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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I think this was my favorite in the series! Loved seeing how different the source material for Candyman was compared to the movie - though, no matter how the original story describes him, I will never see Candyman as anyone other than Tony Todd
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Not sure what possessed me to read all five of the other Books of Blood volumes back in 2013-2014 and leave this one for last, but maybe I was saving the first story in this collection, "The Forbidden" until I'd seen the film version, Candyman. Which I'm glad I did — Candyman seems like a more thorough exploration of the same ideas, and a more character-and-metaphor-rich version. But the original story is also strikingly well-described and well-paced, and the other three stories here all had their separate appeal. "The Madonna," about a strange thing living in an abandoned pool, veers back and forth between the mundane and the uncanny in an interesting way. "Babel's Children" barely reads like a Clive Barker story to me — no gore, no unspeakable Lovecraftian evils, just a wild and enjoyable fable about who watches over the world. That one went particularly quickly, since it's just a sort of antic adventure with a deep and justified cynicism about the world. "In The Flesh" is much more traditional Barker, set in a prison and suffused with dread and elaborate description of warping bodies and terrible fates, and it's written in a heavier and richer style than the others. Overall, a reminder of the wide variety in Barker's early fiction, and the pretty shocking creativity he brought to his work.
Book #14 or 15 since February complete. This took me awhile since I've been pretty busy tending to other things as well as trying to read as much about antiques and vintage items as I can.
Anywho if you want one hell of an abstract read then give this a go. This is the first Clive B book I've read and it's downright mond boggling the short stories compiled within these pages. If you thought the Candyman was a good movie you need to read the story in this.
Anywho if you want one hell of an abstract read then give this a go. This is the first Clive B book I've read and it's downright mond boggling the short stories compiled within these pages. If you thought the Candyman was a good movie you need to read the story in this.
Clive Barker's greatest strength as a writer is in his ability to write stunning scenes that somehow evoke all the senses. Each story has such a strong setting, and images that just stick in your mind. And I think that comes from his power of description. In terms of plot the stories are ok. Barker tends to have these narrative dumps at the end of each story where he does a bunch of yadda-yadda to wrap everything up. The way he writes criminals is also kinda goofy and over-the-top. The ideas are really interesting though, but I think could have been executed better.
Picked it up for the Candyman story. There's some very nice sentences sprinkled throughout but I see why I generally forgot all these stories after school.
dark
sad
medium-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:
No
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I started this collection as an alternative to watching Candy Man. Although I thought each premise was interesting, I thought that each was missing enough character development to have me invested in the fates of our protagonists in each story.
Interestingly enough, I thought the short story that eventually became the Candy Man story was the weakest of the bunch. I was much more engrossed in the pool story with its commentary on masculinity as well as the frog racing in Greece on how high-level decisions get made. They were less traditionally "scary" then perhaps the prison story. I found the writing engrossing and loved how each story was totally different from the previous. It led to a feeling that you could not anticipate where the next chapter would take you. I don't know if I'm just not a short story person, because I didn't much care about the final fates of our main characters. I don't think I will read the rest of the series but I'm glad that I attempted this collection.
Interestingly enough, I thought the short story that eventually became the Candy Man story was the weakest of the bunch. I was much more engrossed in the pool story with its commentary on masculinity as well as the frog racing in Greece on how high-level decisions get made. They were less traditionally "scary" then perhaps the prison story. I found the writing engrossing and loved how each story was totally different from the previous. It led to a feeling that you could not anticipate where the next chapter would take you. I don't know if I'm just not a short story person, because I didn't much care about the final fates of our main characters. I don't think I will read the rest of the series but I'm glad that I attempted this collection.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Minor: Transphobia
Solid collection that's all over the map genre-wise. Might be my second favourite Book of Blood after the first. Only one left to go before tackling his novels.
Favourite story: The Forbidden
Favourite story: The Forbidden