Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Hellboy Novels #Film Universe

by Robert Greenberger

After an ancient truce existing between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, hell on Earth is ready to erupt. A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below defies his bloodline and awakens an unstoppable army of creatures. Now, it's up to the planet's toughest, roughest superhero to battle the merciless dictator and his marauders. He may be red. He may be horned. He may be misunderstood. But when you need the job done right, it's time to call Hellboy. Along with his expanding team in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense - pyrotechnic girlfriend Liz Sherman, aquatic empathy Abe Sapien, and protoplasmic mystic Johann - the BPRD will travel between the surface strata and the unseen magical one, where creatures of fantasy become corporeal. And Hellboy, a creature of two worlds who's accepted by neither, must choose between the life he knows and an unknown destiny that beckons him.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 2008

Reviews

[Craig]

This is a novelization of the screenplay by Guillermo Del Toro for the film based on a story by Del Toro and Mike Mignola. It was the second live-action film based on the character created by Mignola in the long-running Dark Horse comic book series. I didn't like this film quite as much as the first one, it diverged a little too much from the original material for me, but Greenberger did a good job of adapting it, adding some background details but not making any substantial changes. There is a brief epilogue added which was a lot of fun for readers of the graphic novels.

[freddie]

3? 3.5 stars? There were inconsistencies here and there, and the characterisation somehow felt a little off at times for some of the characters. I preferred the way some scenes were handled over the film - the Troll Markets being one of those- but then there were others that I didn't like as much. Think I definitely prefer the movie itself over the novelisation, but I still enjoyed it enough. The epilogue sort of matches up with the beginning of the graphic novel volume I'm reading at the moment, which was kinda cool, I guess??

[Geordane Tabo-oy]

To be honest, it was quite a headache of a read. And this was hugely disappointing because this reader is a fan of the movies and the graphic novels. Although, of course, grand expectations shouldn’t have been made prior to reading the novelization.

There was a palpable lack of passion in the novelization.

It lacked a dramatic streak for scenes that needed it: HellBoy’s persecution from regular people, Nuala and Abe’s tender moments, HellBoy and Liz’s moments for that matter. The well-delivered lines in the movie — HB’s one-liners, Nuada’s impassioned speeches — lost their appeal in this translation.

The other dialogues didn’t even sound believable. Some parts, if not most, felt forced, awkward, and unconvincing. It seems that the movie was transliterated into words, without any thought for style or a more dramatic approach.

I’m not sure if these impressions are brought about by this being a novelization, or that the novelized version really is a pale comparison (as pale as the Elven siblings) to the movie.

But! That epilogue was quite a surprise. I don’t think that was in the movie, and it was very interesting. Similarly written in the lifeless writing, but interesting all the same.

[Wraith Tate]

I became less and less fond of this author's writing style the further I got into the book. If I didn't have a very strong dislike of leaving a book unfinished, I would have put this thing down a long time ago. Sufficient to say that my inner editor was flailing madly by the time I finished the last page. I should be enjoying the book, not thinking about how I could have written it better.

Oh, and note to Mr. Greenberger: There's no such thing as a "Tesler coil." What you're looking for is called a "TESLA coil." Get an editor who's actually competent and will notice things like that for you.

[Delaney Webb-Walker]

Kinda mad the epilogue was left out of the movie....

[bluetyson]

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Hellboy) by Robert Greenberger (2008)

[Harish]

I became a Hellboy fan after watching the movies. The novelization does justice to the fast paced movie.

[D]

A rather emotionless retelling of the movie.

[Indah Threez Lestari]

432 - 2016

[Jess]

Decent story made worse with offhand sexist comments from the author

[Dominique]

(sniff, sniff) Do you smell that? I smell a sequel in the works.

[Dana]

Hellboy 2 is possibly my all-time favorite movie... -shrug-