William Reese asked Keith Deininger:

Hi Keith. I just picked up a copy of Clive Barker's "The Scarlet Gospels" at the library. It wasn't until just now that I realize it's entwined with other books he's written. Will it work as a stand-alone, as I haven't read anything else by him containing these characters?

Keith Deininger I think the Scarlet Gospels stands alone. You can read it without having read any of Barker's other works, but I will say that I don't think it's his best. I'm a huge Barker fan and he has a lot of amazing stuff. Pick up the Books of Blood, which you should be able to find at the library, for a taste of some of his short fiction. If you'd like a little background before you read the Scarlet Gospels, however, Barker wrote a short novella called The Hellhound Heart, which is pretty easy to find. Barker than made a movie based on it called Hellraiser, which will also give you a little background. It's on Netflix. ;)

flag