Title/Author: The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker |
Published: May 21st 2015 |
Publisher: Macmillan |
Genre: Horror |
Pages: 288 |
ISBN: 978-1447266983 |
Find/Buy From: GoodReads - Amazon UK Amazon US - Barnes And Noble The Book Depository -Waterstones Sainsbury's Entertainment |
Book Source: My own collection (I have never been, nor will I ever be, in any way compensated for my reviews. I have added this disclaimer in the interests of full disclosure!) |
About The Book:
(From GoodReads)
The Scarlet Gospels takes listeners back many years to the early days of two of Barker's most iconic characters in a battle of good and evil as old as time: The long-beleaguered detective Harry D'Amour, investigator of all supernatural, magical, and malevolent crimes, faces off against his formidable and intensely evil rival, Pinhead, the priest of hell.
Barker devotees have been waiting for The Scarlet Gospels with baited breath for years, and it's everything they've begged for and more.
Bloody, terrifying, and brilliantly complex, fans and newcomers alike will not be disappointed by the epic, visionary tale that is The Scarlet Gospels. Barker's horror will make your worst nightmares seem like bedtime stories. The Gospels are coming. Are you ready?
(From GoodReads)
The Scarlet Gospels takes listeners back many years to the early days of two of Barker's most iconic characters in a battle of good and evil as old as time: The long-beleaguered detective Harry D'Amour, investigator of all supernatural, magical, and malevolent crimes, faces off against his formidable and intensely evil rival, Pinhead, the priest of hell.
Barker devotees have been waiting for The Scarlet Gospels with baited breath for years, and it's everything they've begged for and more.
Bloody, terrifying, and brilliantly complex, fans and newcomers alike will not be disappointed by the epic, visionary tale that is The Scarlet Gospels. Barker's horror will make your worst nightmares seem like bedtime stories. The Gospels are coming. Are you ready?
About The Author:
A visionary, fantasist, poet and painter, Clive Barker has expanded the reaches of human imagination as a novelist, director, screenwriter and dramatist. An inveterate seeker who traverses between myriad styles with ease, Barker has left his indelible artistic mark on a range of projects that reflect his creative grasp of contemporary media -- from familiar literary terrain to the progressive vision of his Seraphim production company. His 1998 “Gods and Monsters,” which he executive produced, garnered three Academy Award nominations and an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The following year, Barker joined the ranks of such illustrious authors as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Annie Dillard and Aldous Huxley when his collection of literary works was inducted into the Perennial line at HarperCollins, who then published The Essential Clive Barker, a 700-page anthology with an introduction by Armistead Maupin.
Barker began his odyssey in the London theatre, scripting original plays for his group The Dog Company, including “The History of the Devil,” “Frankenstein in Love” and “Crazyface.”. Soon, Barker began publishing his The Books of Blood short fiction collections; but it was his debut novel, The Damnation Game that widened his already growing international audience.
Barker shifted gears in 1987 when he directed “Hellraiser,” based on his novella The Hellbound Heart, which became a veritable cult classic spawning a slew of sequels, several lines of comic books, and an array of merchandising. In 1990, he adapted and directed “Nightbreed” from his short story Cabal. Two years later, Barker executive produced the housing-project story “Candyman,” as well as the 1995 sequel, “Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh.” Also that year, he directed Scott Bakula and Famke Janssen in the noir-esque detective tale, “Lord of Illusions.”
Barker’s literary works include such best-selling fantasies as Weaveworld, Imajica, and Everville, the children’s novel The Thief of Always, Sacrament, Galilee and Coldheart Canyon. The first of his quintet of children’s books, Abarat, was published in October 2002 to resounding critical acclaim, followed by Abarat II: Days of Magic, Nights of War and Arabat III: Absolute Midnight; Barker is currently completing the fourth in the series. As an artist, Barker frequently turns to the canvas to fuel his imagination with hugely successful exhibitions across America. His neo-expressionist paintings have been showcased in two large format books, Clive Barker, Illustrator, volumes I & II.
