’s interested in Hollywood. But that’s not him. And I believe he’s a feminist and likes average women from the Midwest. But there’s no depth or truth to it. He isn’t really as interested as he thought he was when he decided to write it. Barker was at his best when he was unselfconsciously himself. He’s a lad from Liverpool with an outsized imagination. He ain’t a documenter of Hollywood and American womanhood.
Just finished it. Loved Tammy. Will never look at a peacock the same way again!
Loving these dude. Feels like I'm sitting in a bar with someone who shares similar insights into the work. Keep them coming ...
Correction: no other film stars owned Cold Heart Canyon, Only Katya Lupi,
I love this book. The whole thing felt like a giant middle finger at Hollywood. There was some genuine anger in there, it was brilliant. And Tammy! I adore Tammy. She brought so much heart to the story, as well a sort of grounding influence. Everyone else was so big and on top and then you have the fan girl with with failing marriage.
That's what I felt because his house looks like how he describes in the book and where it is even located
This is one of my favorite Barker books and I'm glad to have stumbled upon this review. Listening to your thoughts on it has brought back many fond memories of the book and other classic Barker works.
Just rereading and enjoying more the 2bd time.
Katya wasn't a ghost. She was a living person being kept youthful by "The Devils Country"
the ending of this book was amazing
Great Review!👍
Man I want to sift through ur books
Great book, Clive must have inside information about Hollywood
That's what I thiught, especially when all the hollyweird vids came out, so hearing this was full circle in a way
Good book, l like it.
A mistake you made in this video, Katya is not a ghost and she is the only owner of the Coldheart Canyon. Nobody else owned it. Now onto my opinion about this book.
I have to say that I am a big fan of Barker. Weaveworld and Imajica are probably the best books I have ever read. Definitely in top 5.
But Coldheart Canyon? This one just didn't do it for me. And if I wasn't listening to it in an audiobook format, narrated by Frank Muller who did an amazing job, I probably would never have finished this book.
Coldheart Canyon is such a boring book, I am shocked it was actually written by Barker. And no, I am not talking about all the porn that people usually complain about. It's just that the story and the characters in this novel are so incredibly uninteresting. Not to mention that this book has no business being this long for the type of story it's trying to tell. I swear you could cut 50% of this book and nothing would change.
There are so many events and chapters in this novel that range from "no purpose at all" to "almost no purpose at all".
We had to go through an entire arc at the start of the book about Tod's dog dying, why? No idea. The dog is only mentioned once briefly in the epilogue again. I get that Clive attempted to make Tod relatable and show his human side, but meh. That section had no payoff and was too long for no reason.
There was this whole thing about the niños in the canyon during the first third of the book and then we never see them again. A brief appearance near the end of the novel.
Katya and her Terror whip? Only used once and never again.
Maxine and Tammy suddenly become BFFs because they spent 5 minutes together in the last part of the book? Makes absolutely no sense considering they hated each other for YEARS previously.
Speaking of Maxine, she suddenly becomes a "survivor" at the end and a very relevant character, why? She wasn't even in the house for more than 30 seconds and then she ran out when the quake started. Sure she had the little event outside play out for her, but she didn't even see 90% of the actual things that happen on the Canyon.
Ghost orgy happened only once when they initially showed themselves to Tod, but we keep hearing how they do it all the time in the Canyon.
There are so so many of these throwaway scenes that only serve to increase the page count of this book and nothing more.
Not to mention that this book recycles several elements from Weaveworld. Weaveworld has a world in a carpet, Coldheart has the Devil's Country in the tiles of a room. Weaveworld has Immacolata, Coldheart has her polar opposite Katya (which you mentioned too). Both of them have an angel of sorts at the end for some reason.
And speaking of the Devil's Country, this book spends a criminally low amount of time exploring it. I wanted to know so much more about it. About Lilith, about Qwaftzefoni, about the Duke and how that place functions in general. The book keeps teasing us about it for so long. And once we finally see it, it's a nothing burger and then it's gone.
This is the first, and hopefully only, Clive Barker book that I lowkey actually hate.
Tend to agree. I loved Weaveworld. In that book you totally trust the writer. You know he knows and loves these men in a pigeon loft by a railway in Liverpool. He knew these people growing up and they seem fully human. And then the outlandish fantasy world. You know that’s him and his imaginative world. He’s lived there too. Then we get to Coldheart Canyon and he’s writing about things he has decided on an intellectual level he’s interested in. I believe he’s interested in Hollywood. But that’s not him. And I believe he’s a feminist and likes average women from the Midwest. But there’s no depth or truth to it. He isn’t really as interested as he thought he was when he decided to write it. Barker was at his best when he was unselfconsciously himself. He’s a lad from Liverpool with an outsized imagination. He ain’t a documenter of Hollywood and American womanhood.