By Clive Barker
OCTOBER 1, 1998 • 289 Pages
5 Stars
A professor of mine once claimed that books aren’t meant to be praised, they’re meant to be critiqued, but what is there to critique about this book!
Clive Barker’s imagination & storytelling talent is truly unmatched. “Books of Blood: Volume I” is a collection of 6 short stories that explore several avenues of horror— from the grotesque, to the demonic, to death, immortality, and giants comprised of human bodies.
Barker strikes a beautiful balance of horror, sensuality, and comedy, which all seem on opposite sides of the spectrum yet are interwoven in the stories so seamlessly. And his writing is lyrical without being sentimental.
If you’re a fan of the film Hellraiser (which I’ve only recently found out was another one of Barker’s creations)— an amalgamation of the bizarre, grotesque, and the unbound imagination— this book is definitely for you.
There are graphic scenes— they aren’t gratuitous with their details, but are enough to keep your imagination running on about the gory and gag worthy parts of the story, leaving you wondering… did I really just read that?
Sleepy Press 
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