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thewardrums 's review for:
Books of Blood: Volumes One to Three
by Clive Barker
Wooooh this sat on my book shelf for far too long. After a thorough reading I gotta say that this might be one of the best used bookstore finds ever, with a meager price of $4.50 CAD. Still, it took me almost 6 years to get to it. I read The Thief of Always and loved it; The Hellbound Heart was killer; and theeeen I read Mister B. Gone and was convinced Barker was garbage. Every time I tried to pick up the Books of Blood I'd just keep seeing what I didn't like from Barker's failed foray into hell. It took some time to divest myself of this (that time including a bus crash while reading "The Midnight Meat Train", which didn't help).
But man, what an awesome collection. Each story oozes with sex and violence and dynamics of power, person over person or entity over humanity. It's great. You should definitely read it. I can't wait to read the other three books. Here's my breakdown.
BOOK 1
Probably the most coherent and accessible stories. All of these are good, but not all go the the same extremes that Books 2 and 3 do. Here are my ratings, with an asterisk denoting my favourites.
THE BOOK OF BLOOD 3.5/5
(forgettable but worthy introduction)
THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN 4/5
(CLASSIC)
*THE YATTERING AND JACK 4.5/5
(funny as hell)
PIG BLOOD BLUES 4/5
(kids are spooky)
SEX, DEATH, AND STARSHINE 3.5/5
(mmmmm okay)
*IN THE HILLS, THE CITIES 4/5
(when humanity turns Lovecraftian)
BOOK 2
OooooOoooOooo Book 2 is good baby, definitely my favourite. This is Barker's writing at its best. I think I'm particularly proud of the characters my man created. Ratings follow, asterisk for fav.
DREAD 4/5
(people are evil)
HELL'S EVENT 4/5
(hell is cool)
***JACQUELINE ESS: HER LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT 5/5
(K. I can't do a blurb for all of them, but this is by FAR my favourite story in the collection. It slaps. Please read.)
*THE SKINS OF THE FATHERS 4/5
(Feast, anyone?)
*NEW MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE 4.5/5
(oddly good; strays from the supernatural and moves more to the bizarre and melancholic)
BOOK 3
Ehhhh probably the worst. The stories all start strong but a lot of them fall apart. Still worth a read though; not even close to Mister B. Gone quality. Definitely enjoyable.
SON OF CELLULOID 3.5/5
(starts soooo strong and then exposes far too much)
RAWHEAD REX 3.5/5
(ditto)
CONFESSION OF A (PORNOGRAPHER'S) SHROUD 2.5/5
(written well but the characters and the decision making just don't make sense)
SCAPE-GOATS 3/5
(solid meh)
*HUMAN REMAINS 4/5
(I think one of the best in the whole collection and by far the strongest in Book 3)
Thanks for reading. Let me know what stories you like and I'd love to chat.
But man, what an awesome collection. Each story oozes with sex and violence and dynamics of power, person over person or entity over humanity. It's great. You should definitely read it. I can't wait to read the other three books. Here's my breakdown.
BOOK 1
Probably the most coherent and accessible stories. All of these are good, but not all go the the same extremes that Books 2 and 3 do. Here are my ratings, with an asterisk denoting my favourites.
THE BOOK OF BLOOD 3.5/5
(forgettable but worthy introduction)
THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN 4/5
(CLASSIC)
*THE YATTERING AND JACK 4.5/5
(funny as hell)
PIG BLOOD BLUES 4/5
(kids are spooky)
SEX, DEATH, AND STARSHINE 3.5/5
(mmmmm okay)
*IN THE HILLS, THE CITIES 4/5
(when humanity turns Lovecraftian)
BOOK 2
OooooOoooOooo Book 2 is good baby, definitely my favourite. This is Barker's writing at its best. I think I'm particularly proud of the characters my man created. Ratings follow, asterisk for fav.
DREAD 4/5
(people are evil)
HELL'S EVENT 4/5
(hell is cool)
***JACQUELINE ESS: HER LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT 5/5
(K. I can't do a blurb for all of them, but this is by FAR my favourite story in the collection. It slaps. Please read.)
*THE SKINS OF THE FATHERS 4/5
(Feast, anyone?)
*NEW MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE 4.5/5
(oddly good; strays from the supernatural and moves more to the bizarre and melancholic)
BOOK 3
Ehhhh probably the worst. The stories all start strong but a lot of them fall apart. Still worth a read though; not even close to Mister B. Gone quality. Definitely enjoyable.
SON OF CELLULOID 3.5/5
(starts soooo strong and then exposes far too much)
RAWHEAD REX 3.5/5
(ditto)
CONFESSION OF A (PORNOGRAPHER'S) SHROUD 2.5/5
(written well but the characters and the decision making just don't make sense)
SCAPE-GOATS 3/5
(solid meh)
*HUMAN REMAINS 4/5
(I think one of the best in the whole collection and by far the strongest in Book 3)
Thanks for reading. Let me know what stories you like and I'd love to chat.