A review by vampirehelpdesk
Books of Blood, Volumes 4-6 by Clive Barker

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.