Rating: 
Summary: 2nd boring book I've read from barker
Review: I started with Imajica , which pales in comparison to t The Stand and The Talisman even though the story is more complex than both of those. After reading Damnation Game,, I'm starting to wonder if Barker can carry a Theme all the way through. He's wonderful at creating an amazing topic and subperb at giving horrific details of events, But this book, like Imajica left me wondering, WHY???? he seems to take another great story and makes it pointless by the time you finish the book. This is my third read from him and I have two other books I need to read. They better get better or Mr.Barker won't get anymore purchases from me.
Rating: 
Summary: ALL BARKER NO BITE!
Review: I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Barker on two separate occasions, and I found him to be quite charming; considering the type of stories he writes, (blood and gore,)you would never have expected him to be that way.
This happens to be my 3rd Barker book and I found it to be the best, however it wasn't very good. I think Mr. Barker has good intentions, but I feel his antagonists to be gruesomely silly. I feel as though the story, meanders a bit then he will throw in a bit of gore so you won't get board.
Now don't get me wrong there were moments where I couldn't wait to see what happened next, then when something finally does happen; I then couldn't wait to get it over with. He is ok, but I still like Stephen King, Peter Straub, Anne Rice & Dean Koontz better.
Now I will still read his books, because I like the plots on the jackets, and I respect him for being a regular guy in person and not a stuck up celebrity.
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating, gory, scary - yeah baby!!!!
Review: I'm a big fan of Mr. Barker's (although sometimes I don't understand his images and dream sequences throughout his novels), and I ate this book up in one week (see the Razor-Eater for the pun). Great characters and a great story that kept you involved from the very beginning - I loved The Last European!!
I can't imagine how this would be turned into a movie - all the gore would have to be excised, but I'll go if it's done faithfully. I'd like to see Mr. Barker return to his horror roots and write something like Damnation Game, but if not...I could always re-read this one in a couple years.
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling!
Review: This was the first Clive Barker book I'd ever read beside the Books of Blood. I think The Damnation Game has a very original plotline and an incredible force of vision behind it. The book is extremely well written and I enjoyed reading it very much because of its originality. The plot is quite complicated, but the main storyline(or so I think) has to do with Marty Strauss, who is hired to guard a highly rich businessman with a sinister secret. When the Last European and The Razor Eater enter, we, as readers, understand that sinister isn't even the word. Marty undergoes a transformation into heroism and finds a rather unlikely romance. The Last European is a villian I find utterly intriguing. He's not scary in the classic monster sense, yet he has that, but there's a humanity to him that makes him all the more unnerving. As for the Razor Eater, well, maybe Hannibal will set another place at his table! I really liked this book, though it's not for the timid, and I fully intend to read more Clive Barker books in the future. I suggest it to anyone who's in need of a good scare!
Rating: 
Summary: Lame Lame Lame
Review: This book was so bad I decided to forego the last 20 pages. here's why: 1. It acknowledges that it's a "Faust" knockoff 2. Gore is used as a substitute for plot 3. Big gaping holes--the coincidences are ridiculous 4. The heroine (pun intended) serves only to set the hero up for the next "scary" scene 5. Like all bad horror, it's premised on people doing stupid things that they would never really do if it weren't necessary to move the storyline forward. 6. Is this really just about how *bad* gambling is for your soul??
Rating: 
Summary: Great First Outing
Review: The Damnation Game was Clive Barker's first full-length novel. Therefore, in many ways it is closer to the type of story he wrote for the Books of Blood collections than the dark fantasy he has written since Weaveworld. It also owes a lot to Stephen King in my opinion (though not as much as Cabal), but it still has Barker's distinctive touches making it superior to most of King's works. There is less moral ambiguity in the Damnation Game than his later works. For example, the villians are clearly villians, as opposed to, e.g., the other-dimensional salesman in Weaveworld. Barker also nicely balances scenes of pure psychological horror with disturbing scenes of gore. And it has one of the most interesting cannibals I've come across outside of Hannibal. Not as thought-provoking as his later work, but far more entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: A more than Reccomended buy.
Review: Clive Barker; the Legend that will prevail forever - has yet another time brought us what we need - an excellent story of deprevation, damnation, love and craving. The Damnation Game has it all; all you'd ever expect from a horror story. Horrific in detail, both bloody and in characterisation of the people involved - it never cease to amaze me, and trust me on this, I'veread the book well past 20 times. My reccomendation is; buy this book, Mr. Mamoulian and Mr. Whitehead will have you paralyzed for days. And I reccomend you buy it here -...(this website) just ROCKS! (when you've read it, you'll know why my name is The Last European - the in-crowd will know instantly ;) Sincerly, Mamoulian.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best horror books out there
Review: This book will keep you glued from start to finish. Barker does an excellent job maintaining suspense, mystery, and horror throughout the book. The interactions between several different characters will always keep you intrigued. The most intriguing being Mamoulian. He is what you would call a "gambler". Offering great rewards for victory or horrific demands for losing. Mamoulian would be described as your typical characterization of the worst of humanity. Barker also teaches us what the heart of humanity is at its worst. Like other Barker stories, there is always a lesson to be learned. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in good horror novels.
Rating:
Summary: There's some good stuff in this book
Review: Story set in a gothic mansion with a mysterious millonaire who has a strange nemesis. Clive Barker has created some great grusome imagrey in this one!
Rating:
Summary: Another masterpiece
Review: This was my second extended trip with Mr. Barker. I fell in love with his work right after the Books of Blood trilogy. This book did nothing to halt the throws of passion. I felt, smelled, tasted, saw, and heard everything that he was describing. The visions of horror (The Razor Eater coming to grips with his condition), the Faust like plot (the card game), and all that followed, held me in it's greasy yet warm and loving hand. King can only hope to learn from this modern day Renaissance Man. A must read.
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