A study on Clive Barker part 31, The Last Illusion

By OJB · Jan 18, 2018 ·
  1. Welcome to part 31 of my study on Clive Barker. Today, we will be looking at his short story The Last Illusion.

    The Last Illusion introduces Clive Barker's second most famous character (his first being the Cenobite Pinhead) Harry D'Amour. Harry is a private detective that handles supernatural and occult-based cases. In the story, Harry is hired to corpse-watch the body of a man named Swann. Swann is a magician that made a deal with a devil; his soul for magical powers.

    Harry must protect the body from a group of demons who wish to claim it (and in the process taking Swann's soul to hell). Harry learns that there is a loop-hole in Swann's 'contract' that might save Swann's soul. If the demons do not claim the body after a certain time-frame, the body can be cremated, which voids the demon's claims on Swann's soul.

    During his struggle, Harry squares off against a demon called 'The Castrato,' a rotting corpse imbued with bright, white light. After defeating the demon, Harry hides the corpse at a local funeral home and dials up the director, hoping they can burn the body before the demon's find them.

    The lead demon, Mr. Butterfield, finds Harry and unleashes a new group of demons upon Harry, a marching band of twisted monsters that use human organs as their instruments.

    The story needs in a kinda Deus ex Machina where Swann's corpse performs one final magic trick, which drives the demons away, before being burned to a crisp. With Swann's corpse now ashes, Mr. Butterfield promises to seek revenge on Harry at a later date before leaving. The story ends with Harry wondering what the future will bring for him.

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    The one aspect of this story I really like is the depiction of the demons in the story. I found the glowing corpse and the marching band very creative. Actually, the marching band reminds me a lot of the monsters that appear in 'The skins of the fathers.'

    Also, Harry is a character that appears in a number of Clive Barker's stories. I look forward to seeing him in future adventures (such as Everville, and the Scarlet Gospels.)

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    This concludes my look at 'The Last Illusion.'' If you have a thought or a question, please leave a like or comment!

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