You find out more about Clive Barker and his other work on the following sites:
GoodReads - Official Website/Blog - YouTube - Facebook - Google+ - Twitter
A visionary, fantasist, poet and painter, Clive Barker has expanded the reaches of human imagination as a novelist, director, screenwriter and dramatist. An inveterate seeker who traverses between myriad styles with ease, Barker has left his indelible artistic mark on a range of projects that reflect his creative grasp of contemporary media -- from familiar literary terrain to the progressive vision of his Seraphim production company. His 1998 “Gods and Monsters,” which he executive produced, garnered three Academy Award nominations and an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The following year, Barker joined the ranks of such illustrious authors as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Annie Dillard and Aldous Huxley when his collection of literary works was inducted into the Perennial line at HarperCollins, who then published The Essential Clive Barker, a 700-page anthology with an introduction by Armistead Maupin.
Barker began his odyssey in the London theatre, scripting original plays for his group The Dog Company, including “The History of the Devil,” “Frankenstein in Love” and “Crazyface.”. Soon, Barker began publishing his The Books of Blood short fiction collections; but it was his debut novel, The Damnation Game that widened his already growing international audience.
Barker shifted gears in 1987 when he directed “Hellraiser,” based on his novella The Hellbound Heart, which became a veritable cult classic spawning a slew of sequels, several lines of comic books, and an array of merchandising. In 1990, he adapted and directed “Nightbreed” from his short story Cabal. Two years later, Barker executive produced the housing-project story “Candyman,” as well as the 1995 sequel, “Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh.” Also that year, he directed Scott Bakula and Famke Janssen in the noir-esque detective tale, “Lord of Illusions.”
Barker’s literary works include such best-selling fantasies as Weaveworld, Imajica, and Everville, the children’s novel The Thief of Always, Sacrament, Galilee and Coldheart Canyon. The first of his quintet of children’s books, Abarat, was published in October 2002 to resounding critical acclaim, followed by Abarat II: Days of Magic, Nights of War and Arabat III: Absolute Midnight; Barker is currently completing the fourth in the series. As an artist, Barker frequently turns to the canvas to fuel his imagination with hugely successful exhibitions across America. His neo-expressionist paintings have been showcased in two large format books, Clive Barker, Illustrator, volumes I & II.
You find out more about Clive Barker and his other work on the following sites:
GoodReads - Official Website/Blog - YouTube - Facebook - Google+ - Twitter
My Thoughts On The Book:
'The gates to hell are open'
The Plot Of The Story:
The time is finally here! Master of horror, Clive Barker has brought back two of his most iconic creations to star in The Scarlet Gospels and yes, we are talking about Pinhead (below left - portrayed by Doug Bradley in the Hellraiser franchise) and Harry D'Amour (below right - portrayed by Scott Bakula in Lord Of Illusions) and this is to be Pinhead's final hurrah!
Harry D'Amour is a detective of magical and supernatural crimes and his latest case is about to bring him ultimately face to face with the Priest Of Hell himself and Harry must bear witness to to the Hell Priest actions as he and a small group of his friend venture into Hell itself to rescue one of their own only to see first hand the destruction the ruthless Cenobite it about to let leash on his own demon kind.
The first part of the book is to establish Harry and his character, we meet his friends and in particular Norma Paine, an dear old friend of Harry's who blind and has the ability to talk to the dead, helping them with their unfinished business. It also acts as a way for Harry to become more familiar with the dreaded Lemarchands Puzzle Box, or the Lament Configuration, and how the Cenobite is linked to it. It also gives us a brand new view of Pinhead himself, we get to see him in a totally new light and at his cataclysmic and most gruesome best. He's a different being that we have seen him before, both in word form and on the screens this is Pinhead as he always should have been.
The latter part of the book is about Harry's trip into the Hell dimension from whence the Cenobite originally came, the land of the Devil himself although Lucifer himself is no-where to be found....... Pinhead has his own thoughts and plans on that score. Harry ventures into Hell to rescue a kidnapped and injured Norma but only to find that he has in fact been drawn there not just to save Nora but in actuality to be a witness to Pinhead's final plan for Hell.
