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!!!