Mister B. Gone
by Clive Barker
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 475)
Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
people who like clever things
I've never read any of Clive Barker's stuff, and I think I've only seen one of his movies. (I've never seen any of the Hellraiser franchise, but I did see the first Candyman movie. It's the only scary movie I've ever watched at an actual "sleepover". Oh, the cliches I've lived. Oh, wait, I just IMDB-ed him and I'll also admit to seeing Lord of Illusions, at the theater no less. My friend Nola had a huge tv crush on Scott Bakula at the time, and that's the ONLY reason we sat through tha...more
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Read in January, 2008
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Read in November, 2007
MISTER B. GONE BY CLIVER BARKER: The moment you pick up this book, you know you’re in for a treat. It’s small and compact, inviting, around 200 pages long. On the front black cover is the title in Gothic type: Mister B. Gone, with Clive Barker carved in rough letters beneath. Between the two lines is a strange pictograph making one curious and interested. On the back is the same symbol and not another word. Turn the cover and there is a strange marble page design, which kind of looks li...more
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Read in June, 2008
The very first three words of this story are enough to tell you that you're in trouble: "Burn this book."
For a bibliophile like myself, to even consider such a thing is a sin. But there it is, in black and white. "Burn this book." And it's only just beginning. For page after page, the narrator of the book exhorts you to burn it. It tries to shake your faith, promising that you're not prepared for what you're going to read. It tries to tempt you with a house that angel...more
For a bibliophile like myself, to even consider such a thing is a sin. But there it is, in black and white. "Burn this book." And it's only just beginning. For page after page, the narrator of the book exhorts you to burn it. It tries to shake your faith, promising that you're not prepared for what you're going to read. It tries to tempt you with a house that angel...more
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recommends it for:
fans of "Good Omens"
Definitely "earns its R", as well as your heart.
*
There's A Monster at the End of this Book, 'cept it's This Book is a Bound Demon.
*
Is "Clive Barker" a pseudonym for Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman? Seriously, though, I'm getting a Good Omens vibe, here. Perhaps it will become movie directed by Terry Gilliam, featuring the work of Jim Henson's, uh, people.
*
The demon-catchers scene was tedious. For me, at least. I suppose a bunch ...more
*
There's A Monster at the End of this Book, 'cept it's This Book is a Bound Demon.
*
Is "Clive Barker" a pseudonym for Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman? Seriously, though, I'm getting a Good Omens vibe, here. Perhaps it will become movie directed by Terry Gilliam, featuring the work of Jim Henson's, uh, people.
*
The demon-catchers scene was tedious. For me, at least. I suppose a bunch ...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
pansies, dumb people, non-horror horror lovers
technically, i'm not done with this. i've got about ten pages to go. literally, i don't care, and may never finish this book (which i NEVER do). i'm so deeply unimpressed that i might even be a little... repulsed? if this were from almost anyone else, it might be a decent story, maybe even a little creepy? i doubt it, actually.
it's hard to believe that this junk came from the same man who wrote "in the flesh"... or "cabal"- or anything else clive barker has ever written,...more
it's hard to believe that this junk came from the same man who wrote "in the flesh"... or "cabal"- or anything else clive barker has ever written,...more
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Read in November, 2007
I liked the simplicity of this novel. It reads more as fairytale than horror, although there are echoes back to the excellent short story The Yattering And Jack . I really enjoy the artificial aging of the paper. It adds to the novels device of having the demonic narrator trapped inside the pages, begging you to burn the book. I wish I could take the dust jacket off, remove the copyright page and any mention of title or author, distress the cover until it looks ancient, than plant it in...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
The Brave :}
Wicked. I literally need some grace time before ever again reading something like this.
Jakabok Botch is a demon that has been cursed by angels and demons into the pages of the book, because he bore witness to a meeting. A meeting between angels and demons, in which they kinda bargined each other for possesion of Guttenburg's printing press and the subjects of books to be written, because it would be one of those human machines that would chane humanity forever.
He takes you through his...more
Jakabok Botch is a demon that has been cursed by angels and demons into the pages of the book, because he bore witness to a meeting. A meeting between angels and demons, in which they kinda bargined each other for possesion of Guttenburg's printing press and the subjects of books to be written, because it would be one of those human machines that would chane humanity forever.
He takes you through his...more
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Read in January, 2008
Oh Mr. Barker, how I love thee. However, in this instance you have let me down. This felt like a short story that he tried to flesh out into a novel. Why waste time on this when you have fans waiting for some much more. More of the Abarat books or WHERE IS MY BOOK 3 OF THE ART SERIES. The story is about a demon who is trapped in the book you are reading and is begging you to burn the book to free him. In the mean time he tells you stories of his life. The problem is the story is interrupt...more
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Read in April, 2008
Mister B. Gone is a lightweight, entertaining read with an interesting story. What it isn't is a novel with the sort of depth that I have come to expect from Clive Barker. The novel is narrated by a demon who is trapped within the book's very pages. He alternates imploring the reader to destroy the book with telling the events that lead to his entrapment. The problem with this is that had I not borrowed the book from a friend, at points I was so bored by his narrative that I would have gladly wi...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of Barker, metafiction, pseudo-memoir, book arts
One of the most interesting premises I've read about all year. I think that in that respect, Barker is almost setting himself up for failure; the story has so much potential and of course he never quite reaches it.
