The Best (or worst) of Clive Barker.

[Constellationzero]

I just received a first edition of the Books of Blood, Vol. 4.
I'm reading The Madonna, and, so far, I'm loving this Art Deco Britbong version of the backrooms with naked ladies! Clive is a strange one, but, in my opinion, his prose is more polished and mature than Stephen King's.

While I like Stephen King (sometimes--and only his old stuff), I adore Clive Barker's world of fantasy and religious allegories. The Thief of Always is hands down my all-time favorite book. I've read and re-read it countless times. I think it's a GREAT fairy tale/fable for ALL AGES. It's not too long. The prose is easy to digest. There's even some of Clive's art for good measure.
Harvey Swick's tale is one of an ordinary kid who goes on a deep, dark journey and learns an age old lesson about not wasting time.

Last book I read was Mister B. Gone. I wasn't too sure at first, but I loved this one too, and it's one I've already re-read. An interesting "take" about Gutenberg's press and the power of words and paper.

I tried reading Abarat. The first book, but I stopped. I could not get into this one, but I actually loved Candy Quackenbush's life in Chickentown and the mystery in the hotel she tried writing about. It sort of started sounding a bit like 1408 for young adults.

I have Books of Blood Vol. 1-3. Here's my picks:

Scapegoats
Human Remains
Confessions of a Pornographer's Shroud
Pig Blood Blues
In the Hills, The Cities
The Yattering and Jack
Sex, Death and Starshine
Rawhead Rex

I didn't care for Dread, The Midnight Meat Train, or any of the other stories (Jaqueline Ess was one of the worst).

I'm waiting on a first edition copy of The Hellbound Heart. I also have Everville, but I'm waiting to get a copy of The Great and Secret Show first before I read.

Weaveworld is another FANTASTIC read! There is a free PDF of the Weaveworld comic to help you "envision" some of Clive's descriptions. Do check this one out--it's worth the read about Jude Pears/Giddy Fruits!

What Clive Barker works have you read and enjoyed? What ones suck, and what did you think sucked about it? Discuss!

Also feel free to discuss ANYTHING Clive Barker--movies, comics, art...

https://www.zipcomic.com/weaveworld-issue-1

 

[Agamemnon Busmalis]

Book 4 is spectacular, it's got my favorite story of the series in it (The Age of Desire). The Scape-Goat was a pretty disturbing one from Book 3 as well.

The Madonna is going to get very interesting by the time it ends, let me just say that.

 

[Daddy's Angry Juice]

ive only known him from shitty movies/videogames, i didnt even know he was an author. Be real honest, is he worth the read, and where should i start?

 

[Megaton Punch]

Give this post a funny moai face sticker if the only thing you know about him is either Hellraiser (and affiliated media) or Clive Barker's Jericho.

 

[Pedophobe]

The Worst:
Gallilee, the one before that, the Scarlet Gospel, the sequel to G&SS

The Best:
Books of Blood, Cabal, Imajica, Hellbound Heart, Great and Secret Show

The Rest, all pretty good:
Damnation Game, Coldheart Canyon, Weaveworld

I think that's everything. Imajica is probably the high point of his career, it's extremely bi.

Edit: also the kids' books he did. The first one was crap but the Abarat books are generally decent if somewhat cheesy.

 

[Targeted Individual]

ive only known him from shitty movies/videogames, i didnt even know he was an author. Be real honest, is he worth the read, and where should i start?

Rawhead Rex
He's a giant cock-monster who piss and fucks and cums everywhere.

 

[Constellationzero]

ive only known him from shitty movies/videogames, i didnt even know he was an author. Be real honest, is he worth the read, and where should i start?

Honestly, I'd start with Books of Blood so you get a short story. I'd say the same about Stephen King. Both shine brighter with short stories where the actual books go off on tangents (both Clive and Stephen).

But check out that link in the OP and see the Weaveworld comic. It's a truncated version of the actual book with illustrations which make it easier to follow.

 

[Frank(en) Castle]

Give this post a funny moai face sticker if the only thing you know about him is either Hellraiser (and affiliated media) or Clive Barker's Jericho.

HA I'm not a peasant! I also know him from Clive Barker's Undying, take that!

 

[Agamemnon Busmalis]

Give this post a funny moai face sticker if the only thing you know about him is either Hellraiser (and affiliated media) or Clive Barker's Jericho.

Jericho was awesome though. Cassius Vicus was just depraved.

One thing to keep in mind if you're getting into Clive is there's going to be a lot of sexuality and eroticism alongside the horror. It's kind of arousing if you're reading it closely, NGL.

 

[Shartavius]

As others have said, start reading or listening to all of the Books of Blood short stories. You'll end up either sick to death of the creepy fag, or looking forward to experiencing his longer stories.

