Book Review
Title: The Scarlet Gospels (Hellraiser Book 3) by Clive Barker
Genre: Paranormal, Horror
Rating: 4.75 Stars
I believe this is the final book in the Hellraiser series and after how short the last two have been I was excited to get into a full length novel as I have loved both The Hellbound Heart and The Toll. I hope to see the final showdown between Pinhead and Kirsty in this book or at least get some resolution on that and I will definitely be rewatching Hellraiser after completing the series. In the prologue we are introduced a group of magicians resurrecting one of their order, only to inform him that the Hell Priest has been hunting them down one by one so now they number only five. We know from the Toll that Pinhead has been doing this for his Ascension as he is taking the power from the magicians when he kills them and he has now tracked down the final five. Pinhead takes down three of the six magicians including the resurrected one, he takes one into his service and kills the final one as she bears his child who feasts on her mother’s corpse rapidly ageing as she does before she flees into the world as Pinhead retreats into his own. The opening of The Scarlet Gospels definitely set the tone for the novel and I can’t wait to see where Clive Barker takes us.
We are then introduced to Harry D’Amour, a police officer with a shitty partner as he has his first encounter with the Cenobites. Harry seems to know that these creatures are dangerous and tries to get him and his partner out of there. While he ultimately fails and his partner is killed, the Cenobites don’t injury Harry in any way at this moment and he is free to live although he is haunted by the memories of what happened that night. Fast forward and Harry is now a private investigator working with a woman called Norma Paine. Norma is blind but she can see and communicate with the dead which sometimes means she crosses paths with Harry and this is where things get interesting. Norma meets a ghost of a recently dead man named Carston Goode and he wants Harry to go to his Den of Sin and clear it out before his wife has a chance to find out about it. This isn’t because he is ashamed of the things he did when in fact, he is quite proud of them but because he doesn’t want his wife and kids knowing what kind of depraved things he got up to in his spare time. Harry agrees and heads over there where he finds all kinds of things including grimoires, ritualistic items for voodoo and a Lament Configuration. Almost unconsciously Harry begins to solve to Configuration before he stops himself but it is too late, the Configuration solves itself and opens the doorway allowing Pinhead to cross over. Pinhead seems to take a special interest in Harry most likely because of the markings of protection he has tattooed onto himself and we know from The Toll that Harry is going to become the first witness to his Ascension after he escapes from him like Kirsty did. Harry has to fight the magician that Pinhead took at the beginning of the novel and he manages to win with the help of the numerous spirits residing in Goode’s den of sin and we see the pieces being laid out for his ultimate confrontation with Pinhead.
So far I was really enjoying The Scarlet Gospels and Harry as a character and couldn’t wait to see where it was going to go. Harry is injured both physically and mentally during his battle and gets taken in by others like him and Norma that sense the paranormal world are them, Solomon and Dale. They summon Freddie to help heal Harry but she tries to kill him but he realises soon enough to wake himself up and confronts her about it. She tries to deny it but very quickly throws off her fake concern and reveals to Harry that sooner or later whoever is after him will succeed in capturing him one way or another before Solomon throw her out much to Dale’s delight. After he is well enough, Harry begins tracking Norma down but she left him a message to meet somewhere else and her apartment is now a no go and he finds her in a place for their past absolutely terrified. She explains that something is coming for him and they need to get somewhere safe. Harry has something in mind and puts a plan together promising to return for Norma very soon but I have a feeling that Pinhead is going to get to Norma before Harry can return and he will have to finally face the Hell Priest once and for all, it is at this point we move into part two of the story and I can’t wait to see where this goes and it has already brought in way more paranormal elements that the previous to novellas had and I am loving it.
We begin to follow two perspective as we follow Harry as he recruits Caz who in turn bring Lana in to protect Norma from what is coming for them. I did enjoy seeing them come face to face with Pinhead again and how he tries to manipulate Harry into becoming his witness and when he refuses and is pushed back by Harry and Caz he is forced to kidnap Norma in order for Harry to come to him. Harry, Caz and Lana decide together they are going to face down Pinhead but I have a feeling that Harry might be the only survivor. In between getting this information we actually follow Pinhead as he begins his Ascension. Surprisingly he still has Felixson with him and this is because of the knowledge the magician held throughout his life, Pinhead begins his Ascension by getting himself banished from the Order of the Cenobites and then brutally murdering everyone else within the Order. We get to see more of Hell beyond the Leviathan’s domain in previous books and we get more of a sense for how the politics of Hell work and the power Pinhead currently holds and the power he is trying to seize with his Ascension which made for some really interesting reading. I also have a feeling that the final showdown in this book isn’t going to be a quick as the previous two books since there is more room for Clive Barker to expand on the lore he has created and I think Harry is going to put up way more of a challenge that Frank or Kirsty did in the previous two books. I also hope that Harry’s abilities are expanded on and that he really utilizes them against Pinhead in order to save Norma later on in the book as he has something that neither Frank nor Kirsty did in the previous books.
As the hell Priest drags Norma throughout Hell fulfilling his plan for Ascension we can very quickly see that something doesn’t seem to be going right with his plan especially after they cross the lake but neither Norma nor the reader knows what isn’t right yet. Meanwhile, Harry, Caz, Lana and Dale are trying their best to track down Norma but Hell itself is a labyrinth and has something in store for them at every turn meaning every minutes they spend fleeing or fighting demons puts miles between them and Norma, it also makes it more likely that one or several of them will be killed along the way as Caz and Dale almost were. However, the longer they spend in Hell the more familiar they are getting with the layout of the land meaning they are catching up to Norma and Hell Priest now meaning the final showdown is at hand. By the time the group reaches the lake, Norma and the Hell Priest crossed they learn that Pinhead left Harry a message essentially stating that if he didn’t cross and bear witness to whatever he has planned then he will kill Norma and this isn’t something Harry or the others can allow so they continue their journey despite meeting the Leviathan along the way which scares the crap out of everyone. Pinhead hasn’t revealed much of his ultimate plan other than his want for Ascension whatever this means and he had been working tirelessly to carry it out but something definitely isn’t going right and this might spell disaster for the group and seal the fate of Norma. We know from The Toll that Harry does bear witness to whatever Pinhead has planned and I am wondering how Barker is going to bring this to life when so much build-up has gone into it. With less than 150 pages left in the novel, the group and Pinhead’s paths are going to have to cross very soon in order for there to be enough time for the final showdown and Pinhead’s Ascension.
The final section of The Scarlet Gospels was amazing as we get to see Harry’s journey through Hell reach its climax. It was a little strange to follow as I thought it was going to be a showdown between Harry and Pinhead but it turns out that Harry bears witness to Pinhead attempting to take on the Morning Star, Lucifer himself. Lucifer has been attempting to end his immortal life for a long time and almost succeeds but Pinhead ruined that plan and in revenge, Lucifer severely injures Pinhead and destroys Hell itself. Harry and the others escape without Norma as she was Pinhead’s final victim and he also blinds Harry but Norma’s gift passes to Harry so they do see each other again. The ending of the novel was ambiguous as we see the Lament Configuration once more implying that Pinhead is still around or at least one of the Order is. However, we see a brief snapshot of Lucifer living in the mortal realm assuming the disguise of a mortal man and enjoying the pleasures mortality has to offer. I was left with a lot of questions at the end of The Scarlet Gospels but I believe these were questions the reader is left with intentionally but it did put a slight downer on the ending as they were no definitive conclusion but it didn’t stop me from devouring it and absolutely adoring the series. Highly recommended!
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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