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nacnudkhan's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, and Cannibalism
cyanide_latte's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Getting into Clive Barker's work has been an interesting journey, and of his work, this is the first novel of his I decided to tackle. If my understanding is correct, I think this was actually his first full-length novel? Please, somebody correct me if that's inaccurate. Either way, it was definitely an earlier one, and it shows in how this book is paced. (At times it feels like there are three false endings, almost like he had originally intended to write this as a connected set of short stories, which I do feel he excels at.)
Generally speaking, I think I had low expectations for a Faustian novel, but Barker managed to surprise me and subvert my expectations here! I enjoyed this a lot, even if it took me the better part of months to get through it. I will say this isn't for the faint of heart though; definitely look up trigger warnings before you read.
Generally speaking, I think I had low expectations for a Faustian novel, but Barker managed to surprise me and subvert my expectations here! I enjoyed this a lot, even if it took me the better part of months to get through it. I will say this isn't for the faint of heart though; definitely look up trigger warnings before you read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Cannibalism
shecamefromouterspace's review
3.75
Like all Clive Barker stories, reading The Damnation Game was a unique experience. Barker has a wonderfully twisted imagination, and skillfully crafts worlds and plots that are bizarre and distinctly gruesome. Gorgeous and descriptive prose lends this novel an eerie, dreamlike (or nightmarish) mood that crescendos in intensity towards the last third or so of the story. While not perfectly executed, this was a solid first novel, and a testament to Barker’s talent as a storyteller.
The story starts off at a slow pace. As Barker introduces the characters and establishes the setting, the extensively descriptive language makes the plot move at a snail’s pace, with brief moments of intense action thrown in here and there to keep the reader engaged. At first, this uneven pacing seemed sloppy to me, especially since the complexity of the plot left me with so many unanswered questions.
However, towards the end of the story, I was hooked. Everything comes together for an unexpected and immensely satisfying payoff. All questions are answered, and the intense brutality of the final showdown is worth the wait.
As for the characters, I found them to also be uneven in their quality. My favorite characters were the antagonists. Mamoulian - while representing the pinnacle of evil - is almost sympathetic in his weariness of life, his fear of dying alone. His henchman Breer is one of the most repulsively horrifying characters I have ever read. And Barker’s characterization of the two American evangelists was spot-on and darkly hilarious.
Unfortunately, the protagonist (Marty) and love interest (Carys) are both pretty boring and flat. Their “romance” feels perfunctory; there is no buildup or chemistry, just sudden proclamations of love after literally having sex one time. It reminds me very much of the romances in Stephen King books; superfluous excuses for sex and nudity.
Which brings me to what I liked least about this book...all the weird sexual scenes. Most ‘80s horror stories love to throw in unnecessary scenes of nudity and sex to tantalize the male audience. The Damnation Game is no exception, with perverse scenes that I will concede are supposed to be disturbing. However, they are disturbing in a way that elicits disgust, not fear. This conflation of sex/violence is gross, and not to my taste at all.
Overall, this book was worth the read. Barker definitely has better works to choose from, but this was a strong first effort.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, and War
expoenential's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse
Moderate: Incest
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