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Title: First and still the best
Review: The first novel Barker ever wrote was also the first of his that I read, and I can still remember the impact it made on me two decades later. The assurance and clarity of the prose is shocking for a debut novelist, as is the almost tactile sense of evil that seems to leave a sticky residue on your fingers just from touching the pages. I recently picked up the damnation game for a nostalgic revisit and was pleased to find it retains virtually all of its power, but I still felt a little sad not to be able to recapture the thrill of reading it for the first time. Despite his innumerable triumphs in subsequent years, I'll always think of this book as a personal best for Mr. Barker.
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