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A review by atmathis
The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Coming into this book as a fan of the Cenobite mythos and Barker in general, I was excited to read the long-awaited sequel to The Hellbound Heart. I went into the book fresh after reading through every story detective Harry D'Amour stars in ("The Last Illusion", "Lost Souls", The Great and Secret Show, and Everville) as well as The Hellbound Heart.
After a promising prologue, the novel quickly loses its luster. The story feels rushed, peppering in just enough backstory to set the stage, then rushing quickly into the meat of the story. The poetic prose observed in Barker's other works is largely lacking here, as characters are quickly shuttled from place to place to keep the plot moving. Honestly, for all his trying, the description of Hell is just boring.
And these characters, several of which the reader has come to know over decades of other loosely-related stories, feel wrong. The way Harry speaks and acts feels out of character with the detective we followed through TGaSS and Everville, almost as if the experience and lessons learned in those books are just thrown out the window. In place of the mysteries ofQuiddity or the Cenobite world hinted at in The Hellbound Heart, we end up with a very stereotypical Christian version of Hell and the Devil. This isn't necessarily bad, but it feels out of place with the world Barker has built to date. In the same way, the gravitas of the Hell Priest ("Pinhead") is lost in a whiny, brooding character that you don't really end up rooting for or against. For the focal point of the novel, he's ultimately a bland character for all the promise.
At the end, the story feels rushed, and ultimately unsatisfying. The little character growth seen feels unearned, and I don't feel like I care about them any more than I did before picking up the book. If anything, the characters I picked up the book for I ended up liking less.
I've read that the novel was whittled down from a much larger (1000+ page) manuscript, and potentially ghostwritten after the opening chapter. I believe it, and think the work suffered greatly for it.
After a promising prologue, the novel quickly loses its luster. The story feels rushed, peppering in just enough backstory to set the stage, then rushing quickly into the meat of the story. The poetic prose observed in Barker's other works is largely lacking here, as characters are quickly shuttled from place to place to keep the plot moving. Honestly, for all his trying, the description of Hell is just boring.
And these characters, several of which the reader has come to know over decades of other loosely-related stories, feel wrong. The way Harry speaks and acts feels out of character with the detective we followed through TGaSS and Everville, almost as if the experience and lessons learned in those books are just thrown out the window. In place of the mysteries of
At the end, the story feels rushed, and ultimately unsatisfying. The little character growth seen feels unearned, and I don't feel like I care about them any more than I did before picking up the book. If anything, the characters I picked up the book for I ended up liking less.
I've read that the novel was whittled down from a much larger (1000+ page) manuscript, and potentially ghostwritten after the opening chapter. I believe it, and think the work suffered greatly for it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture