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Hellboy Novels #6
Hellboy: The Dragon Pool
When his ex-girlfriend Anastasia Bransfield, an archaeologist working in the remote Himalayas, stumbles upon a site purported to be the legendary "Dragon King Pool," the ancient dwelling of an evil dragon to whom local villagers would sacrifice a child each year, Hellboy heads for the excavation when the site is plagued by unearthly creatures, sabotage, and the disappearance of the young daughter of a dig leader. Original.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 27, 2007
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416 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Golden
800 books2,982 followersCHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of such novels as Road of Bones, Ararat, Snowblind, Of Saints and Shadows, and Red Hands. With Mike Mignola, he is the co-creator of the Outerverse comic book universe, including such series as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Lady Baltimore. As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies Seize the Night, Dark Cities, and The New Dead, among others, and he has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden co-hosts the podcast Defenders Dialogue with horror author Brian Keene. In 2015 he founded the popular Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His work has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award, the Eisner Award, and multiple Shirley Jackson Awards. For the Bram Stoker Awards, Golden has been nominated ten times in eight different categories. His original novels have been published in more than fifteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 1, 2016
4.5 stars!
This was a really good Hellboy novel. Without going too deep into the plot, we have dragons, shapeshifters, warrior monks, zombie dragons, and plenty of action.
This one is really almost the perfect Hellboy story, with my only complaint being it needed a little more Liz Sherman. Still, really good and definitely right at the top of the Hellboy novels!
This was a really good Hellboy novel. Without going too deep into the plot, we have dragons, shapeshifters, warrior monks, zombie dragons, and plenty of action.
This one is really almost the perfect Hellboy story, with my only complaint being it needed a little more Liz Sherman. Still, really good and definitely right at the top of the Hellboy novels!
November 17, 2007
This book will be a treat for all Hellboy fans out there.
The plot is fairly simple. A group of archaeologists working in an ancient temple in Tibet face the threat of what seems inhuman saboteurs which makes the red phone of the BPRD ring.
The agency team arrive just before a legendary and deadly creature is awakened by the disruptions of the Tibetan temple.
Christopher Golden is a veteran in the department of Hellboy novels. This book is his third one - besides collaborations on comics - and it shows.
There are two enjoyable aspects regarding the above.
First, he doesn't seem to need to introduce the origin of Hellboy to the reader (which neophyte Hellboy writers do and he himself has done on previous texts).
Second, he allows himself to develop deeply the psyche of his characters. For example, in "The dragon pool" he adds a romantic life to the main character - something that seems to be missing from its graphic counterpart - and how the ripples of such affect not only Red and his old flame Anastacia but the people surrounding them from his adoptive father Trevor and his pal Abe Sapien to the world that doesn't understand this interspecies liaison.
Not to be missed!
The plot is fairly simple. A group of archaeologists working in an ancient temple in Tibet face the threat of what seems inhuman saboteurs which makes the red phone of the BPRD ring.
The agency team arrive just before a legendary and deadly creature is awakened by the disruptions of the Tibetan temple.
Christopher Golden is a veteran in the department of Hellboy novels. This book is his third one - besides collaborations on comics - and it shows.
There are two enjoyable aspects regarding the above.
First, he doesn't seem to need to introduce the origin of Hellboy to the reader (which neophyte Hellboy writers do and he himself has done on previous texts).
Second, he allows himself to develop deeply the psyche of his characters. For example, in "The dragon pool" he adds a romantic life to the main character - something that seems to be missing from its graphic counterpart - and how the ripples of such affect not only Red and his old flame Anastacia but the people surrounding them from his adoptive father Trevor and his pal Abe Sapien to the world that doesn't understand this interspecies liaison.
Not to be missed!
April 25, 2021
Great book! Golden is a huge fan of the characters, and I always enjoy how he captures them. I am also a fan of his OC Anastasia as the tragic love interest. She is a fun, dynamic character that also highlights parts of Hellboy that we don't get to see often.
The supernatural and mystical parts of the story were fun and interesting, but I wish there would have been just a little more explanation of some of the details. I try not to give spoilers, but there was a scene that Abe is assisted by a supernatural force that should have held more significance, but then it was never touched on or explained. There a few smaller instances of that too, but overall didn't detract from the enjoyment too much.
The other reason I couldn't give this 5 is because there was an attempt at social commentary, but it was lazy. Given the chosen period and the geographic backdrop, Golden tried to discuss the larger issues that would have been going on at the time; however, it was a bit shallow. I know that's not the point of the story, but if you're going to put it in there, I think it could have been explained better.