 

[Constellationzero]

One thing to keep in mind if you're getting into Clive is there's going to be a lot of sexuality and eroticism alongside the horror. It's kind of arousing if you're reading it closely, NGL.

* The talisman from Rawhead Rex
* The obsession with Lacey in Pig Blood Blues
* The relationship between Susannah and Jericho in Weaveworld

EDIT: Writers have a "calling card" in their prose. Something repeated, either consciously or not, in their writing. For Clive Barker, it is a word.

Miracle.

He uses it A LOT. Miracle. Uttered often during Thief of Always. Uttered during In the Hills, the Cities. Spoken with reverence in Weaveworld and Mister B. Gone.

I'm betting he says it once in The Madonna. And when my copy of The Hellbound Heart gets here, I expect to see it.

 

[Agamemnon Busmalis]

* The talisman from Rawhead Rex
* The obsession with Lacey in Pig Blood Blues
* The relationship between Susannah and Jericho in Weaveworld

Don't forget Marilyn in Son of Celluloid, or the researcher in Age of Desire. Or the warm, inviting pool in The Madonna...

 

[NOXIN]

The story where the two towns have a giant homoculi fight made up of literal humans is pretty crazy, though I could have done without the gay sex.

I barely remember the Books Of Blood beyond the second one so this thread is a great reminder to revisit them.

 

[Daddy's Angry Juice]

Ver archivo adjunto 6346684
Rawhead Rex
He's a giant cock-monster who piss and fucks and cums everywhere.

Honestly, I'd start with Books of Blood so you get a short story. I'd say the same about Stephen King. Both shine brighter with short stories where the actual books go off on tangents (both Clive and Stephen).

But check out that link in the OP and see the Weaveworld comic. It's a truncated version of the actual book with illustrations which make it easier to follow.

ill check them out, sounds awesome

 

[Pitbull Victim]

The Books of Blood Volumes 1-3 collection is one of the few books I've picked up and read cover to cover in one sitting. "New Murders in the Rue Morgue" is probably the only story of the bunch I don't care for, with my favorites being "Pig Blood Blues", "Hell's Event", and "Rawhead Rex".

Books of Blood Volumes 4-6 feels way more hit or miss, but "How Spoilers Bleed" is really great and should have been a Tales from the Crypt episode, and "In the Flesh", which feels like Barker's take on "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" might be my favorite of both collections.

The Worst:
Gallilee, the one before that, the Scarlet Gospel,

I remember the Scarlet Gospel being really underwhelming for the years of hype leading up to the release, but Galilee is truly next level bad. The plot is basically "what if the Kennedys had to get cucked by a god to maintain their power" and it somehow only gets dumber from there.

 

[Cat tit bingo]

Worst night breed theatrical cut
Best night breed directors cut
Still need to watch the cabal cut but I've heard it's a bit rough around the edges.

Weave world is also the shit and i adore this particular cover.

 

[Constellationzero]

Is it just me, or does the Gyre in Weaveworld have similarities to Leviathan? I just pictured Hellraiser 2 when the Gyre appeared in the book.

 

[Dean Pentel]

I remember the Scarlet Gospel being really underwhelming for the years of hype leading up to the release, but Galilee is truly next level bad. The plot is basically "what if the Kennedys had to get cucked by a god to maintain their power" and it somehow only gets dumber from there.

Damn, is Galilee actually worse than the Scarlet Gospel, or it just a worse tease? Chapter 1 of SG was good and then, well, you know.

Also worth looking up online if you care to is the comic of Rawhead Rex. When I first read it I did not get the impression that Rex was a giant walking, murdering cock. Reading the comic and then rereading the short story it's much more clear.

 

[Pedophobe]

Damn, is Galilee actually worse than the Scarlet Gospel, or it just a worse tease? Chapter 1 of SG was good and then, well, you know.

It's very different. It's like five hundred pages long and nothing happens, at all, ever. The necrophilia was cool I guess.

Imajica people, just read Imajica. It's not gay if it's a shapeshifter.

 

[MarvinTheParanoidAndroid]

Clive is a strange one, but, in my opinion, his prose is more polished and mature than Stephen King's.

That's really not much competition.

I'm waiting on a first edition copy of The Hellbound Heart.

You should read chapter 1, watch the movie, and read chapter 11, chapters 2 through 10 are just padding. Clive could've given the reader more lore to chew on during those chapters, but he angled for the less-is-more approach instead, and the result is a novella that feels like reading a phone book.

All the characters beside Frank are just boring, nondescript people. In fact, I'm tempted to say Frank is the real protagonist but Clive realized that he would make for an unsympathetic lead so he astroturfed Kirsty into the protagonist role instead. Frank is the only character whose inner thoughts are imparted onto the reader in detail, and it's the whole of chapter 5.