Mister B. Gone

By Clive Barker

“Barker confounds expectations once again, giving us one of the most resonant, provocative novels of his career.”

—Washington Post

“Burn this book!”

So warns Jakabok, the spellbinding narrator of this terrifyingly original “memoir,” a newly discovered tale of the world of horrors and miracles deliberately lost for nearly 600 years. Jakabok, or Mr. B., as he is known, is no ordinary soul; he is a minion of hell with a plan to cast the world into darkness and despair—a plan thwarted by a young apprentice of Johannes Gutenberg who buried the one and only copy of this damnable manuscript that his master printed in 1438.

Compelling and direct, Mr. B. shares the secrets of his life, going back centuries to recall the events that shaped his childhood, including the traumas he suffered at the hands of his

monstrous parents. He explains how he rose from “minor” to “major” demon status, and gleefully reveals his nefarious plot to “invade” the minds and hearts of unwitting humans everywhere thanks to the ingenious Gutenberg and his invention. “Burn this book!” he advises throughout—a taunt, a warning, and a command that will actually unleash the evil with which he has infused every word and every page, infusing the very ink and paper upon which they are printed.