Mister B. Gone audiobook

It's fairly unusual to open a book and have it order you to burn it. Not many books though have a demon inside of them just waiting for release. When you pick up Mister B. Gone, you are not holding a book in the traditional sense. You are holding a demon. A demon that needs you to release it. The only way it can be released is for you to burn it. He will try to tempt you, he will try to trick you. Don't burn the book. Don't listen to his lies. He will tell you his story, and he will lie. Remember, he's a demon.He knows things. Don't listen. Put it down... just don't put it down near a burning candle. Who knows what he will try. ______I have frequently heard people list this as Barker's worst work. Personally I disagree (that dishonor belongs to The Scarlet Gospels which was a MASSIVE disappointment to me). This is a book though that I think a reader needs to be ready for before they start. This is not the work people would probably expect. Mister B. Gone was when initially released advertised as Barker's return to horror. As such, it disappointed a lot of people. The book is certainly a horror novel mind you, but it is much more comedic than Barker's other horror works and is more of a writing experiment than anything else.As I had a little fun with above, the book is written as if you're holding a demon who has been trapped inside the book. He's a snarky asshole to be blunt, and he's going to try to trick you into letting him out. You can practically hear Barker cackling while writing as the book it's clear he's having a ball writing this. That said, those coming for something frighting, such as The Hellbound Heart or Books of Blood: Volumes One to Three may be disappointed. Those also looking for an epic Weaveworld or The Great and Secret Show will also be disappointed. Frankly the book was bound to disappoint many of his readers as it is just so different from everything else Barker has written.Now, if you go into the book on Barker's terms, ready for a comedic, only slightly gruesome horror yarn, written in an experimental style, then the book is a hell of a lot of fun. No, it is not Barker's best, but I find it far from his worst. It's been years since I read it, but the book is so vivid in my mind that I'd happily add my laughter to Barker's cackle. It would be a hellish chorus, but I'm sure he would approve.Hopefully, dear read, you will too. Just remember... keep the book away from a fire. Wouldn't want any accidents, now would we?4/5 stars

3.5 ⭐️Probably my least favorite Barker yet, but I still liked it! It breaks the fourth wall throughout, begging the reader to stop reading, burn the book, and actually threatens you pretty regularly along the way. It was a bit anticlimactic, a lot of the exciting stuff at the end was happening more off page, and it was more fantasy than horror, but I thought it was fun overall!

Es un libro cortito, que sigue la vida de Jakabok Botch, un demonio del noveno círculo. Me hizo reír bastante, aunque el humor es bastante negro y retorcido, y creo que justo por eso me gustó. Se queda con cuatro estrellas, porque me habría gustado más que profundizara en la historia.

Definitely "earns its R", as well as your heart. *There's A Monster at the End of this Book, 'cept it's This Book is a Bound Demon.*Is "Clive Barker" a pseudonym for Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman? Seriously, though, I'm getting a Good Omens vibe, here. Perhaps it will become movie directed by Terry Gilliam, featuring the work of Jim Henson's, uh, people. *The demon-catchers scene was tedious. For me, at least. I suppose a bunch of idiots unable to get their shit together to contain one, small burnt-to-Hell demon is supposed to be fine, fine slapstick...but I ended up falling asleep on the couch. In my snow jacket. With my snow shoes on. I lost eight hours of my life because of three pages of bad writing. Nice, Clive. Nice. And I was going to make an evening production of reading. Complete with hot chocolate. ***The pre-review; the discovery review:The pages have been artifically aged: nice touch. I perused a volume at the local B&N until some Cold/Flu Patient Zero goth kid came sneezing by. I slammed the book back onto the shelf, gave the bastard a dirty look, and left the store. Actually, I gave him two dirty looks. One for being a public sneezer (parents, I urge you to teach your children to cough and snot and blow into a handkerchief...a handkerchief which should always be on their person...) and the other for wearing a Matrix trenchcoat, a backwards baseball cop (sic) and thickly-lensed eyeglasses. "Hey, kid, why don't you reach into that pouch of dice around your neck and try rolling out some hit points, or a...a sneezeguard, sneezeshield. And some charisma for that chattering goblin horde around you. What? Oh, those are your girl friends. Don't fool yourself, buddy. We all know your lovelife is nothing but NPCs."