I would still absolutely recommend this one. It was fun, exciting, and at times a little heartbreaking. 4/5
The supernatural and mystical parts of the story were fun and interesting, but I wish there would have been just a little more explanation of some of the details. I try not to give spoilers, but there was a scene that Abe is assisted by a supernatural force that should have held more significance, but then it was never touched on or explained. There a few smaller instances of that too, but overall didn't detract from the enjoyment too much.
The other reason I couldn't give this 5 is because there was an attempt at social commentary, but it was lazy. Given the chosen period and the geographic backdrop, Golden tried to discuss the larger issues that would have been going on at the time; however, it was a bit shallow. I know that's not the point of the story, but if you're going to put it in there, I think it could have been explained better.
I would still absolutely recommend this one. It was fun, exciting, and at times a little heartbreaking. 4/5
July 27, 2020
Haven't read any Hellboy novels I didn't like and this one didn't disappoint! Makes me wanna read much more
February 15, 2023
Great stuff. I love Hellboy and Anastasia.
July 29, 2008
I enjoyed this book overall. I thought it was an interesting depth of Hellboy I hadn't seen before, being the first non-graphic novel of him I've read. Hellboy comes off with a bit more dimension to him than I've usually scene in the comics or the movie, mainly because we are exposed to a relationship he's had. Perhaps this is something you see in other Hellboy graphic novels I haven't read (I've only read 1-3 of the collections), but it was still and interesting first for me. The flashbacks of how that particular relationship came about and then came to and end, were the high points of the book for me. Though the climactic battle with a monster at the end was also fun. This being said, I can't RAVE about this novel.
I've only read one other thing by Christopher Golden, and that was a collaborative effort between him and Mike Mignola. So I can't honestly say I personally have read him walking alone on his own two literary feet. I am told by sources I trust that he is a very good writer, and his work with Mignola would seem to indicate that to me. I'm hoping that this books slowness was just lack of interest on my part. I will warn that there is a slow section right in the middle of the book, where nothing seems to happen and we seem to learn things about Hellboy and his world that were already established thus making the section seem a bit dull and redundant.
So to conclude. Hellboy is great in this book, and it adds a welcome new depth to the character and his world (Abe Sapien has some cool time as the "point of view" character in this and insight into his character is cool as well). The writing could stand to be a bit tighter in my opinion, and loses some momentum in the middle. If you push on through though, you will be rewarded with a cool Hellboy Vs. Monster fight. Also let us all remember that this is a shared world fiction novel, and this sub-sub-genre of sci-fi/Fantasy has ever suffered from hinderances to the narrative heights it can soar to. If you love Hellboy, in the end you will enjoy reading this. If you don't love Hellboy, then maybe you should get out of my face cause why don't you love Hellboy you snooty bastard!!!
I've only read one other thing by Christopher Golden, and that was a collaborative effort between him and Mike Mignola. So I can't honestly say I personally have read him walking alone on his own two literary feet. I am told by sources I trust that he is a very good writer, and his work with Mignola would seem to indicate that to me. I'm hoping that this books slowness was just lack of interest on my part. I will warn that there is a slow section right in the middle of the book, where nothing seems to happen and we seem to learn things about Hellboy and his world that were already established thus making the section seem a bit dull and redundant.
So to conclude. Hellboy is great in this book, and it adds a welcome new depth to the character and his world (Abe Sapien has some cool time as the "point of view" character in this and insight into his character is cool as well). The writing could stand to be a bit tighter in my opinion, and loses some momentum in the middle. If you push on through though, you will be rewarded with a cool Hellboy Vs. Monster fight. Also let us all remember that this is a shared world fiction novel, and this sub-sub-genre of sci-fi/Fantasy has ever suffered from hinderances to the narrative heights it can soar to. If you love Hellboy, in the end you will enjoy reading this. If you don't love Hellboy, then maybe you should get out of my face cause why don't you love Hellboy you snooty bastard!!!
January 24, 2015
I really enjoyed this one. It's the second of Christopher Golden's Hellboy stories I've read (the other one being Bones of Giants) and I really like the grasp he has on the world.
One thing I like about this one is getting to see more of Hellboy's relationship with Anastasia Bransfield. She's had the occasional mention in other tales, but in this one we actually get to see the history between these two and how they interact a few years after their romantic relationship has ended. I also like that Golden decided to go into how they met, because that's just a fun story in itself.
