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alaramie's review against another edition
3.0
Not nearly as good as the other books of blood. But still a solid Barker collection
vampirehelpdesk's review against another edition
4.0
It’s really more of a 4.5 for me because I had a lot of fun reading this, but unlike the first volume, there were some stories I felt I had to slog through. Still, I’m forever a fan of Barker’s fucked up creations and I always enjoy finding the nuggets of truth and beauty in his profoundly disturbing work. Trigger warning for a lot: animal abuse, necrophilia, graphic sexual assault, torture. But also note that these stories are progressive for their time with queer characters, feminism, remarks on colonialism and gentrification—while the shock value is there, there are legitimate moving parts beneath. Another note is that the movie Lord of Illusions is far better than the short story “Last Illusion” it’s based on. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. Overall, I would recommend this to my most demented friends.
niknewx's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
duncan_black's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
fantasticmrethan's review against another edition
5.0
Another phenomenal collection of short stories. That are so masterfully well written and feature some awesome imagery, even the slightly poorer stories are still engaging.
Some of my personal favourites were:
-Revelations (Vol.4)
-The Forbidden (Vol.5)
-Babel's Children (Vol.5)
-The Life of Death (Vol.6)
-How Spoilers Bleed (Vol.6)
-The Last Illusion (Vol.6)
-The Book of Blood (a postscript) on Jerusalem Street (Vol.6)
The Forbidden and The Last Illusion in particular are pretty pitch perfect as far as these kinds of stories go.
The further the volumes go the more mature Barker seems to become and the more themes he seems to invoke across volumes and In the Flesh (Vol.5) and the book of blood on Jerusalem street (Vol.6) add some level of completion amongst the very first story in Vol.1. Returning to the initial ideas and themes of the whole collection.
Honestly saddened there are no more books of blood. So I will definitely be looking out for more Clive Barker to read and watch or see what Harry D'amour is up to.
Some of my personal favourites were:
-Revelations (Vol.4)
-The Forbidden (Vol.5)
-Babel's Children (Vol.5)
-The Life of Death (Vol.6)
-How Spoilers Bleed (Vol.6)
-The Last Illusion (Vol.6)
-The Book of Blood (a postscript) on Jerusalem Street (Vol.6)
The Forbidden and The Last Illusion in particular are pretty pitch perfect as far as these kinds of stories go.
The further the volumes go the more mature Barker seems to become and the more themes he seems to invoke across volumes and In the Flesh (Vol.5) and the book of blood on Jerusalem street (Vol.6) add some level of completion amongst the very first story in Vol.1. Returning to the initial ideas and themes of the whole collection.
Honestly saddened there are no more books of blood. So I will definitely be looking out for more Clive Barker to read and watch or see what Harry D'amour is up to.
victorward's review
3.0
The Body Politic: 5
The Inhuman Condition: 3
Revelations: 3
Down, Satan: 4
The Age of Desire: 2
The Forbidden: 5
The Madonna: 1
Babel's children: 3
In the Flesh: 2,5
The Life of Death: 3,5
How Spoilers Bleed: 4
Twilight at the Towers: 4
The Last Illusion: 1
On Jerusalem Street: 3
The Inhuman Condition: 3
Revelations: 3
Down, Satan: 4
The Age of Desire: 2
The Forbidden: 5
The Madonna: 1
Babel's children: 3
In the Flesh: 2,5
The Life of Death: 3,5
How Spoilers Bleed: 4
Twilight at the Towers: 4
The Last Illusion: 1
On Jerusalem Street: 3
charliebk_2's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
abbie_'s review
A temporary DNF, I’m just not interested in the other stories for now
worldofbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It’s hard to explain how I feel after reading it. Is dark and heavy, but I’ve enjoyed it all the way through
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence