The Trials of Jacabok Botch

“This book will do you harm beyond description unless you do as I’m asking you to.”

Jackabok Botch was a paltry member of the Demonation when he was shanghaied all the way up to Earth where, for centuries, he lived a low-key somewhat evil life until the time of the great invention — where for once and for all, he had to choose sides.

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TITLE:

MISTER B. GONE

WRITER:

by Clive Barker

GENRE:

Horror Book, Horror Novel, Humor, Fantasy,

DESCRIPTORS:

Demons, Angels, Celestial War, Inventions, Good vs Evil,

CHARACTERS

Jackabok Botch, A very weak demon who unexpectedly finds himself in the world of the humans.
Quitoon, A powerful aristocratic demon with fiery temper and a desire to witness inventions.
You, As the reader of this book you become part of the narrative.

SUMMARY:

Whe you begin reading this book, it talks to you in the words on the page. The book asks you to burn it, right now. It demands, pleads and begs with you to burn the book. It even offers to tell you a little bit about its life when it was a demon — a member of the Demonation — if you will just burn the book afterward.

The book tells more and more of the story of its existence as a very lesser demon named Jackabok Botch who was caught in a trap and brought up out of the lowest level of Hell only to be deposited on Earth at the mercy of humans looking to skin and sell him for profit.

He tells of his escape and meeting another powerful demon named Quitoon and how they spend centuries traveling over the known world visiting mankind’s inventions as they’re created.

This friendship works out well until the day comes that an invention comes into existence, so important that the angels and the demons go to war over it.

APPEAL:

Mister B. Gone is a small book. The cover looks like leather binding with a stylized image of a face stamped upon it. Right side up the face looks startled but turn the book upside down and the face looks dangerous.

Inside the paper is yellowed — painted to look old and frail, although in actually the paper is pretty stern. Things like the title page and copyright information, which would look modern to the read, haven been placed in the back — after the story.

As you read the story, the narrator implores you to put “him” out of his misery and burn the book. He tells you bits and pieces of his history to satisfy your curiosity so that you will burn the book. Finally he resorts to threats and scare tactics to force you to burn the book.

I discovered that I have no real future in book burning. Sorry Mister B.

The story of Jacabok Botch was very compelling and made for very quick reading. The book is written in the 2nd person present tense when he is trying to get you to burn the book but shifts into 1st person past tense when he reminisces about his life.

I expected a cliffhanger type ending and was ready to be disappointed by the work. However, Clive Barker did not take an easy way out — going for a cheap scare — he ended the story intelligently and in a way that could bring a change to you, the reader, in your opinion of Jacabok.

Or not.

NOTE:

Clive Barker handles demons and angels in this story with a sense of mythology that may not steele well with your personal beliefs. It may take the Bible as its starting point but the horror novel ranges far and wide of that. People sensitive about their religions may wish to avoid this story.

READALIKES:

The only book I’ve encountered that read like Mister B. Gone was Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge. Dark Harvest is also told in 2nd person present tense when the narrator is talking to the reader and then shifts into 3rd person past tense when he relates the events of that fateful night.

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Tagged as: Demons, Horror Book