"Books are like people. When they are open, they're red" ---------- Clive Barker

The Books of Blood were my first introduction to Clive Barker around 15 years ago. I cannot believe how consistently original he is from book to book, even after all these years. This is a three book collection of some of the greatest horror stories, maybe even of any short stories, ever written. I keep coming back and reading them again every few years.


Some highlights:

"Rawhead Rex" is simply incredible. It is a personal favorite of mine. In rural England, a farmer digging up an old field accidentally frees a horrifying monster that early pagans buried and locked with a symbolic motherstone. It is truly terrifying, and it does feel like a monster could be inhabiting the real world with us. The creature is intelligent and angry over his several century imprisonment. He learns the ways of the modern world fast and seems almost unstoppable by the people of the rural hamlet. Analyzing this, it is easy to forget just how easy it would be for this story to fail miserably if we couldn't imagine it actually happening.

"The Yattering and Jack" is such a wonderful story in a small package. What's going on isn't immediately apparent. Reading this shortest of the volume's stories, we slowly realize that a minor demon has been sent to make an ordinary man commit himself to hell. The demon is invisible and plays tricks with his host, like killing his pets, and whispering horrible thoughts into his ear, trying to lead the man into committing atrocities on himself and others. The demon is consistently frustrated by the man's seemingly lack of care as the world seems to play tricks on him. It is almost a game of cat and mouse, but which is which is never quite clear. It is one of the shorter stories in Barker's total collection of works. What a concept this story is! And what an ending!

"Pig Blood Blues" is another amazing achievement. It takes place in a horrifying environment (a correctional facility for really troubled boys), and it almost feels like a mystery story in the way we try to solve a case with the main character. He is a new teacher, hired probably because he is an ex-policeman, who can possibly handle these sociopathic kids. The school is actually being run by something that isn't human, and both the faculty and the kids seem rather accepting of it. Although I didn't find it too bad, many of my friends find the story unbearably gruesome.

"The Son of Celluloid" is another masterpiece. It is another great example of how casual Barker can make the 'supernatural' believably, and easily, placed into our reality. In a run down movie theater regulated to showing old art films, a strange force seems to inhabit the magical energy of screen characters who the public never tires of watching. The first six pages are an example of how incredible Barker's detail can be with a minor throw-away character making him absolutely unforgettable. No movie script has ever touched upon this sort of detail with a character that this brief introduction does.

"The Shroud" is another example of this same high quality of detail. Although containing only a handful of characters, each one is still original and realistic. Here we see a good man killed by bad people for unjust reasons, and his soul comes back to life inhabiting his death shroud. He is not just a stray ghost floating around scaring people, but a strong piece of cloth that can strangle, smother and violently harm others. I found myself strangely sympathetic to the main protagonist.

"The Midnight Meat Train" tells us the story of a mysterious killer of the New York Subway system. This isn't just an exploitation story, but instead involves an old man, well past his prime, who has committed himself to slaying mortals for the sake of the cities great underground devils. This story feeds into the fear of anyone who has experienced the vast subway network of New York, and has slept through their stop, and is worried as to where they will be let off of next.

"Sex, Death & Starshine" is a story of a stage actress past her prime, in a theater past its prime. The old great actors and actresses want to appear on stage one last time, and don't want to let the fact that they are dead get in the way. Barker considers himself to be a student of the theater, and his love for that format shows through in the written format. His detail of the mannerisms, and back stage happenings could only be told by someone who has experienced them.

"Hell's Event" involves a foot race through London that involves more than just humans. Each character in the race is completely detailed, and what goes on behind the scenes in the race is both frightening and surreal. Full of biblical motifs, visions of Dante's inferno, and political machinations, this story is a true work of art.

Each book contains about five stories each, and not all the stories are as good as those I've mentioned. Still, even the stories that don't seem as good, are very good, but only seem minor in comparison to his greater works.


Note: The Books of Blood originally contained just these three books. Later, a six book set was released with the same title "The Books of Blood". The other three books were actually released years before as individual collections of short stories with unique titles. I've written separate reviews of them as well:


Cabal / Nightbreed:
http://www.epinions.com/content_21267320452

The Inhuman Condition:
http://www.epinions.com/content_21268696708

In the Flesh:
http://www.epinions.com/content_21269155460



Recommended: Yes