A review by autisticbookbug
Books of Blood, Volumes 1-3 by Clive Barker

3.5

i am not particularly squeamish but as a lover of all kinds of horror i loved that this managed to get some gut-churning feelings going for me especially since it wasn't just like a mindless slasher vibe. it was all very human in that it was touching on some of the worst parts of humanity like power and greed and pleasure and pain whilst also making it all so exaggerated and inhuman in a really clever way. i'm a big fan of monster-of-the-week type horror and sci-fi and this definitely gave me the same kind of joy. 

without going into too much detail on every story in here, there was definitely some obvious favourites for me here. i also found that book 1 in this omnibus was simultaneously the weakest book, but included my favourite story overall - The Midnight Meat Train. 

To name some other of my favourites: 

1. The Yattering & Jack was exceptionally fun
2. In The Hill, The Cities was some outrageously bizarre and unique body horror
3. Jacqueline Ess was some top-tier supernatural feminine rage
4. New Murders in the Rue Morgue absolutely did it's inspiration justice; 
5. Rawhead Rex brings some more excellent primordial horrors after Midnight Meat Train
6. Scape-goats really got to me personally as a Scottish person who knows all of the haunting tales of the sea and the islands

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✖️