Synopses & Reviews
Mister B. Gone marks the long-awaited return of Clive Barker, the great master of the macabre, to the classic horror story.
This bone-chilling novel, in which a medieval devil speaks directly to his reader — his tone murderous one moment, seductive the next — is a never-before-published memoir allegedly penned in the year 1438. The demon has embedded himself in the very words of this tale of terror, turning the book itself into a dangerous object, laced with menace only too ready to break free and exert its power.
A brilliant and truly unsettling tour de force of the supernatural, Mister B. Gone escorts the reader on an intimate and revelatory journey to uncover the shocking truth of the battle between Good and Evil.
Review
"[A] swift, spare novel that reminds us, once again, of the discipline and focus Barker can bring to shorter forms....Within the modest canvas of Mister B. Gone, Barker, who rarely does anything predictable, confounds expectations once again, giving us one of the most resonant, provocative novels of his career." The Washington Post
Review
"Even with a strong novel such as Mister B. Gone, it's safe to say Barker won't approach the popularity of a Stephen King or Dean Koontz....Barker is arguably more of a stylist, willing to take more chances than either....[This] is one ingenious work, with a twist that proves that a devil of a good book lies in its writing and its details." Contra Costa Times
Review
"There are grand pronouncements about the nature of evil, and the evil of even the supposed moral arbiters, as well as the use of the printing press to disseminate both good and evil. Teens who devour the Saw movies will probably appreciate this well-written, if slightly messy, horror novel." School Library Journal
Synopsis
"Think of a darker, more aggressive version of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. . . . Filled with wicked mischief and dark dares." -- Kansas City Star
You hold in your hands not a book at all, but a terrifying embodiment of purest evil. Can you feel the electric tingle in your fingers as you are absorbed by the demon Jakabok's tale of his unintentional ascent from the depths of the Inferno? Do you sense the cold dread worming its way into your bloodstream, your sinews, the marrow of your bones as you read more deeply into his earthly education and unspeakable acts? The filth you now grasp has been waiting patiently for you for nearly six hundred years. And now, before you are completely in its thrall, you would do well to follow the foul creature's admonition and destroy this abomination of ink and paper before you turn a single leaf and are lost forever.
You have been warned.
Synopsis
"Think of a darker, more aggressive version of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. . . . Filled with wicked mischief and dark dares." -- Kansas City Star
From Clive Barker, the great master of horror and the macabre, comes a brilliant and truly unsettling tour de force of the supernatural--a terrifying work that escorts the reader on an intimate and revelatory journey to uncover the shocking truth of the battle between Good and Evil.
"Burn this book "
So warns Jakerbok, the spellbinding narrator of this fabulously original "memoir," a tale of good and evil deliberately "lost" for nearly six hundred years. Jakerbok is no ordinary soul; he is a minion of hell with a terrifying plan to cast the world into darkness and despair--a plan thwarted by a young apprentice of Johannes Gutenberg who buried the one and only copy of this damnable manuscript that his master printed in 1438.
Compelling and direct, Jakerbok shares the secrets of his life, going back centuries to recall the events that shaped his childhood, including the traumas he suffered at the hands of his parents, super demons themselves. He explains how he rose from "minor" to "major" demon status, and gleefully reveals his nefarious plot to "invade" the minds and hearts of unwitting humans everywhere thanks to the ingenious Gutenberg and his invention. "Burn this book " he advises throughout--a taunt, a warning, and a command that will actually unleash the evil with which he has hidden in every word and every page, infusing the very ink and paper upon which they are printed.
Inventive and irresistible, Mister B. Good reaffirms Clive Barker is one of our most brilliant and original voices, an artist with a keen insight into mysteries deep within the human heart.
Synopsis
You hold in your hands not a book at all, but a terrifying embodiment of purest evil. Can you feel the electric tingle in your fingers as you are absorbed by the demon Jakabok's tale of his unintentional ascent from the depths of the Inferno? Do you sense the cold dread worming its way into your bloodstream, your sinews, the marrow of your bones as you read more deeply into his earthly education and unspeakable acts? The filth you now grasp has been waiting patiently for you for nearly six hundred years. And now, before you are completely in its thrall, you would do well to follow the foul creature's admonition and destroy this abomination of ink and paper before you turn a single leaf and are lost forever.
You have been warned.
Synopsis
The great master of horror returns with this novel that purports to be Barker's bone-chilling discovery of a never-before-published demonic memoir.
About the Author
Clive Barker is the bestselling author of twenty-two books, including the
New York Times bestsellers
Abarat;
Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War; and
The Thief of Always. He is also an acclaimed painter, film producer, and director. For twelve years Mr. Barker has been working on a vast array of paintings to illuminate the text of
The Books of Abarat, more than one hundred and twenty-five of which can be found within this volume.
Mr. Barker lives in California. He shares his house with seven dogs, three cockatiels, several undomesticated geckoes, an African gray parrot called Smokey, and a yellow-headed Amazon parrot called Malingo.