Along with the Anastasia/Hellboy relationship, the actual events of the story are great as well. We've got dragon-men, the spawns of human/dragon crossbreeding; the great Dragon King, a menace to the whole world that must be stopped; and a dwarven warrior monk who, legend says, took out the Dragon King the first time and might be waiting to finish the job. You know, the kind of thing you expect out of a Hellboy yarn.
One thing I like about this one is getting to see more of Hellboy's relationship with Anastasia Bransfield. She's had the occasional mention in other tales, but in this one we actually get to see the history between these two and how they interact a few years after their romantic relationship has ended. I also like that Golden decided to go into how they met, because that's just a fun story in itself.
Along with the Anastasia/Hellboy relationship, the actual events of the story are great as well. We've got dragon-men, the spawns of human/dragon crossbreeding; the great Dragon King, a menace to the whole world that must be stopped; and a dwarven warrior monk who, legend says, took out the Dragon King the first time and might be waiting to finish the job. You know, the kind of thing you expect out of a Hellboy yarn.
March 10, 2012
Overall this was a good pulpy modern fantasy novel, full of magic and monsters! Our hero is reunited with a former lover at a site when an Archaeological dig uncovers a dragon. He fights hard and knocks the monsters around while trying to deal with rekindling the loving feelings for his lost love. All done in capable and imaginative prose.
Bones to pick... The author flashes back and forth to tell the history and the current story. Early in the book he uses a simile involving a James bond villain. It worked the first time, but he used he same phrase about a dozen pages later and it just felt repetitive. Because i liked the characters and the ideas, I didn't let these flaws hold me back.
Fun and imaginative.
Bones to pick... The author flashes back and forth to tell the history and the current story. Early in the book he uses a simile involving a James bond villain. It worked the first time, but he used he same phrase about a dozen pages later and it just felt repetitive. Because i liked the characters and the ideas, I didn't let these flaws hold me back.
Fun and imaginative.
May 8, 2009
Any Hellboy is probably worth reading, really, but this book is indicative of the state of Modern Pulp. Compared to classics from the real pulp era, this title (and many others like it) are about 1/3 too long.
We're given omniscient looks into the main character's mind, as well as several other supporting characters'. Not at all like old pulp, in which we perhaps get inside the protagonist's thoughts, but hardly ever the supporting cast, which can lead to jumping around and excess verbiage.
Still, Golden is a talented author, and has apparently collaborated with Mignola, and this book makes for a good, action-packed read.
We're given omniscient looks into the main character's mind, as well as several other supporting characters'. Not at all like old pulp, in which we perhaps get inside the protagonist's thoughts, but hardly ever the supporting cast, which can lead to jumping around and excess verbiage.
Still, Golden is a talented author, and has apparently collaborated with Mignola, and this book makes for a good, action-packed read.
January 28, 2011
Dragon Pool was an OK read. It was slow in sections where the author tried to give the reader background information on Hellboy's past relationship with one of the other characters romantically. It seemed to bog down the story for me instead of expand it.
Overall it was an easy read without too much challenging thought. It also left me a little sad.
Koh was one of the most interesting characters and I would love to know more about him. Overall a good read, but not the best Hellboy novel I've read, but still good.
Overall it was an easy read without too much challenging thought. It also left me a little sad.
Koh was one of the most interesting characters and I would love to know more about him. Overall a good read, but not the best Hellboy novel I've read, but still good.
April 17, 2015
This is another good Hellboy adventure, the third written by Christopher Golden. For some reason the character seems best to me when faced with an archaeological theme or puzzle. This time Hellboy and Abe and friends are in the Himalayas. This one is a bit of a let down from the previous two because it's a smaller, mass-market sized edition, with no interior illustrations, but it's a fun read nonetheless.
February 10, 2008
The Dragon Pool is a good popcorn book. It's light, fast, and easy to consume without weighing the reader down with unnecessary calories.
Anyone who is a fan of Hellboy, whether the comics, the movie, or both, will enjoy the books. We learn a bit of Hellboy's backstory with Anastasia and we see the BPRD in action. What more do you need?
Good fun.
Anyone who is a fan of Hellboy, whether the comics, the movie, or both, will enjoy the books. We learn a bit of Hellboy's backstory with Anastasia and we see the BPRD in action. What more do you need?
Good fun.
June 11, 2012
What makes Hellboy such a cool protagonist is that he's so pedestrian in the midst of such madness. Unfortunately, Golden is one of the most pedestrian writers I've run across--he's not bad, and there's no particular complaints, he just doesn't really make me care. The plot's ok, the characters are ok...the whole thing is ok.
April 29, 2014
Review to come...
March 12, 2009
nice piece of easy literature
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June 14, 2016FALSE
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews