What do you think?
Rate this book
John Constantine Hellblazer Novels #3
Hellblazer: Subterranean
Tonsell-by-the-Stream, a sleepy little village outside of London, is suddenly swallowed down into the earth through the hellish machinations of an ancient, ominous force. At the behest of an extraordinary supernatural agent -- and in exchange for the life of his best friend -- down-and-out and amoral occultist John Constantine must venture deep into underground shadows to investigate this cataclysmic occurrence. But unbeknownst to Constantine, something beyond his worst nightmares awaits below -- the deadly and phantasmagorical realm of the Sunless . . . a terrifying world where the Gloomlord rules over all with a sadistic and merciless hand, and Tonsell-by-the-Stream was only his first target on the surface world. . . .
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 28, 2006
5 people are currently reading
392 people want to read
About the author
John Shirley
322 books465 followersJohn Shirley won the Bram Stoker Award for his story collection Black Butterflies, and is the author of numerous novels, including the best-seller DEMONS, the cyberpunk classics CITY COME A-WALKIN', ECLIPSE, and BLACK GLASS, and his newest novels STORMLAND and A SORCERER OF ATLANTIS.
He is also a screenwriter, having written for television and movies; he was co-screenwriter of THE CROW. He has been several Year's Best anthologies including Prime Books' THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR anthology, and his nwest story collection is IN EXTREMIS: THE MOST EXTREME SHORT STORIES OF JOHN SHIRLEY. His novel BIOSHOCK: RAPTURE telling the story of the creation and undoing of Rapture, from the hit videogame BIOSHOCK is out from TOR books; his Halo novel, HALO: BROKEN CIRCLE is coming out from Pocket Books.
His most recent novels are STORMLAND and (forthcoming) AXLE BUST CREEK. His new story collection is THE FEVERISH STARS. STORMLAND and other John Shirley novels are available as audiobooks.
He is also a lyricist, having written lyrics for 18 songs recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on their albums Heaven Forbidden and Curse of the Hidden Mirror), and his own recordings.
John Shirley has written only one nonfiction book, GURDJIEFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND IDEAS, published by Penguin/Jeremy Tarcher.
John Shirley story collections include BLACK BUTTERFLIES, IN EXTREMIS, REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES, and LIVING SHADOWS.
source: Amazon
He is also a screenwriter, having written for television and movies; he was co-screenwriter of THE CROW. He has been several Year's Best anthologies including Prime Books' THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR anthology, and his nwest story collection is IN EXTREMIS: THE MOST EXTREME SHORT STORIES OF JOHN SHIRLEY. His novel BIOSHOCK: RAPTURE telling the story of the creation and undoing of Rapture, from the hit videogame BIOSHOCK is out from TOR books; his Halo novel, HALO: BROKEN CIRCLE is coming out from Pocket Books.
His most recent novels are STORMLAND and (forthcoming) AXLE BUST CREEK. His new story collection is THE FEVERISH STARS. STORMLAND and other John Shirley novels are available as audiobooks.
He is also a lyricist, having written lyrics for 18 songs recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on their albums Heaven Forbidden and Curse of the Hidden Mirror), and his own recordings.
John Shirley has written only one nonfiction book, GURDJIEFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND IDEAS, published by Penguin/Jeremy Tarcher.
John Shirley story collections include BLACK BUTTERFLIES, IN EXTREMIS, REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES, and LIVING SHADOWS.
source: Amazon
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 13, 2016
Shirley delivers on every level, and more. Incredible!
John Constantine, the Hellblazer, is both a straightforward and difficult character to write. He has a defined, and very strong personality, but it is not easy to capture his essence. John Shirley does this with ease.
In one of the initial scenes, Constantine is at a bar wondering what happened to his personal life, when he gets a message in the spilled water -
He wipes it away before the apparition can summon him, and then leaves the bar. That's John Constantine.
Shirley excels here with a little more real estate than most graphic novelists by portraying Constantine for who he really is - a fearless explorer of the hidden world who just can't get his personal life right. He's sad, he makes mistakes with his long-estranged girlfriend Kit, and then he finds himself in an extraordinary situation in the hidden world, and handles it without fear.
The Gloomlord would be quite frightening to us, but not to Constantine.
In any case - I won't spoil it for anyone. Great portrayal of Constantine, great book!
Oh and awesome cover art by the great Timothy Bradstreet - who just brings Constantine to another level :)
John Constantine, the Hellblazer, is both a straightforward and difficult character to write. He has a defined, and very strong personality, but it is not easy to capture his essence. John Shirley does this with ease.
In one of the initial scenes, Constantine is at a bar wondering what happened to his personal life, when he gets a message in the spilled water -
You have been summoned t
He wipes it away before the apparition can summon him, and then leaves the bar. That's John Constantine.
Shirley excels here with a little more real estate than most graphic novelists by portraying Constantine for who he really is - a fearless explorer of the hidden world who just can't get his personal life right. He's sad, he makes mistakes with his long-estranged girlfriend Kit, and then he finds himself in an extraordinary situation in the hidden world, and handles it without fear.
The Gloomlord would be quite frightening to us, but not to Constantine.
In any case - I won't spoil it for anyone. Great portrayal of Constantine, great book!
Oh and awesome cover art by the great Timothy Bradstreet - who just brings Constantine to another level :)
July 29, 2008
good stuff. i was a little nervous picking this up, as the idea of novels based on comic book characters usually makes me shudder, but i had a feeling hellblazer might be one that could translate alright...and it did a pretty good job
don't know if i'd ever read it again or even keep it (probably will post it on paperbackswap) but it was worth the $3.25 i paid for it at the used bookstore on a whim...
don't know if i'd ever read it again or even keep it (probably will post it on paperbackswap) but it was worth the $3.25 i paid for it at the used bookstore on a whim...
May 27, 2021
In this sequel to Warlord, our "hero" John Constantine must investigate and if possible reverse the malicious magics that have led an entire township to be consumed into the earth itself. There is also the fact that one of Constantine's few surviving friends, Chaz the Cabbie is now being trapped by the Lady of Waters to whom Constantine is in a debit to since the last novel. It comes down to the fact of saving Chaz from the hell of repeated drowning, saving an entire town from becoming a permanently underground address and as the story unfolds we will find out that John Constantine is on a path to possibly even save the whole of Brittan itself.
December 5, 2022
Not quite as good as Warlord, but, overall, this was still a fun read. Taken together, these two novels certainly qualify John Shirley as having done a substantial “run” of Hellblazer, at least the equivalent of 20 issues, longer than some others, and I’d rank his tenure pretty highly. He nails the characterization and provides more interiority than the comics can. Both stories are quite large in scale, and this second one steps a bit too far into fantasy for my taste, but it’s not really out of the ordinary for Hellblazer. I would have loved to have gotten a collection of smaller fair, short stories or single issue comics from Shirley.
October 17, 2017
This exemplifies the danger of free books...I don't think I would have even picked this up for .56 at Vinnies, but as a free library discard, I gave it a chance. The intro was witty and fun, but unfortunately, that light tone was often very forced through the book. That being said, it was good enough brain candy when I was too exhausted for more substantial fare...so I can't really say it kept me from reading Anna Karenina.
March 15, 2023
... ... ... erm. Trench coat?
October 11, 2024
I enjoyed it, fun, JC’s sarcastic wit occasionally brought a chuckle. Straddles YA and Graphic Novel/gamer vibe.
June 18, 2023
TL;DR - If you already know Hellblazer/John Constantine and this book's synopsis interests you, it's definitely worth the read. Otherwise, probably not worth the time.
Overall this book is solidly average. I have no complaints about the writing and pacing at all. As far as modern fantasy/mild horror books go the supernatural elements are both interesting and easy to follow which is somewhat rare.
My main gripe, as is true with so many books rooted in longstanding franchises, is that it needs at least some basic understanding of John Constantine's character to appreciate. While not a bad depiction by any means, he does not shine on his own here in my opinion.
Last thought is that the ending was........not my favorite. There is a romance subplot that doesn't start until over halfway through the book, and the wrap-up of this dominates the ending. Again, it's not bad, but it feels out of place with the rest of the book.
Overall this book is solidly average. I have no complaints about the writing and pacing at all. As far as modern fantasy/mild horror books go the supernatural elements are both interesting and easy to follow which is somewhat rare.
My main gripe, as is true with so many books rooted in longstanding franchises, is that it needs at least some basic understanding of John Constantine's character to appreciate. While not a bad depiction by any means, he does not shine on his own here in my opinion.
Last thought is that the ending was........not my favorite. There is a romance subplot that doesn't start until over halfway through the book, and the wrap-up of this dominates the ending. Again, it's not bad, but it feels out of place with the rest of the book.
Read
August 22, 2008Subterranean (John Constantine Hellblazer) by John Shirley (2006)
Read
August 11, 2011John Constantine has some great dialogue here,and the style of the novel seems to fit well with the comics.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews