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A review by marthmuffins
Books of Blood, Volume Two by Clive Barker
3.0
Books of Blood Vol. 2 - 3.5/5
Another solid collection from Barker which, whilst a little weaker than the first, really held up for me here.
Dread - 3.5/5: This is essentially Saw before Saw (and set in the UK during the 80s which makes me think the villain probably didn't need to build a series of traps to create an overwhelming sense of dread in his victims). This is definitely the most "standard" horror story of the collection but still very solid, although I'm not a fan of how Barker treats the main female character here.
Hell's Event - 2/5: The weakest. It's a fairly dull and not that interesting sports horror story about a hell race and I think the political commentary is very vague and toothless, especially in regards to the British establishment. If that aspect was tightened up into something beyond a generalised "British democracy versus hell manipulation" tale it could've been pretty decent, resembling a Hellblazer story from early in Jaime Delano's initial run which released a few years after this story. There were some cool creature designs though.
Jacqueline Ess: Her Will And Testament - 4/5: My favourite. Depressed, bored, dysmorphic, and unloved housewife Jacqueline Ess discovers she can mould bodies to her will and control the desire of people around her. Some very weird stuff happens and it deals with Barker's desire/repulsion thing pretty well.
The Skins of the Fathers - 4/5: Another very Barker story which reminded me a lot of Nightbreed/Cabal and contained some great creature designs and a Barker favourite,. Definitely feels like it could've been longer, and I think that's what Cabal set out to achieve, but really solid nonetheless.
New Murders in the Rue Morgue - 2.5/5: This one probably would've been stronger if I'd read The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe first but as it is it's fine, not much there to really comment on other than I think how Barker handles women here is not ideal either.
Overall, some solid stories and some meh ones, as most anthologies tend to go. Still I'm enjoying working my way gradually back through these Books of Blood though, and will probably continue with Vol. 3 later this month.
Another solid collection from Barker which, whilst a little weaker than the first, really held up for me here.
Dread - 3.5/5: This is essentially Saw before Saw (and set in the UK during the 80s which makes me think the villain probably didn't need to build a series of traps to create an overwhelming sense of dread in his victims). This is definitely the most "standard" horror story of the collection but still very solid, although I'm not a fan of how Barker treats the main female character here.
Hell's Event - 2/5: The weakest. It's a fairly dull and not that interesting sports horror story about a hell race and I think the political commentary is very vague and toothless, especially in regards to the British establishment. If that aspect was tightened up into something beyond a generalised "British democracy versus hell manipulation" tale it could've been pretty decent, resembling a Hellblazer story from early in Jaime Delano's initial run which released a few years after this story. There were some cool creature designs though.
Jacqueline Ess: Her Will And Testament - 4/5: My favourite. Depressed, bored, dysmorphic, and unloved housewife Jacqueline Ess discovers she can mould bodies to her will and control the desire of people around her. Some very weird stuff happens and it deals with Barker's desire/repulsion thing pretty well.
The Skins of the Fathers - 4/5: Another very Barker story which reminded me a lot of Nightbreed/Cabal and contained some great creature designs and a Barker favourite,
Spoiler
monster sexNew Murders in the Rue Morgue - 2.5/5: This one probably would've been stronger if I'd read The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe first but as it is it's fine, not much there to really comment on other than I think how Barker handles women here is not ideal either.
Overall, some solid stories and some meh ones, as most anthologies tend to go. Still I'm enjoying working my way gradually back through these Books of Blood though, and will probably continue with Vol. 3 later this month.