Warning Danger the Memoirs of a Demon

The focus of this blog is Leonbergers but sometimes I post about books that are not about Leonbergers but that I want to promote. Since it is Halloween, I decided to post a review for one of the most disturbing horror books that I’ve ever read. The book is Mister B Gone by Clive Barker, and it is the memoirs of a Demon. If “Clive Barker” does not ring a bell, his novel Hellbound Heart was the foundation for the Hellraiser series of eleven movies (with Pinhead). Clive Barker’s books have spawned dozens of movies.

Warning

First a warning. As you read this book a demon from hell will start speaking to you inside your head. It happens to everybody reading this book. The book also contains information about good and evil not meant for humans. Ask yourself, do you really want to know? In fact, the first words of the book are “Burn this book. Go on. Quickly, while there’s still time. Don’t look at another word. Did you hear me? Not. One. More. Word.”

Unlike many other books by Clive Barker, this book is not about gore and the macabre. It is not disgusting. However, it is very creepy. The narrator of the story is a demon from hell by the name of Jakabok Botch. He is evil and he eats babies, but he’s got a lot of interesting things to say. The question is whether you can stomach it. I should say I got the hardcover version.

  • Paperback –  Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (October 21, 2008), ISBN-10 : 0061562491, ISBN-13 : 978-0061562495, 248 pages, Item Weight : 10.4 ounces, Dimensions : 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches, it cost  $ 14.39 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
  • Hardcover –  HarperCollins; First Edition (October 30, 2007), ISBN-10 : 0060182989, ISBN-13 : 978-0060182984, 256 pages, Item Weight : 1.1 pounds, Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.95 x 8.25 inches, it costs $17.03 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
  • Kindle –  Publisher : HarperCollins e-books; Reprint edition (October 13, 2009), ASIN : B000W9661Q, 258 pages, it costs $1.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
  • Audio –  ASIN : B000Y4RRZ8, Narrator : Doug Bradley, Listening Length : 6 hours 28 minutes, it costs $0.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Black background, title and author with a small demon face in the middle.
Front cover of Mister B. Gone. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the paperback version of the book.

Amazon’s description of the book

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.

Below is my review written for this blog post. I have not yet written a review for Amazon.

This is a quite unique book. It is both a story about a demon and a disturbing conversation with that demon. The demon,  Jakabok Botch, escaped the ninth circle of Hell in the 14th century. He has been with us ever since and if you buy this book and read it, he will be with you too. Clive Barker has made sure, through his writing style, that you will hear the demon’s voice. He will be much closer to you than you could guess. Jakabok Botch is ugly, severely burned, he has two tails, he hates mankind, and he likes to take warm baths in the fresh blood of infants. He had a hellish childhood so despite him raising hell on earth and being so cruel, you also feel sorry for the demon, and you sort of start liking him too, like a beast you feel close too.

In the book there are several requests to stop reading the book and burn it instead. This may seem odd, but it sets the tone for the book. The book tells a strange and disturbing  but good story. It is creepy as well as philosophical. The demon, Jakabok Botch, asks the reader at some point why demons are condemned to hell, but humans are given a chance to escape hell, when humans can be just as evil. The demon had just witnessed people in the 14th century lustfully murder and torture each other, including burning pregnant women as witches. He thinks he can’t do any worse himself, so why shouldn’t all humans be with him in hell. No wonder he hates humans. What choices do we have, and what choices do demons have?

An episode in the book that I found to be quite intriguing was the war and the subsequent negotiation between the angels of heaven and the demons of hell over the written word at the time and place of Gutenberg’s invention. This event determined our future, and this book also has a in this history.

I found the book to be interesting and creative. Clive Barker’s imagination is amazing. The comparisons between the heartless barbarism of people in less enlightened times, as well as today, and that of demons in hell were enlightening. Is earth just like another circle of hell in which we are our own demons? I think this book was an attempt by Clive Barker to reach a wider audience. A lot of people cannot stomach his gory, macabre and often disgusting stories. This book did not have much of that. Instead, it focused on maximizing the creepiness factor. Therefore, I highly recommend this book to horror fans, even those who are turned off by the gore in Clive Barkers more typical stories. However, be aware, it is very creepy, and you will hear the voice of a demon in your head.

The back cover is black with a small demon face.
Back cover of Mister B. Gone. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the hardcover version of the book.

Happy Halloween

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

47 thoughts on “Warning Danger the Memoirs of a Demon”

  1. Oh goodness, I’m not a horror fan – movies or books. You wrote a great review, Thomas, and I suspect many will leap to read this tome. But for me, life has enough scary moments/situations without looking for the darkness. 🌞

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  6. Your warning is more alluring than any blurb.

    “this book is not about gore and the macabre. It is not disgusting. However, it is very creepy.”

    I believe we will only grow if we learn that what we don’t know. Any discovering what we don’t know is achieved through reading.

    Interesting book you have today.

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  7. Hi Thomas
    WOW, that sounds interesting. You made us curious, we’ll have a look at this book. We usually don’t read such horror literature as its literary value is usually low and they are full of cliches. But this seems to be different. We’ll see.
    Thanks for your little review
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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    1. Thank you Fab Four of Cley. Just like Stephen King, Clive Barker’s books have literary value and they are not full of clichés. The plots and the characters are unique, and feature creatures and situations you have not seen elsewhere in the horror literature. It’s great writing that makes your hairs stand and difficult to sleep if you are home alone. It is always unexpected and freaky. In fact after Clive Barker released his anthology “Books of Blood”, Stephen King said “I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker”.

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      1. For us, Stephen King is rather a modern classic. We like his novels too. As an editor (and author)I am used to reading what you would probably call mainstream literature like Knausgård, Fosse, Pamuk etc. We are interested more in the style than in the plot. Garner’s “Treacle Walker” and Fosse’s novels are literature we like.

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  11. Wow… this book sounds like it isn’t for the fainthearted. While I love a good horror book / movie I’m not actually that into gore so this sounds ideal. Cool to read that you’re also a Stephe King fan, I grew up on his 80s and 90s output.

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    1. I would say that Clive Barker’s books in general are not for the fainthearted. It is real horror. However, what some people love, or at least tolerate, while others cannot stand about Clive Barker is that he so often makes his stories gory and macabre. Books of Blood and Hellbound Heart are examples. You may have come across the Hellraiser movie series that is based on Hellbound Heart. It’s both frightening and disgusting. So this book was his attempt to reach out to a wider audience, the ones who are not into gore, like you.

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  14. Wow, you always write excellent reviews, Thomas. I’m not a horror fan. Thank you for the warning about the demon’s voice in this book and the author’s warning to stop reading. Some readers like the challenge to read on when they’re told to stop. Horror books and movies give me nightmares. This is one genre I’ll pass. I hope you had an interesting Halloween with many trick-or-treaters visiting.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words Miriam. I agree, if you love very scary stories this is a book for you but if not then you need to take a pass. Also I would not read this book if I were home alone. Once I watched a horror movie, Lights Out, when my wife was away and I had to keep all the lights on in the house afterwards and I could not go to sleep. I was wondering, why am I doing this to myself? Anyway, we had a fun Halloween. We had a cookout. We just left the candy outside in a bucket and left a sign that asked the kids to take a handful. About half of it was gone at the end. I hope you had a nice Halloween as well.

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    2. Thank you Robbie. I read a few books by CS Lewis when I was young, so I am familiar with him. Unfortunately, I don’t remember exactly which books, Narnia for sure but a couple of others too.

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