written by Clive
Barker
published by HarperCollins
ISBN-10: 0060182989
ISBN-13: 978-0060182984
reviewed by Adam Armstrong
07.12.2008
What the…
A book
possessed begging for you to burn it. Mister B. Gone is about Jakabok Botch a double-tailed lower demon. In his youth he falls into a fire and becomes
horribly burned adding to his already grotesque features. He and his feuding father are both captured
and brought out of hell to earth where Jakabok escapes
soon to be united with another more powerful demon named Quintoon.
For a hundred years the two reek havoc
until a disagreement turns violent. When
Jakabok attempts to reconcile with Quintoon he finds himself in a very strange place, the
reader’s hands.
The formatting
of this book was an interesting idea of having the book itself talk to the
reader instead of the reader reading a story. The continuous begging to be burned gets old
quick though and the overall tone doesn’t match up with Barker’s earlier work
unless you include The Thief Of
Always which
is a book for young adults. Barker
usually weaves in an undercurrent of sex and exploration into all of his work,
which is distinctly missing in this book.
For long time
Barker fans this book will seem more like a table scrap versus a meal, and a
bit of a disappointment. For first time
readers of Clive Barker, I think a large amount of confusion will come about. The binding and the pages on the hardcover are
beautiful however.
3.5 out of 5