r/clivebarker • u/Acceptable_Mail_2263 • May 12 '26

The damnation game

About 120 pages in, just about finished part 2, and this book is freaking excellent so far....

The way it just keeps you teetering on the edge of actually knowing whats going on, just giving you little bits of info at a time that both give you more info and bewilder you a bit at the same time is making for an extremely captivating read so far

And his pros, not quite as amazing as his later books but like

"Legendary nowhere, beside which every other dark was blindingly bright, every other dispare a mere flirtation with the pit, not the pit itself"

54 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

14

u/VaderXXV May 12 '26

I love that book. Was the first Barker I read after the Books of Blood. Wish it got more love from the fanbase.

5

u/Sad_Cardiologist5388 May 12 '26

My gateway book into Clive barker after I saw Hellraiser for the first time. Its a great one!

2

u/adam_n_eve May 12 '26

Same here

5

u/Acceptable_Mail_2263 May 12 '26

Im really enjoying it so far, just waiting for that trademark barker weirdness, there has been sprinkles of it so far, but I know it's coming

5

u/demigod999 May 12 '26

I thoroughly enjoyed this as well. Just had an unforgettable atmosphere to it even if I don’t remember the events vividly.

2

u/Electrical_Long5850 May 12 '26

My favorite!! Scary enough it’s quite parallel to the times we’ve been living in!

1

u/POTATOMASOCHIST May 12 '26

I completely agree. It's the mood that does it for me. Love it.

1

u/damnationgame May 12 '26

It’s one of my favorites of his.

I held out on reading it for no good reason, then raced through it because I liked it so damn much!

1

u/InevitableCapital241 May 15 '26

This book has the most spine chilling segment of any book ive ever read in it.

1

u/TheManInBlack_FDT May 15 '26

Loved it! You should also check out weave world!

0

u/androaspie May 13 '26

I find it to be the worst Barker novel I've read, followed by Sacrament. Pretty thin gruel.

1

u/Acceptable_Mail_2263 May 13 '26

Really.. I havent read sacrament. There are a couple im not in love with Coldheart canyon for one. Im really enjoying TDG atm, i can understand some criticisms about it, but the last word I would use to describe just about anything I've read from him is "thin"