However, this is a great addition to the world of metafiction and the pseudo-memoir (I have no idea if there is an official term for fiction written in the style of memoir). I guess we can call it a metafictional memoir. The story has a lot to say about memoir, about fiction, bo...more
However, this is a great addition to the world of metafiction and the pseudo-memoir (I have no idea if there is an official term for fiction written in the style of memoir). I guess we can call it a metafictional memoir. The story has a lot to say about memoir, about fiction, bo...more
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Read in March, 2008
I suppose it is tempting to call Mister B. Gone the long-awaited return of Clive Barker to horror, as many are doing (hell, even the inside jacket says so). But, after reading it, I'm not sure that's 100% accurate. Sure, it's about a demon, and has quite a few gruesome moments. But, overall, it's never really terrifying, and its whimisical nature actually has more in common with Barker's more recent fantasy work than with his Books of Blood days, in my opinion. That's not a criticism, though - j...more
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Read in November, 2007
"Mister B. Gone" is rather unique in that it goes beyond the normal first person narrative, stating clearly that not only is Mr. B the story-teller, he is actually the book itself. Mr B (also known as Jakobak Botch) is a minor demon who tells a tale of coming up from Hell and dealing with humans, angels, and other demons on Earth.
Most of the story takes place in the 14th and 15th centuries, leading to the town of Maize, where heavenly and demonic forces are focused on the new in...more
Most of the story takes place in the 14th and 15th centuries, leading to the town of Maize, where heavenly and demonic forces are focused on the new in...more
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Read in May, 2008
An adult version of The Monster at the End of This Book. When I was a kid, that book starring the “lovable, furry old Grover” scared the crap out of me. I wouldn’t let my parents finish reading because I feared that Grover was right, and there was a monster (of course, he was the monster). In this respect Mister B. Gone is nostalgic. I felt a twinge of that childlike wondering, “what if there really is a demon trapped inside the book I hold in my hands?” It is not wh...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
Barker completists
I love Clive Barker so much. I really do. He was the first famous person I wrote a letter to. (Okay, actually he was the second. I wrote one to Orville Redenbacher first. No, I'm not kidding. I think I was eight or something. But I did.)
This book was a bit of a letdown; I really think it was just not the right time for me to read it. I also haven't read just-plain-horror in years and I think my suspension of disbelief wasn't quite functional. There were a few places that I felt like it drag...more
This book was a bit of a letdown; I really think it was just not the right time for me to read it. I also haven't read just-plain-horror in years and I think my suspension of disbelief wasn't quite functional. There were a few places that I felt like it drag...more
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Read in April, 2008
What you hold in your hands when you pick up this book is a very old Demon. A Demon that wants you to do him a favor. He will cajole you, flatter you, seduce you. And when that doesn't work He will threaten to end your days very slowly. But in between he will give you the story of how he came to be stuck within the pages of the book.
To begin with this book was beautifully bound, the pages looked like they could have been aged in the back of some ancient curio shop. But without the smell and...more
To begin with this book was beautifully bound, the pages looked like they could have been aged in the back of some ancient curio shop. But without the smell and...more
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recommends it for:
fans of Clive Barker
As always, Barker is a more than able wordsmith, and he writes a good, solid story.
But the problem with Mister B. Gone is that the conceit he's using - a demon trapped within the pages of the book is speaking to you and telling you his life story only works to a certain extent. The danger with writing in the second person - e.g., "As soon as you heard that word, your blood started to quicken" - is that if the reader's blood is not in fact quickening at that moment, su...more
But the problem with Mister B. Gone is that the conceit he's using - a demon trapped within the pages of the book is speaking to you and telling you his life story only works to a certain extent. The danger with writing in the second person - e.g., "As soon as you heard that word, your blood started to quicken" - is that if the reader's blood is not in fact quickening at that moment, su...more
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Read in December, 2007
I am a huge Clive Barker fan, and this is the first book of his I've been dissapointed by.
There is no hint of the depth of imagination found in books such as Imagica or The Great and Secret Show, or really any of the charming fantasy found in his Abarat series.
I attribute this to the fact that he's been working on the Abarat series for so long, it's suitable for kids as well as adults and has a hefty Disney backing, that he realised he needed to release a patented Clive Barker style &quo...more
There is no hint of the depth of imagination found in books such as Imagica or The Great and Secret Show, or really any of the charming fantasy found in his Abarat series.
I attribute this to the fact that he's been working on the Abarat series for so long, it's suitable for kids as well as adults and has a hefty Disney backing, that he realised he needed to release a patented Clive Barker style &quo...more
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Read in November, 2007
I fondly remember Clive Barker's early short stories and novels from the '80s. However, somewhere along the way I stopped reading him. Mister B. Gone is supposedly a return to his horror roots. Although the book is about Hell, Demons, and the horrible things they can do to Humanity, the book could be more accurately described as dark fantasy. His underworld and demons require a heavy dose of Suspending Disbelief, much in the same way you would approach the Greek gods in works like the Iliad...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Horror / Fantasy fans
I haven't seen a book written by Barker for adults in quite some time. The dust jacket alone makes it worth picking up. The demon catching scenes in the beginning are a little slow. Although I admit to taking perverse pleasure in the hypocrisy's liberally distributed throughout them.
I enjoyed the book. I liked the voice Barker uses, though I found Jakabok's infatuation with Quitoon rather pat. I enjoyed scenes surrounding the Gutenberg press quite a bit, and found the novel moved at a f...more
I enjoyed the book. I liked the voice Barker uses, though I found Jakabok's infatuation with Quitoon rather pat. I enjoyed scenes surrounding the Gutenberg press quite a bit, and found the novel moved at a f...more
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