What Is There To Love?
'The gates to hell are open'
The Plot Of The Story:
The time is finally here! Master of horror, Clive Barker has brought back two of his most iconic creations to star in The Scarlet Gospels and yes, we are talking about Pinhead (below left - portrayed by Doug Bradley in the Hellraiser franchise) and Harry D'Amour (below right - portrayed by Scott Bakula in Lord Of Illusions) and this is to be Pinhead's final hurrah!
Harry D'Amour is a detective of magical and supernatural crimes and his latest case is about to bring him ultimately face to face with the Priest Of Hell himself and Harry must bear witness to to the Hell Priest actions as he and a small group of his friend venture into Hell itself to rescue one of their own only to see first hand the destruction the ruthless Cenobite it about to let leash on his own demon kind.
The first part of the book is to establish Harry and his character, we meet his friends and in particular Norma Paine, an dear old friend of Harry's who blind and has the ability to talk to the dead, helping them with their unfinished business. It also acts as a way for Harry to become more familiar with the dreaded Lemarchands Puzzle Box, or the Lament Configuration, and how the Cenobite is linked to it. It also gives us a brand new view of Pinhead himself, we get to see him in a totally new light and at his cataclysmic and most gruesome best. He's a different being that we have seen him before, both in word form and on the screens this is Pinhead as he always should have been.
The latter part of the book is about Harry's trip into the Hell dimension from whence the Cenobite originally came, the land of the Devil himself although Lucifer himself is no-where to be found....... Pinhead has his own thoughts and plans on that score. Harry ventures into Hell to rescue a kidnapped and injured Norma but only to find that he has in fact been drawn there not just to save Nora but in actuality to be a witness to Pinhead's final plan for Hell.
What Is There To Love?
Oh my word, just everything about this book is just glorious and there is so much to love and adore about Barker's return to his early form.
This book shows Pinhead the way I always wanted to see him, in his full glory, as the demented and evil creature he really is but it always shows that he isn't just a slave to the puzzle box and that he has hopes and dreams of his own. He shows real depth of character here and proving he is much more than he seems, with hidden layers that are finally free to be seen. He is the star of the book and is just a brilliantly crafted creation..... oh, and by the way he hates the Pinhead moniker!
Apart from Pinhead I have to say that the whole story in general is just a piece of classy and evocative writing. We have all the mythology and world building here that was a little missing from stories where we first met both Harry and Pinhead and it's all crafted together into one seamless and visionary tale. The tension throughout is epic and the pacing gets faster and faster as we speed towards the most amazing, shocking and immense ending I have read in an awful long time
What Is There To Dislike?
Nothing, nada, not one single thing......except why the hell did it take Barker so long to bring this horror masterpiece to his fans?
How's The Writing?
Masterful, this is one of my favourite Barker tales......ever! It's so imaginative and so vividly full of immaculate detail that you can see every detail in your minds eye as your read, especially when you head into Hell and get a whole new Barker inspired version of Hell and it's denizens. It's a beautiful specimen of horror genius and is the kind of thing Barker fans have craved for years.
The pacing of the book is spot on and builds and builds until it reaches a climatic and magnificent conclusion. As it builds, layer upon layer, it pulls the reader into the story more and more until as the reader you begin to feel that it's you bearing witness to Pinhead's war on Hell rather than the actual witness, Harry.
The world-building here is also completely spot on, it gives you a perfect and unique vision of the world that spawned the Cenobites, the world created by Lucifer himself and it's quiet the vivid and torrid world. Barker also given an added depth to the mythology revolving around the Cenobites, the puzzle box and Hell, finally things begin to make a certain kind of sense.
