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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
W̸͙͍͈̳ͦ̓̽̅̋͂ͣ̽ͦ̕͠E̶̡̮͙̼̬͙̐͑̎ͭͥ͝I̴̵̫͕̱̠̺͕͚̞̙̐̊̃ͣ̌Ŗ̵̛͇͈̰̯̟͇̰̘̭͖͇̫̇͆̀ͯ͒̉͂̈́̒̑̀͠D̴̛͈͎͈ͬͤ̏̆̇̊̿͐ͫ͑ͮ͟͠
̐̀̆ͥ̏̋́ͯͬ̑ͨͮ͐ͫͦ͒͗ͭ͏̵̛͕̞͚͕̯̩̜
͕͖̰̪̭͓͛͂ͭ̒̾̔̃̎ͮͮ̃̀̏̌ͨ͡͝ ̢̨̹̰̘͎̫͓̦̗̲͔͈͈̪͚̘̭̀͂ͫ̿͆͗͢ ̥̙͍̻̟̦̙̣̠̝̱̠̦̣̬͋ͧ̅ͬ͒͐͞ ̴͓̦̟̪̖ͯ̓ͬ͊̃̋ͪ̿ͥͮ̓̓͆̌̏̊̀͘̕Á̴̸̴͇̜̥̣͇̗͇͌ͣ̈́̈ͥͬ̊S̶̬͎͖̤̦̘̄̆̃̊̀͞
̡͙͔̦̜͔̹̖̯̬̞̞̙̖͎̦ͮ̾͐͗̆̾̃͛̀͢͠
̔ͭ͐͑̂̚͏̷̵͈̹̟̦́̕ ̶̵̧͇͈͍̼̖̮͔̦̗̳͓͋̎ͪ͆̅̎̐ͫ̽͒ͨ͗̿͢F̴ͦͣ͌ͮͪͦ̑͗̋͆̏̍ͪͫ͌ͤ̑҉̖̣͔͖͈̝̯͓̭̠̭ͅỦ̶̆͌̈ͫ̌̍̅̽̓͒͆ͫ̎̈́͜҉͓͍̯̜͕̩̼͇̞͇́͘C̴͚̬̝͇̻̤̟̣̼̖̠̞̀͋̇ͩͯ͒͆͌̔̑̿́̑ͤͨͭ̚͡Ķ̷͔̟̥ͪ̅͂ͪ͋̿̔͒ͫͦ̀͡
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've known about Barker through his work in movies, but had never read any of his fiction up until this point. I honestly should have jumped on that train sooner. Barker's stories are rich in character development and unique in their portrayal of horrors, from the depravities of human making to sympathetic and terrifying monsters of most unusual origins.
Entire cities might enact ancient battles by constructing giants made from the bodies of their citizens (“In the Hills, the Cities”). A women wakes in a hospital after an attempted suicide wakes with the power to grotesquely reshape the men who try to control her (“Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament”). A charity race turns out to have greater stakes than anyone knows, with the racers literally running for their lives (“Hell’s Event”). A monster rears up from the dark of a movie theater, born from the desires of years of movie goers (“Son of Celluloid”).
These stories are fantastic across the board, and I just learned that there are many more volumes of Barker's stories, so I'll definitely be picking those up as well.
Entire cities might enact ancient battles by constructing giants made from the bodies of their citizens (“In the Hills, the Cities”). A women wakes in a hospital after an attempted suicide wakes with the power to grotesquely reshape the men who try to control her (“Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament”). A charity race turns out to have greater stakes than anyone knows, with the racers literally running for their lives (“Hell’s Event”). A monster rears up from the dark of a movie theater, born from the desires of years of movie goers (“Son of Celluloid”).
These stories are fantastic across the board, and I just learned that there are many more volumes of Barker's stories, so I'll definitely be picking those up as well.
I want to but I have to return it to the library before I move!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Brilliant. Bloody brilliant. Clive Barker writes horror that truly terrifies; his stories aren't cheap thrills, but literary-horror blends that make you think as well as pull the covers over your head. Sex and death almost always go together, as do thrills and disgust, curiosity and foreboding. These stories, with all their gore and existential musings, will forever be imprinted in my soul.
Favorites:
"The Yattering and the Jack"
"Pig Blood Blues"
"Sex, Death and Starshine"
"Hell's Event"
"Confessions of a (Pornographer's) Shroud"
"Scape-Goats"
"Human Remains"
"Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red."--Clive Barker
Favorites:
"The Yattering and the Jack"
"Pig Blood Blues"
"Sex, Death and Starshine"
"Hell's Event"
"Confessions of a (Pornographer's) Shroud"
"Scape-Goats"
"Human Remains"
"Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red."--Clive Barker
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Books of Blood: My favorite short story collection. As the stories go on, the deeper they get, until you’re no longer reading horror but something almost religious.
I think I went into this book with the wrong mind-set. I wanted to read a few short horror stories and instead I ended up with dark fantasy; plenty of gore and squick (so much squick), but no chills down your spine. The only tale that felt like horror to me was "The Midnight Meat Train". The rest of the time I was more often than not rooting for the "monsters" or at least pitying them.
But that's not what brought the books rating down for me. No, that were the characters' illogical actions and the lack of mystery. In a lot of cases I guess the characters were supposed to have their wills controlled by some other entity, but if that's the case it was overused and also poorly indicated, only once made clear and then overly so. It left the book full of people who over- or under-reacted to events. Most of them were also somewhat unlikable as well as unrelatable, because of this trait. The lack of mystery came from every monster and entity being explained, often getting their own POV. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, especially of your aiming for dark fantasy instead of horror, the exposition was often very "tell don't show" and provided without any kind of prompting.
As fair warning to those not prepared for it, this book contains a lot of sex. Usually sex between women and not-human-things (thus the so-much-squick comment above.) And there's a ton of references to arousal at the stranges of times, to a point where it became comical.
But that's not what brought the books rating down for me. No, that were the characters' illogical actions and the lack of mystery. In a lot of cases I guess the characters were supposed to have their wills controlled by some other entity, but if that's the case it was overused and also poorly indicated, only once made clear and then overly so. It left the book full of people who over- or under-reacted to events. Most of them were also somewhat unlikable as well as unrelatable, because of this trait. The lack of mystery came from every monster and entity being explained, often getting their own POV. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, especially of your aiming for dark fantasy instead of horror, the exposition was often very "tell don't show" and provided without any kind of prompting.
As fair warning to those not prepared for it, this book contains a lot of sex. Usually sex between women and not-human-things (thus the so-much-squick comment above.) And there's a ton of references to arousal at the stranges of times, to a point where it became comical.