Had a crack at hdr, but is it too much

HDR is a personal choice and you'll get varying responses to it.

This image is to much for me w/ severely blown reds.

I agree, it's WAY overdone IF you were looking for a natural look. OTOH, there are uses for a surreal image like that, so I'm not saying that it's a bad image. I'd clone out the flare at the right side.

Taste aside, I don't think blown highlights should ever look grey.

I took a second look, and I think it's mostly visually appealing, except the area around the horizon. There's a lot of stuff I dislike going on around the horizon.

Shouldn't the brightest thing in this shot be that blown out bit of sky ? How are some of the foreground elements brighter than their light source !?

Sorry - way too much.... What does the original look like?

I'm no expert and I really, really, hate overdone HDR... now, having said that, there is an artistic element here, that very few can judge.

From a technical view, all the previous posters are correct... especially the flair that is very distracting and drawing your eye.

However, artistically, you get away with it for me because the image is interesting. What is going on that causes the redness? What are those rings of rocks? Are they somehow connected to the redness? I briefly thought it might have been a cemetery, then just realized they were concentric rings.

I think it is too red, but maybe not as much as the others think. If you are truly going for an artistic creation, then explore the entire image for impact or each element. To tell the story, or to enhance the intrigue and mystery.