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pigbloodblues 's review for:
Books of Blood: Volume One
by Clive Barker
I had decided at some point earlier this year that I had read the works of far too many authors who cite Clive Barker as an inspiration to have never read one of his books for myself, and needed to have my taste of the source material that inspired so many other pieces of media I adore. From the moment I finished reading The Midnight Meat Train (the first story following the introductory "Books of Blood" story), I knew I had decided correctly.
Stephen King described Barker as "an important, exciting and enormously talented writer," "the future of horror," and "so good I am almost literally tongue-tied." I'm very inclined to agree with him. Few authors are quite as skilled at weaving together splatterpunk-esque visceral gore with sophisticated metaphor, deeply personal sensuality, and nearly existential cosmic horror. I had feared from the titular story appearing first in this volume that this would be a collection of the relatively basic ghost and possession horror that I tend to be bored by. I was entirely wrong. Clive Barker's writing is made of human flesh and blood and bone and muscle, completely deserving of the collection's title.
A wonderful introduction to a beloved master of horror. Through the six stories in this first volume, I've found myself a new favorite author, and I can't believe it took me as long as it did to finally read his work.
Stephen King described Barker as "an important, exciting and enormously talented writer," "the future of horror," and "so good I am almost literally tongue-tied." I'm very inclined to agree with him. Few authors are quite as skilled at weaving together splatterpunk-esque visceral gore with sophisticated metaphor, deeply personal sensuality, and nearly existential cosmic horror. I had feared from the titular story appearing first in this volume that this would be a collection of the relatively basic ghost and possession horror that I tend to be bored by. I was entirely wrong. Clive Barker's writing is made of human flesh and blood and bone and muscle, completely deserving of the collection's title.
A wonderful introduction to a beloved master of horror. Through the six stories in this first volume, I've found myself a new favorite author, and I can't believe it took me as long as it did to finally read his work.