Today’s discussion is on “The Damnation Game” by Clive Barker. This was an unusual story. It took a while for things to get going. The beginning had enough going on to keep me interested, but it took it’s time getting there. I would say it was about midway through the book that the story took off and the pacing picked up. The origins of the supernatural being are not fully explained. This makes things interesting because it’s as if the reader knows about as much as the main character. The story had some interesting visuals that make me wonder why this hasn’t been adapted to film or television.
This is the first time I’ve read anything by Clive Barker. While I’ve seen the “Hellraiser” films I’ve never read those books. I am more interested in those stories after having read “The Damnation Game.” Of the many books I’ve mentioned in these discussion posts, this one was not my favorite. I enjoyed reading it, but it’s not one I would want to revisit. It was an interesting story. I think it could have been executed better. My biggest complaint is the pacing in the beginning. I also wish it had more terrifying moments. There were some but I didn’t feel the terror the same way the characters did.
I do recommend this book though it isn’t my favorite.
Spooky Spider Scale (How scary was the book?): 5/10 spiders 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️
Overall rating: 4 stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
James Pack 