I enjoy Clive Barker and the first couple Hellraiser movies. This feels like the later Hellraiser movies that were only mildly enjoyable and somewhat cringeworthy.

'Hellraiser: The Toll' by Mark Alan Miller continues the stories of Clive Barker featuring Pinhead and Kristy Cotton.

This story takes place between The Hellbound Heart and The Scarlet Gospels. Kristy Cotton has seen things and survived things. She is on the run, moving around and assuming new names to stay ahead of the nameless fear. One day she gets an odd letter. She responds and ends up confronting the very thing she fears most.

It's been ages since I read the Hellbound Heart or saw the movies, but this story put me right back in that odd world. When Pinhead showed up, I felt all the chills.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Subterranean Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Hellraiser returns in this novella of terror. Look at that beautiful cover! Hellraiser: The Toll fills us in on what happened between The Hellbound Heart and The Scarlet Gospels. Kirsty Cotton returns to the forefront along with Pinhead, or as she likes to call him the Cold Man.

By now you already know that Kirsty Cotton has eluded Pinhead for quite some time. This novella is set thirty years after The Hellbound Heart, so she is about 40 or 50 something years old. She has been on the run this entire time. Every couple years she changes her name and identity. She also moves quite frequently.

One day she receives a letter that is addressed to the woman she's been running from for half her life. It turns out that Kirsty Cotton is the first witness. She must play the game and confront Pinhead. It's an epic battle. The fight scene is brilliant. I just didn't know which one to cheer for. (I cheered for Pinhead. I mean, who wouldn't?) The ending was great. Clive Barker's art is scattered throughout this novella, which enhances the story as well.

If you like Clive Barker's work as much as I do, then you will enjoy this novella. It's not written by him, but it's in the same vein. I love the Hellraiser movies. Maybe this novella will get optioned for the big screen.

I highly recommend this novella to fans of horror!

5/5 stars!

Hellraiser: The Toll by Mark Alan Miller based on Clive Barker’s work is a continuation of the Hellraiser collection. Miller is the Vice President of Seraphim, Inc., Clive Barker’s production company. Miller is also a comic book writer, having written for Boom! Studios and Dark Horse.

By far the best horror series I have seen is Hellraiser. The characters and the storyline were much better than the slasher movies that preceded it. Nine movie releases, although a few went straight to video has kept Pinhead alive in many people’s minds. This novella falls between two other Hellraiser stories, that I have not read, but Kristy and Pinhead both play a part in the story.

This novella starts with the story of a French toy maker Philip Lemarchand who was famous in the 18th century for his singing birds and puzzle boxes. Much like others when they became too good at something, he was accused of conspiring with the devil and sentenced to Devil’s Island. He, too, of course, was the creator of the Lemarchand puzzle box. Modern times bring in Kristy who is in hiding and a mysterious message from an outside source. The story begins here with a tie-in to both Kristy and Devil’s Island.

This episode reads much like a graphic novel, which should be no surprise considering the author’s other writing. The book reads quickly and is enjoyable to those who enjoy horror. The Toll provides a short but well-written return to the land of the Cenobites and pain. Although I usually don’t read horror novels, I couldn’t resist picking up a Hellraiser novella.

Mr Miller didd a fantastic job with this. I'll admit that I'm a bit sick and freaking tired of the cold one. "Pinhead." Maybe this was to get more people interested in the Scarlet Gospels...I don't know. Honestly, you couldn't pay me enough to read the utter crap that Barker puts out any more. So, I was very pleasantly surprised with Mr. Miller's writing. Loved the story. The sketches by Mr. Barker were minimal. Maybe Mr. Miller should finish out the books that we fans have been waiting ages for? A third book of the Art? Yes! Good story

Time was, I'd have been going nuts at the thought of a new Clive Barker Hellraiser story, but the years have been kind to neither the Hellraiser brand, nor author/creator Clive Barker himself. One of my most anticipated books in the past decade or so was Barker's THE SCARLET GOSPELS, a long-gestating finale to the Hellraiser mythology that was, to put it bluntly, one of the most disappointing books I have ever read. I swore after that debacle that I was done with Barker. And that stands. But I might not be through with Barker via Mark Alan Miller.

Miller previously novelized Barker's concepts in CLIVE BARKER'S NEXT TESTAMENT, which I thought was a flawed but fascinating book, and he returns here in HELLRAISER: THE TOLL, a slim novella that takes place before the accursed THE SCARLET GOSPELS, which finally reveals just what Kirsty Cotton has been up to since her first encounter with Pinhead (Or, as he's known to her, "The Cold Man"...) in Barker's novella THE HELLBOUND HEART.


First off, be aware that this novella seems to disregard everything HELLRAISER except for THE HELLBOUND HEART/the HELLRAISER movie, and serves as a prequel/side story to THE SCARLET GOSPELS. I hated that novel immensely, so some of the things alluded to at the end of this story may have slipped past me. I swear, I remember almost nothing about THE SCARLET GOSPELS aside from my hatred of it. I vaguely recall Pinhead's plot to conquer Hell, but I didn't give half a shit about it. Here, we find Pinhead moving in that direction, but approaching Kirsty to be his witness before settling on Harry D'amour in the novel.


HELLRAISER: THE TOLL finds Kirsty still running from the agents of Hell, living out of a suitcase and assuming a variety of identities over the past three decades. (I love stories that do this, yet ever explain where the character gets the money to stay in hotels every night, to say nothing of how they afford food, clothes, transportation, etc. If I had to go on the run, I have enough available cash to make it to my front lawn. No farther. Sorry, but this is a pet peeve of mine. I could accept someone running for decades, but tell me how they pay for it, at least.) Kirsty receives a mysterious letter that makes her realize that it is better to confront her pursuer than to spend her life on the run, which leads to a dark reunion with The Cold Man on the former French penal colony, the aptly named Devil's Island.


Miller's prose rings of early Clive Barker's authorial voice, which is a good thing. To me, Barker was never better than in THE BOOKS OF BLOOD series and his first few novels. Since this is such a short story, much of it taken up with Kirsty's memories of the events in THE HELLBOUND HEART, Miller doesn't have a lot of room to work with, so he stays on target and gets right to the point. The ending seems to point in the direction of another Miller novella to come, and I'm cool with that. If Barker is lost to me forever, at least I'll have someone who can channel and focus his ideas into something readable.


(The novella features illustrations by Barker, but don't get too excited....most of them are little thumbnail doodles that open chapters, and they, along with a few larger ones, have nothing do do with the story. I suspect, based on one illustration that bears the name "Ectokid", a character Barker created for Marvel Comics who does not appear in this novella, that Miller just raided a Barker sketchbook for a few likely candidates. If you're only interested in the Barker art, I'd advise you to take a pass.)


HELLRAISER: THE TOLL earns a surprising seven out of ten Lament Configurations:

⌧⌧⌧⌧⌧⌧⌧


Subterranean Press provided a review copy.

Okay, so I really enjoyed this. It's a little different than what I usually read but it was still good and I did always enjoy Hellraiser. As for if it complements the series I cannot honestly say. But I do feel it's a worth while read and I plan to check out the series asap.

This little novella is a nice addition to the Hellraiser mythos.

While a very quick read, Kirsty’s confrontation with The Cold One (her name for Pinhead) is dark, dramatic, and full of a certain unexpected Pathos. The author manages to bring some bit of…humanity (?) to the Hell Priest.

The descriptions are vibrant, even in their darkness, and even the gore and violence has a certain eloquence to it. And it’s all set off by Barker’s artwork. This adds dramatically to the feel of the piece.

As for the ending, I was, admittedly, a little unsatisfied. I wanted more of a conclusion, though I found myself extremely curious about a little hint that the Hell Priest left – a hint which promises dark pleasures to come.

I will say it’s a must for any reader of the series.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

A clear bridge between Barker’s two masterful cenobyte tales that deepens one’s apordcuateion, not only for the entire myth is, but each character populating it.