Barker has used every skill in his arsenal to create characters that feel realistic despite their otherworldlyness, they are deep, rich and expressive. It's so easy to root for them all, even Pinhead to a degree believe it or not...... ye,s I was surprised with how much I actually liked Pinhead in this book too, even when he was at his very worst and the scene in the monastery with Pinhead and his spelled paper birds was just exquisitely written, creative and visually disturbing all at the same time! As for that ending (no spoilers here), well it has to be read to be believed and it is AWESOME!
Final Thoughts:
As fans of Barker and Pinhead know this book went through a huge amount of editing before it was published and at one point it was probably twice the size of the finished article. I hope that one day an uncut version of the book may be released (like they did with Stephen King's The Stand) as I would definitely want to read it based on all the little teaser's Barker himself gave us while writing the book, it would truly be an epic read!
The question you all need answering though is whether I would recommend the book to you or not right. Well it is a resounding YES, YES, YES from me. Fans of horror novels will die for this tale, it's formidable, it's astonishing and it's simply brilliant..... what Clive Barker fans have been waiting for for such a long time, let's hope the next book won't take so long to reach us!
This book shows Pinhead the way I always wanted to see him, in his full glory, as the demented and evil creature he really is but it always shows that he isn't just a slave to the puzzle box and that he has hopes and dreams of his own. He shows real depth of character here and proving he is much more than he seems, with hidden layers that are finally free to be seen. He is the star of the book and is just a brilliantly crafted creation..... oh, and by the way he hates the Pinhead moniker!
Apart from Pinhead I have to say that the whole story in general is just a piece of classy and evocative writing. We have all the mythology and world building here that was a little missing from stories where we first met both Harry and Pinhead and it's all crafted together into one seamless and visionary tale. The tension throughout is epic and the pacing gets faster and faster as we speed towards the most amazing, shocking and immense ending I have read in an awful long time
What Is There To Dislike?
Nothing, nada, not one single thing......except why the hell did it take Barker so long to bring this horror masterpiece to his fans?
How's The Writing?
Masterful, this is one of my favourite Barker tales......ever! It's so imaginative and so vividly full of immaculate detail that you can see every detail in your minds eye as your read, especially when you head into Hell and get a whole new Barker inspired version of Hell and it's denizens. It's a beautiful specimen of horror genius and is the kind of thing Barker fans have craved for years.
The pacing of the book is spot on and builds and builds until it reaches a climatic and magnificent conclusion. As it builds, layer upon layer, it pulls the reader into the story more and more until as the reader you begin to feel that it's you bearing witness to Pinhead's war on Hell rather than the actual witness, Harry.
The world-building here is also completely spot on, it gives you a perfect and unique vision of the world that spawned the Cenobites, the world created by Lucifer himself and it's quiet the vivid and torrid world. Barker also given an added depth to the mythology revolving around the Cenobites, the puzzle box and Hell, finally things begin to make a certain kind of sense.
Barker has used every skill in his arsenal to create characters that feel realistic despite their otherworldlyness, they are deep, rich and expressive. It's so easy to root for them all, even Pinhead to a degree believe it or not...... ye,s I was surprised with how much I actually liked Pinhead in this book too, even when he was at his very worst and the scene in the monastery with Pinhead and his spelled paper birds was just exquisitely written, creative and visually disturbing all at the same time! As for that ending (no spoilers here), well it has to be read to be believed and it is AWESOME!
Final Thoughts:
As fans of Barker and Pinhead know this book went through a huge amount of editing before it was published and at one point it was probably twice the size of the finished article. I hope that one day an uncut version of the book may be released (like they did with Stephen King's The Stand) as I would definitely want to read it based on all the little teaser's Barker himself gave us while writing the book, it would truly be an epic read!
The question you all need answering though is whether I would recommend the book to you or not right. Well it is a resounding YES, YES, YES from me. Fans of horror novels will die for this tale, it's formidable, it's astonishing and it's simply brilliant..... what Clive Barker fans have been waiting for for such a long time, let's hope the next book won't take so long to reach us!
| Copyright: Edward Miller |
See you next time!
Thea
xxxx
