‘Books of Blood: Volume 1’ – Clive Barker (Little, Brown & Co)


I haven’t read an awful lot by Clive Barker (‘The Hellbound Heart’, ‘The Scarlet Gospels’ and ‘Sacrament’ but that was close on thirty years ago now, damn…) so when I saw a copy of the first ‘Books of Blood’ omnibus in the British Heart Foundation shop, I had to pick it up. For me, the best way to get to know an author is through their short stories so this was a no-brainer ;o)

This edition collects the first three volumes of the ‘Books of Blood’ but I’ll only be covering the first volume today as I haven’t had the time, or focus, to delve into the book any further than that.

How did I get on with Volume 1 then? Well, lets just say that I’m still looking for the holy grail of anthologies (book, TV or film) where every single entry is a winner. That didn’t make this volume a bad read though, far from it. Not all the stories were hits but all of them had something to recommend it and that’s what will have me coming back to read the other two volumes in this edition. What follows then are some quick thoughts on each of the stories. Lets go :o)

‘The Book of Blood’

I’d normally start with a little summing up of the story but I won’t here as this story provides the framework of the series, as a whole, and it’s well done enough that I really don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. What I will say is that I was hooked by the execution of this cautionary tale.

‘The Midnight Meat Train’

Office worker Leon Kaufmann discovers that there is far more to the city of New York than he ever imagined, especially in the subway tunnels…

This was another strong tale with the evil that Kaufmann discovers coming across so well, set against the particularly stark backdrop of New York City, above and below. The payoff wasn’t a great surprise but the sense of inevitability made up for it. Pretty much as soon as I’d finished with this this story, I went off and found the movie of the same name and that was excellent too.

‘The Yattering and Jack’

The Yattering is a minor demon sent from Hell to claim Jack’s soul; at least that’s what it would do if Jack wasn’t so difficult to ensnare…

This was was the highlight of the book for me. A great mix of humour and haunting with a neat twist at the end.

‘Pig Blood Blues’

Ex Policeman Redman takes a job teaching at a borstal but soon discovers something far more terrifying than teaching woodwork to young offenders…

This is where things started to fall away slightly for me. The backdrop is brutally oppressive and the plot is great at asking questions that you really want answered. The big reveal though, didn’t quite hit the target it was aiming for, at least from where I was sat.

‘Sex, Death and Starshine’

The Elysium Theatre is about to close and the mysterious Lichfield intends that the final night is one that the cast of ‘Twelfth Night’ will remember, for eternity…

Apart from one gruesome ‘reveal’ scene, ‘Sex, Death and Starshine’ really didn’t work for me. I suspect that it’s because while I don’t mind the occasional trip to the theatre, I don’t have the kind of connection to it that you need to really appreciate that here, someone feels so strongly about it that they will return from the grave to do it justice. Not a bad read, just not a read for me.

‘In the Hills, the Cities’

A couple honeymooning in Yugoslavia come across the aftermath of a war between two cities.

Again, I don’t want to say too much here as the joy lies in experiencing this tale for yourself. The imagery on display is superb and drives the plot at just the right speed. I’ll be honest, I almost gave up after ‘Sex, Death and Starshine’ but ‘In the Hills, the Cities’ really made it worth my sticking around to finish off this first volume.

I’m not sure when I’ll get round to reading the next two volumes but I’ll definitely be reading more of these books. More ‘hit’ than ‘miss’ overall and a great book to just dip into and take a break from longer works. Have you read anything by Clive Barker?

Comments

  1. Bookstooge12 March 2025 at 08:19

    I enjoyed the Hellraiser movie franchise. Were any of them based on Barker's novels? Or was just the idea lifted from one short story?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Graeme12 March 2025 at 10:04

      It's been far too long since I read 'The Hellbound Heart' but as far as I can remember, it's just 'Hellraiser' that's based on the on the novella with the movie sequels going their own way.

      Delete

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