The Scarlet Gospels

Clive Barker

May 2015 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

Pinhead returns to screens in Fall 2022 in an all new Hellraiser streaming series!

The Scarlet Gospels takes readers back many years to the early days of two of Barker's most iconic characters in a battle of good and evil as old as time: The long-beleaguered detective Harry D'Amour, investigator of all supernatural, magical, and malevolent crimes faces off against his formidable, and intensely evil rival, Pinhead, the priest of hell. Barker devotees have been waiting for The Scarlet Gospels with bated breath for years, and it's everything they've begged for and more. Bloody, terrifying, and brilliantly complex, fans and newcomers alike will not be disappointed by the epic, visionary tale that is The Scarlet Gospels. Barker's horror will make your worst nightmares seem like bedtime stories. The Gospels are coming. Are you ready?

Ratings and reviews

Was interesting to get to see more about hell and The Priest, but wasn't one of his best works. I know the characters were supposed to be more everyday city dwellers, but some of their dialogue left something to be desired and felt at times like Barker did not know what to have them say. A fun short read with some funny moments and some interesting aspects.

This isn't a bad book at all, though I would give a much higher review if it wasn't for the juvenile and constant one liners. Barker feels the need to have his characters spout out lame one liners every other sentance and it makes taking this book serious difficult. When facing any kind of threat, you are swept out of the moment by this more often than not. Book is definitely worth checking out, but if stupid puns and so so dialogue are a irritation for you, you may find difficulty being fully captivated.

Great sequel to the Hellraiser timeline. If you read it more than once while concentrating on every detail, no matter how small, you can see how this book (combined with Hellraiser: The Toll) ties in to both Hellraiser 1 & 2, The Hellhound Heart, and as a sequel to the Hellraiser series timeline by BOOM! Comics. Details such as Hell's adjacent mudflats (The Pit from BOOM! Comics' Hellraiser), the tethering of souls to the bodies, the stone the size of a small planet throwing off beams of light (Leviathan), and the Hell Priest's (Pinhead's) manipulation and storage of Felixson's memories (as seen with Kirsty Cotton as the Hell Priestess in Clive Barker's Hellraiser by BOOM! Comics). The ending of Hellraiser: Bestiary (the Hell Priest raiding the Vatican's secret vault) is my fan theory into the Hell Priest's first taste of forbidden magic. The Unconsumed & Leviathan appear to be the same entity. Pay close attention to details such as these and the story will make more sense to fans.

About the author

CLIVE BARKER is a legendary author, filmmaker, and visual artist. His acumen as a horror writer has been praised as some of the most influential to pop culture in recent times. Stephen King hailed Barker as "the future of horror." His Books of Blood series and his novella The Hellbound Heart which inspired the Hellraiser movies have amassed a global cult following and cemented their place in pop culture history. The Scarlet Gospels marks Barker's return to horror fiction.