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A review by caitcoreads
Books of Blood: Volumes One to Three by Clive Barker
5.0
“We are all our own graveyards I believe: we squat amongst the tombs of the people we were.”
Books of Blood, a collection of short stories written by Clive Barker, helped to launch him into a career as a leading author in the horror genre. In this book, volumes 1-3 are collected, containing 16 short stories riddled with dark fantasy, body horror, and cataclysmic supernatural events. Barker was inspired to write the Books of Blood anthology containing ranging themes and tones after reading the Dark Forces collection edited by Kirby McCauley in the 1980s. He was inspired to show that a proper collection didn’t have to have a tight thematic structure tying all of the stories together to make an impact.
After reading The Hellbound Heart novella a couple of months ago, I’ve been yearning for more Clive Barker in my life. I kind of can’t believe that I called myself a horror aficionado before diving into Barker’s sadistically beautiful mind. I can say wholeheartedly that I enjoyed every story in this book, but if I had to choose favorites, I’d say they would be, “Pig Blood Blues”, “New Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and “Son of Celluloid.” The depth that Barker shows in this collection is outstanding. Each story truly feels like it was written by an entirely different author. Reading Clive Barker is an intoxicating experience. He writes horror that will churn your stomach and cover your skin with a sickly slime, while also making you ponder the sheer and complex beauty of the human anatomy. You will never read anything like him.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
My favorite quote was, “Women had always existed: they had lived, a species to themselves, with the demons. But they had wanted playmates: and together they had made men. What an error, what a cataclysmic miscalculation.”
Books of Blood, a collection of short stories written by Clive Barker, helped to launch him into a career as a leading author in the horror genre. In this book, volumes 1-3 are collected, containing 16 short stories riddled with dark fantasy, body horror, and cataclysmic supernatural events. Barker was inspired to write the Books of Blood anthology containing ranging themes and tones after reading the Dark Forces collection edited by Kirby McCauley in the 1980s. He was inspired to show that a proper collection didn’t have to have a tight thematic structure tying all of the stories together to make an impact.
After reading The Hellbound Heart novella a couple of months ago, I’ve been yearning for more Clive Barker in my life. I kind of can’t believe that I called myself a horror aficionado before diving into Barker’s sadistically beautiful mind. I can say wholeheartedly that I enjoyed every story in this book, but if I had to choose favorites, I’d say they would be, “Pig Blood Blues”, “New Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and “Son of Celluloid.” The depth that Barker shows in this collection is outstanding. Each story truly feels like it was written by an entirely different author. Reading Clive Barker is an intoxicating experience. He writes horror that will churn your stomach and cover your skin with a sickly slime, while also making you ponder the sheer and complex beauty of the human anatomy. You will never read anything like him.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
My favorite quote was, “Women had always existed: they had lived, a species to themselves, with the demons. But they had wanted playmates: and together they had made men. What an error, what a cataclysmic miscalculation.”