MISTER B. GONE BY CLIVER BARKER: The moment you pick up this book, you know you’re in for a treat. It’s small and compact, inviting, around 200 pages long. On the front black cover is the title in Gothic type: Mister B. Gone, with Clive Barker carved in rough letters beneath. Between the two lines is a strange pictograph making one curious and interested. On the back is the same symbol and not another word. Turn the cover and there is a strange marble page design, which kind of looks like a webbing of veins and arteries, followed by two title pages, then the book begins with these words: “BURN THIS BOOK.”Bestselling author Clive Barker hasn’t released a book in some time, and is currently in the middle of his four-book Abarat series, as well as the third book in the Art trilogy due sometime this decade. And yet the concept for Mister B. Gone suddenly occurred to Barker one day and he was supposedly unable to do anything else until he got this book out of his head.The is a book about a demon. In fact, it’s a book written by a demon; it’s his story, because he’s trapped in the book. He has but one request for the reader: to burn the book and free the demon by killing it, presumably sending it back to the ninth level of hell. His name is Jakabok Botch, and as he continuously tries to convince the reader to burn the book, he reveals more of his life story. It is the sixteenth century, and when the demon is trapped and scooped from the ninth level of hell to the surface by a group of people looking to make a profit from selling demon skins, Jakabok’s adventure begins. He soon befriends another demon, Quitoon, of a much greater size and power than him, and their friendship lasts over a hundred years, as they spend their time terrorizing and demonizing the world. The story builds and builds to a crescendo involving Joahnnes Gutenberg and the invention of his revolutionizing printing press which will irrevocably change the world.While Mister B. Gone lacks the depth, development and sheer incredulity that one is used to with Barker’s work, it is nevertheless a great little horror story. And each time Jakabok threatens on the page that he is coming up behind you with a knife, the reader can’t help but reflexively stop and look behind them.For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.

A quirky and superbly done little play on the very nature of books, with a few moments of Barker's sheer brilliance shining through.

Excellent fun read from such an interesting perspective! Like screw tape letters but fun!

Creo que nunca me habían insultado tanto como lo hizo el Demonio que está atrapado en este libro. :vBueno al inicio me estaba pareciendo una historia muy normal, no me ''asustó'' en ningún momento pero el libro logra despertar otros sentimientos en el lector. Al menos en mi caso en algunos puntos de la historia llegue a sentir compasión por Jakabok Botch y ganas por querer quemar el libro (cosa que nos pide hacer desde la primera pagina), incluso al final con su ultima peticion tambien logra causar un sentimiento de culpabilidad porque nuevamente en mi caso es algo que no haré; Estaba buscando mas terror y suspenso que otra cosa pero siento que es un mas bien fantasia, bueno el caso es que al final me terminó gustando.Es un libro corto, sangriento y entretenido, todas las veces que el Demonio habla directamente con el lector me gustaron, es una propuesta distinta y poco común asi que me siento complacido con mi primer lectura del señor Clive Barker.Esta imagen me causo mucha gracia pero por ser tan grande no se veía bien, si alguien quiere verla dejo el enlace :) http://pre04.deviantart.net/c241/th/p...

A quick little dessert of a book, with decent taste and texture and gooeyness, yet with very little to bog one down.It took a bit for me to warm to it, as it seemed a tad contrived from the start. But once I found the rhythm, it started to hum. I did like Barker's take on the war between the Heavenly Host and the Fallen, the way they went about it, and the reasons, especially as it pertained to one of the most important and powerful human inventions in history. I also appreciated the injection of humor into the tale, giving it a Gaimanesque feel at times, but with that Barker flair for the grisly.I listened to this on audiobook, and Doug Bradley absolutely killed it with his reading. 3.5 bordering on 4 stars (I rounded up, as, well, it's ClivefuckingBarker). Not perfect, or mind blowing, but most definitely recommended.

There are a lot of mixed reviews about this book, and after reading it, I have no idea why anyone would give this book less than 4 star! Clive has created something that's really unique. A book that literally talks to you.We are introduced to Jakabok Botch from the first 3 words, "Burn this book.". From there, we are told the story of Jakabok and some of his events here on Earth. Which are full of horror, gore and torment. This has the perfect balance of Jakabok's tale and the direct interaction of him trying to persuade you to "burn this book" that really helped the flow of the book and kept my interest throughout.Clive's prose is great in this, and he has created a very real character that you fully empathise with, despite all of the horrible things that he has done! Overall, a great read which made me laugh out on occasion. A really fun and fast read that I cannot recommend enough!

Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker starts off with a warning:"Burn this book. Go on. Quickly, while there’s still time! Burn it. Don’t look at another word. Did you hear me? Not. One. More. Word." However, you should keep reading because this book is all you would expect from a Barker book. There is humor, horror, and everything in between. It kind of reminds us of an adult version of The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone. We recommend this book to all Clive Barker, Stephen King, and Neil Gaiman fans.

Después de haber terminado este libro siento un deber moral de quemar este libro o pasárselo a alguien. Compasión.Un relato bastante entretenido y muy corto, con una narración muy interesante, un demonio hablando a través del libro, que idea tan original.A través de las páginas el Sr. B nos cuenta cómo a sido su vida desde que fue extraído desde las parte más profunda del infierno hasta como termina encerrado en las páginas.Si bien el libro está catalogada dentro del género del terror, no es algo que me ocasionó terror, aunque fue algo creepy que un demonio se dirija hacia uno con amenazas de muerte... no mires atrás.Las descripciones que nos proporciona el autor sobre las criaturas infernales, el propio infierno y las atrocidades que cometen son bastante buenas, grotescas, crueles, propias de un demonio.A pesar de todo esto no le pongo 5 estrellas porque hacía el final sentí que la trama cae un poco y se vuelve aburrida o esperaba algo mejor sobre el ultimo secreto.

