I read the book because I LOVED angel heart when it came out in the 1980s.
The movie is quite different than the book as one would expect but it is not my issue with the book. My main issue with the book is that it is not as suspenseful and scary as the film.
The story is similar but the book fails in my opinion to create than sense of scare and dread.
There are some nasty scenes that were more disgusting than scary which took from the book (but the movie smartly ignored) overall pleasure.
I would have probably had different expectations had I not seen the movie before.
The movie is quite different than the book as one would expect but it is not my issue with the book. My main issue with the book is that it is not as suspenseful and scary as the film.
The story is similar but the book fails in my opinion to create than sense of scare and dread.
There are some nasty scenes that were more disgusting than scary which took from the book (but the movie smartly ignored) overall pleasure.
I would have probably had different expectations had I not seen the movie before.
This is the book that the movie 'Angel Heart' was based on. Now, I liked Angel Heart a lot when it came out - but that was quite a while ago. So I didn't remember all the details - but I did keep thinking the story sounded really familiar. (Like, I couldn't understand why the reviews/blurbs all said it was 'strikingly original', etc). ;-)
There are definitely some differences - the book takes place solely in New York City, not in New Orleans, for example.
It's very much a noir/mystery, a story of a private detective hired to search for a missing once-was pop singer, with a horror element that only becomes clear at the end. It's well-done - got a good emotional impact - but in order for it to make SENSE, you've really just got to say, "well, I guess satan, I mean, Louis Cypher, hahaha, does inexplicable things for no good reason other than that he is evil."
There are definitely some differences - the book takes place solely in New York City, not in New Orleans, for example.
It's very much a noir/mystery, a story of a private detective hired to search for a missing once-was pop singer, with a horror element that only becomes clear at the end. It's well-done - got a good emotional impact - but in order for it to make SENSE, you've really just got to say, "well, I guess satan, I mean, Louis Cypher, hahaha, does inexplicable things for no good reason other than that he is evil."
