''The Damnation Game'' is a 1985 horror novel by English writer

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1980s with a series of short stories collectively named the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading horror author ...

. It is Barker's

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

Synopsis

Marty Strauss is a gambling addict recently released from prison. He is hired as the personal bodyguard of Joseph Whitehead, one of the wealthiest men in the world. The job is more complicated and dangerous than he thought. He gets caught up in a series of supernatural events involving Whitehead, and the mysterious Mamoulian, through whom Whitehead made a deal with the Devil during World War II. Mamoulian uses his supernatural powers (like raising the dead) to urge Whitehead to fulfill this pact. Whitehead decides to escape after several encounters with Mamoulian and after his wife, his former bodyguard, and his daughter, Carys are taken away from him. Marty Strauss comes to believe that Whitehead deserves his punishment, and decides to save Carys, who is a heroin addict, from being another victim of her father's game.

Reception

Reviews for ''The Damnation Game'' were mixed:

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, copy editing, editor and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome in collaboration with Jerome ...

praised it as "a masterly novel."

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

reviewed it for '' Imagine'' magazine, calling it: "Quite simply the most literate and disturbing horror novel I have ever read." However, ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' was less fulsome, saying: "...lacking the formal control dictated by the story form, here Barker appears as a naughty boy hidden in a giant candy store, stuffing himself on nasty, offensive sweets. This study in excess may win Barker new readers, but not a better reputation."

Film adaptation

On 13 May 2001, Barker planned to produce a film adaption of the novel with John Heffernan writing the screenplay for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

and Phoenix Pictures.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Damnation Game, The 1985 British novels 1985 fantasy novels Novels by Clive Barker Novels based on the Faust legend Debut fantasy novels Weidenfeld & Nicolson books Fiction about self-harm Novels about cannibalism Fiction about incest Weird fiction novels 1985 debut novels Splatterpunk novels