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opossumble's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Animal death, and Blood
barts_books's review against another edition
5.0
Probably the finest imaginative collection of the macabre I've read since I first discovered Lovecraft.
No wonder Barker exploded onto the horror and pop culture scene in the 1980s with this superb collection as his debut.
Whilst there is some common traits e.g Barker's obsession with sexual desire, lust and body horror; no two stories are the same. There is a huge amount of variety here.
From B-movie monster horror (Rawhead Rex), to James Herbert esque dark ghost stories (Books of Blood) and much, much more.
No wonder Barker exploded onto the horror and pop culture scene in the 1980s with this superb collection as his debut.
Whilst there is some common traits e.g Barker's obsession with sexual desire, lust and body horror; no two stories are the same. There is a huge amount of variety here.
From B-movie monster horror (Rawhead Rex), to James Herbert esque dark ghost stories (Books of Blood) and much, much more.
michael_benavidez's review
4.0
I reread this, and while I maintain that this is still very much a wonderful piece of grotesquery that sets the imagination ablaze with some really beautiful/disgusting things, I realized something.
Barker's prose can be very dry and detached at times. When it came to the characters it always felt like we were at arms length from them. It was like at any moment they can and will suffer, which helped to put us on edge, but also made me not care for anyone when they died. This wasn't true for all the stories, but it's what I got from most.
The parts he does excel in is the atmosphere, and unpleasantness of the gore. Because while it should be unpleasant, his ability to create some vivid imagery with the prose makes for some wonderfully beautiful moments. He does very well fusing beauty and lust with gore and despicable things.
Not to mention, the things he comes up with just blow my mind. In the City, In the Hills is one of the most beautifully haunting and just flat out unthought of. It's what makes the highlight out of all these stories.
Barker's prose can be very dry and detached at times. When it came to the characters it always felt like we were at arms length from them. It was like at any moment they can and will suffer, which helped to put us on edge, but also made me not care for anyone when they died. This wasn't true for all the stories, but it's what I got from most.
The parts he does excel in is the atmosphere, and unpleasantness of the gore. Because while it should be unpleasant, his ability to create some vivid imagery with the prose makes for some wonderfully beautiful moments. He does very well fusing beauty and lust with gore and despicable things.
Not to mention, the things he comes up with just blow my mind. In the City, In the Hills is one of the most beautifully haunting and just flat out unthought of. It's what makes the highlight out of all these stories.
timtellsstories's review
5.0
Within its context, I think Clive Barker's Books of Blood is an essential read for horror fans. It's amazing this book (or books, if you consider the volumes separate and distinct) even exists at all, let alone that Barker got it published when he did. It had everything working against it (Collection of stories? Nobody wants to read those if they're not written by Stephen King. This is really serious horror that doesn't feature slashers or isn't written by Stephen King? Nobody wants that.). Yet, it got out there, and then Barker wrote The Hellbound Heart and did Hellraiser, and everyone promptly misunderstood everything Barker was about.
I'm not sure these stories give you a good idea what Barker's about. I think you'd probably want to turn to his later work for that. Still, within its context, we see a budding genius at work. His creativity is unrestrained, and it leads him to some very dark places.
Reading it today, it's a bit dated, and it's certainly not Barker's best writing, both of which he addresses in this book's introduction. But, I'm sort of in awe at the remarkable consistency of it all during a time of a writer's life when we all want to try new things. You can see Barker pushing into different places as he's searching for something, but the form, voice, etc. is all there.
If you've never read any Barker, I'm not sure this is the best place to start, but if you're working your way through historic horror staples like I am, I think this is a necessary stop. If you're curious about Barker, read some of his other books, too.
I'm not sure these stories give you a good idea what Barker's about. I think you'd probably want to turn to his later work for that. Still, within its context, we see a budding genius at work. His creativity is unrestrained, and it leads him to some very dark places.
Reading it today, it's a bit dated, and it's certainly not Barker's best writing, both of which he addresses in this book's introduction. But, I'm sort of in awe at the remarkable consistency of it all during a time of a writer's life when we all want to try new things. You can see Barker pushing into different places as he's searching for something, but the form, voice, etc. is all there.
If you've never read any Barker, I'm not sure this is the best place to start, but if you're working your way through historic horror staples like I am, I think this is a necessary stop. If you're curious about Barker, read some of his other books, too.
rocketiza's review
4.0
My previous knowledge of Barker was pretty much over the top 80s b-horror movies. My world was upended reading this to find such an imaginative range of stories written in language that was often poetic. Still plenty of viscera and sperm ladled out, just not packaged as I expected.
deeparcher's review
3.0
Just gruesome. If you're looking for a book that is filled with blood and malevolent ancient forces, this is your book.
kriavidar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
nevr0mancer's review
3.0
3.5, real good. I assume that the volumes are organized chronologically, explaining the increase in quality as you go through the author's short stories. It was straight up satisfying to see Barker's growth as a writer as time passed.
Plenty of grotesque imagery that I savored and missed only moments after finishing the collection.
These are my favorite of the batch, and the ones that I consider most gruesome, brutal, and/or gross:
"In the Hills, the Cities"
"Hell's Event"
"Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament"
"The Skins of the Fathers"
"New Murders in the Rue Morgue"
"Rawhead Rex"
Plenty of grotesque imagery that I savored and missed only moments after finishing the collection.
These are my favorite of the batch, and the ones that I consider most gruesome, brutal, and/or gross:
"In the Hills, the Cities"
"Hell's Event"
"Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament"
"The Skins of the Fathers"
"New Murders in the Rue Morgue"
"Rawhead Rex"
tiddybat's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5