Review: Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker

[wshaffer]

Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
One of the most distinctive features of Mister B. Gone is its framing conceit: That the book that you are reading is the prison of one Jakabok Botch, a demon, and that he is narrating the story to you as you read, with occasional pauses where he stops to address you directly. I suspect most readers will find this either annoying or charming. I lean towards the charming side myself, though I think this sort of thing would work better in an online medium, where you could have the words appear to genuinely be generated as you read.

Within this frame is a picaresque road novel which leads up to some musings on the function of the printed word and the relationship between good and evil. Considering the weightiness of the themes, it all feels pretty lightweight, but it will keep you entertained.

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