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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
Oh, this is a treat! The stories that started Barker's career--a wonderful combination of gross body horror and weird psychosexual nastiness. Smart inversions of unsavory genre tropes, like Lovecraftian racism ("Hell's Event" and "The Skins of the Fathers") and the woman-as-victim narrative ("Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament"). Plus, Barker's a really good writer. More people should read his stuff.
I've just completed a reread of Clive Barker's "Books of Blood" and every volume of the six constitutes part of a masterclass in dark fiction, especially short (including novelette/novella) fiction. Truly a staggering achievement in every way, they're at least as good now as when I first read them.
“There is no delight the equal of dread. If it were possible to sit, invisible, between two people on any train, in any waiting room or office the conversation overheard would time and again circle on that subject…With the inevitability of a tongue returning to probe a painful tooth, we come back and back and back again to our fears, sitting to talk them over with the eagerness of a hungry man before a full and steaming plate.”
Reading this collection was truly an intense ride. Each story has its own tone; each new adventure a new world with new horrors to discover, and almost all of them were simply incredible.
Barker effortlessly creates an atmosphere of dread for the reader and explores some deeply unsettling themes with a near perfect execution thanks to the dialogue, pacing and that wonderful, wonderful imagery! There were some stories in here that were just so weird, so different, that I was totally enthralled and I think you have to appreciate a man who can create a world, fully immerse the reader in a nightmare within this world and have it leave a lasting impact, in as little as 30 pages.
Stand outs for me were:
The Yattering and Jack
Pig Blood Blues
In the Hills, the Cities
Dread
Hell’s Event
New Murders in the Rue Morgue (absolute favourite!)
Rawhead Rex
Reading this collection was truly an intense ride. Each story has its own tone; each new adventure a new world with new horrors to discover, and almost all of them were simply incredible.
Barker effortlessly creates an atmosphere of dread for the reader and explores some deeply unsettling themes with a near perfect execution thanks to the dialogue, pacing and that wonderful, wonderful imagery! There were some stories in here that were just so weird, so different, that I was totally enthralled and I think you have to appreciate a man who can create a world, fully immerse the reader in a nightmare within this world and have it leave a lasting impact, in as little as 30 pages.
Stand outs for me were:
The Yattering and Jack
Pig Blood Blues
In the Hills, the Cities
Dread
Hell’s Event
New Murders in the Rue Morgue (absolute favourite!)
Rawhead Rex
"Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red."
Comprised of insane and downright horrifying tales from Clive Barker, Books of Blood is a strong debut release which led to King referring to him as "the future of horror". This edition contains Volumes 1-3, a grand total of fifteen stories (sixteen if you include the intro) - a large number of which have been subsequently adapted into movies.
Having already been blown away by The Hellhound Heart, I was excited to get into more Clive Barker - and oh boy, this did not disappoint. The sheer range of stories within these first three volumes of Books of Blood is staggering. And the quality remains consistently high throughout. Barker's imagination is unparalleled - I mean, King has a pretty awesome imagination too, but his skills are slightly different to Barker's. One minute you're reading about a serial killer who quite literally skins his victims and hangs them up like pieces of meat on the subway, and the next you're reading a pretty hilarious story about a guy and the demon currently inhabiting his house trying to outdo each other.
There's dark humour in some of these stories, whereas some are just pee-your-pants scary and will no doubt lead to some pretty disturbing nightmares. There's something for every horror lover in here. However, I do feel like it's necessary to warn people that a high proportion of these stories have a lot of blood and gore in them - it is the Books of Blood after all - so if you're not a fan of this, maybe this collection isn't for you. I just don't want anyone to read these on my recommendation and think I'm some sicko (I kinda am, but that's a discussion for another day). BUT it's also important that I point out that the gore isn't gratuitous or included merely for the "shock value" - in my opinion, anyway.
I'm still finding it so strange to be reading sentences that are meant to be graphic and disturbing, yet they're still poignant and beautiful. Barker has a real talent for examining the beauty of horror. He seems to have a fascination with the human body and it's reflected in his writing. The book just drips with sex and violence, and I'm more than cool with that.
I generally loved the majority of these, so it's difficult to pick a favourite, but standouts for me were: The Midnight Meat Train, The Yattering and Jack, Scape-Goats, Rawhead Rex... yeah, I'm close to just naming them all. However, a special mention must go to In the Hills, The Cities. I've honestly never read a story like this - such a unique, fascinating idea. Imagery I'll never ever forget. Wow.
Initially I had intended to delve right into volumes 4-6 soon after finishing this... but I think I'm going to wait a while. Like a semi-reasonable junkie, I want to know that my next hit is still out there... just waiting for me to pick it up. This gets ALL THE STARS. 5 stars out of 5!
Comprised of insane and downright horrifying tales from Clive Barker, Books of Blood is a strong debut release which led to King referring to him as "the future of horror". This edition contains Volumes 1-3, a grand total of fifteen stories (sixteen if you include the intro) - a large number of which have been subsequently adapted into movies.
Having already been blown away by The Hellhound Heart, I was excited to get into more Clive Barker - and oh boy, this did not disappoint. The sheer range of stories within these first three volumes of Books of Blood is staggering. And the quality remains consistently high throughout. Barker's imagination is unparalleled - I mean, King has a pretty awesome imagination too, but his skills are slightly different to Barker's. One minute you're reading about a serial killer who quite literally skins his victims and hangs them up like pieces of meat on the subway, and the next you're reading a pretty hilarious story about a guy and the demon currently inhabiting his house trying to outdo each other.
There's dark humour in some of these stories, whereas some are just pee-your-pants scary and will no doubt lead to some pretty disturbing nightmares. There's something for every horror lover in here. However, I do feel like it's necessary to warn people that a high proportion of these stories have a lot of blood and gore in them - it is the Books of Blood after all - so if you're not a fan of this, maybe this collection isn't for you. I just don't want anyone to read these on my recommendation and think I'm some sicko (I kinda am, but that's a discussion for another day). BUT it's also important that I point out that the gore isn't gratuitous or included merely for the "shock value" - in my opinion, anyway.
I'm still finding it so strange to be reading sentences that are meant to be graphic and disturbing, yet they're still poignant and beautiful. Barker has a real talent for examining the beauty of horror. He seems to have a fascination with the human body and it's reflected in his writing. The book just drips with sex and violence, and I'm more than cool with that.
I generally loved the majority of these, so it's difficult to pick a favourite, but standouts for me were: The Midnight Meat Train, The Yattering and Jack, Scape-Goats, Rawhead Rex... yeah, I'm close to just naming them all. However, a special mention must go to In the Hills, The Cities. I've honestly never read a story like this - such a unique, fascinating idea. Imagery I'll never ever forget. Wow.
Initially I had intended to delve right into volumes 4-6 soon after finishing this... but I think I'm going to wait a while. Like a semi-reasonable junkie, I want to know that my next hit is still out there... just waiting for me to pick it up. This gets ALL THE STARS. 5 stars out of 5!
4.5 stars - A couple of things about a couple of stories in volume 3 stopped this being a perfect collection, but it’s damn close!!!