Clive Barker began making a name for himself in the horror world when a collection of his short stories were published as "Books of Blood" in the mid-80s (then released in three separate volumes). Upon its release, "Books of Blood" created a stir in the literature world and would do a great deal to establish Barker's style.
Anybody familiar with Barker's work knows he has an affinity for decadence, perversity and extreme physical pain. It seems no matter what he does, whether it is directing film, writing literature or drawing on a canvas board, this style is present and that is very true of "Books of Blood."
Unfortunately, it also becomes a glaring flaw in this collection, in excess.
The raw materials for Barker's style are there in all of the stories but before the author directed the cult-classic film "Hellraiser," he had yet to discipline himself. Sometimes his excesses completely overtake a story. In "Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament," a woman with psychic powers kills men because she hates them, and that is it for the story.
There are, however, some truly great stories in this collection. "Rawhead Rex" is one of the best stories in the collection and shows Barker maturing as a writer. The story is about a resurrected pagan monster on a killing rampage in a nearby village. At its core, the story is a straight-forward slasher story with plenty of excessive gore. At one point in the story Barker has a crazed man worship the demon by letting it urinate on him.
However, in the story, Barker effectively uses this perversity to illustrate the monster's lack of respect for life; and this is when Barker is at his best.
Other great stories in "Books of Blood" are: "The Yattering and Jack," which involves a demon trying to drive a man crazy but is being frustrated because of the man's indifference and "Dread," which is about a college student who gets caught up in another student's manipulative plan.
"Books of Blood" is a good collection to have for any horror devotee to have.
Berkley Pritchett is a quiet man, but he loves to rock.
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Name: Shag-Himself
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I read this collection of stories and I believe it is the best piece of horror literature I have ever read. Wish he kept at it but I understand he wanted to move on. You go Clive!
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