How would anyone give this book anything less than 5 stars is beyond me. A metaphysical story speaking to its reader through the pages. Literally. It was so mesmerizing and fun I couldn’t stop reading it unless I had to go to sleep or work or something (not even then half the time). The idea behind this is phenomenal, nothing short from a masterpiece. The demon begging me to burn this book (even with all of his threats and blackmail) didn’t convince me and I had to read it to the end…

New Clive Barker novels are always a cause for celebration, and considering the Halloween release of Mister B.Gone we horror geeks were stoked. If the Harper Collins marketing is to be trusted Mister B.Gone would hail the return of Clive Barker to horror. This is a dark and brutal book but if you were looking for the more straight forward style and tone of the Books of Blood this new book is not what you are looking for.I should be clear, I enjoyed Mister B.Gone and yes the book is indeed horror. So were most of the books Clive had written since the Books of Blood. The Great and Secret Show and Everville had metaphysical fantastic elements but were certainly horror. What genre would Coldheart Canyon and Sacrament be if they were not horror?Many traditional horror geeks have been turned off by Barker’s recent novels because he charted a more fantastic path since he published Weaveworld. While Mister B.Gone is a great little novel it is more of a horrific dark fantasy than Coldheart Canyon or Sacrament.Those two novels have much more to do with the Books of Blood than this new novel that starts out in hell itself and is narrated by a lower class demon.Mister B.Gone is worth your time, it’s beautifully packaged to resemble an old rotting book with an interactive narrative that jumps from first to second person and makes the reader themselves a character in the story. At first the repetitive warnings to the reader to burn the book got annoying but in the end the pay-off Barker was building to made it all worth it.I think the return to form many fans are drooling over is still yet to come. After years of teasing us in interviews the latest rumor is that Barker will release the Scarlet Gospels in August 2008. the rumors began with Barker hinting in interviews that recent Asian horror films had inspired him to gone back to writing short horror fiction. We were told to expect a new collection whose title short story would be the Scarlet Gospels a story said to include the death of Pinhead.Barker annoyed by the unending pillage of this character in endless Hellraiser sequels decided killing his abused creation seemed like a fun project. That would be cool enough but then he told us that the story would include Harry D’Amour who appeared in the art novels as well as his last film Lord of illusions. This deepening of the Barker mythos is very exciting for his fans who have stuck with him.Considering the intersection of all these elements it shouldn’t be a surprise that this short story got out in front of him and ended up as a 230,000 word novel. Word! Come Clive I love Mister B.Gone but we need the gospel according to Clive!Lets not forget the Book of blood and Midnight Meat Train are before cameras right now. Welcome back Clive...even though I know you never left.

I need to know....did anyone actually burn this book?

Here we have a book with a demon as a main character, he's actually so in the middle of it that he IS the book. I love Clive Barker and everything with demons, so it was impossible for me to dislike this book. What I love about Mister B. Gone is how the demon speaks directly to you, and the way he does it. He's a bit of an unreliable narrator, which I also have a thing for. And as always, I love Barker's writing. I don't have that many negative things to say about this book, but there's a few. There were some moments towards the end that I wanted to find interesting but I just couldn't bring myself to care, which was a shame. I also wanted to see more of Jakabok before he turned into the book, I wanted to see more of the demon he wanted to become. In my opinion we got a bit too much of some things towards the end, and not enough of others. I also didn't like the reason why he was turned into a book, it didn't feel fair. In a way I think this book had been better if it had been longer, if we had gotten MORE of the evil stuff and what Jakabok was up to. I get the feeling people either love or hate this book. I think you should at least give it a try and see for yourself.

OK, at times it got a little gimmicky and repetitive. (There's only so many times you want to hear a narrator imploring the reader to "burn this book... now!") However, as it went on, it grew on me.The narrator, a very minor demon from a horribly abusive family, keeps sucking you in to sympathise with him - and them reminding you that no, he really is kind of evil, when you get right down to it... but no, he's just a poor little put-upon demon!It starts as a bildungsroman, as the young demon, Jakabok Botch, goes out into the world, has an obsessive affair with an older demon... this part of the book is good enough. But the end, with Johannes Gutenberg as an essential character, and, of course, the Great Secret of the conflict between Heaven and Hell, is excellent.Clive Barker is always an entertaining and clever writer, and in the end, this book does not disappoint.Also - the book itself, as a physical object, is lovely. I love it when publishers bother to put money into making a book look nice. The faux-aged pages and old-fashioned font really work.

This is not a horror novel. Don't go in to this book thinking that, and you will enjoy it much more. This is a wry look at organized religion, and an amusing account of the tongue-in-cheek adventures of a demon. As I read certain passages, I can't help but chuckle, for I hear them read in Clive's voice. The man is clever, and he never ceases to entertain me with his work.A dark, witty, and blasphemous satire. Not a horror story.