Clive Barker recomendations

DevilRedeemed · May 26, 2017

I finished reading a collection of scripts for plays by Clive Barker called Incarnations recently and I loved it. I can't put my finger on it but Clive Barker has a formula that just works perfectly for me, I've liked his filmic output a great deal too, Nightbreed and Candyman where and are amazing to me, just perfect.
Anyone dig his stuff? I hate to say it but I'm not a big reader anymore but would definitely like to dig into something of the kind this author offers.
What's worth reading?

Fuzzytaco · May 27, 2017

The Hell bound Heart.

Late · May 27, 2017

Fuzzytaco said:
The Hell bound Heart.

Aye.

-The Books of Blood collections
-Imajica

DevilRedeemed · May 27, 2017

koll

I will look them up

NeuroticMoose · May 27, 2017

DevilRedeemed said:
I finished reading a collection of scripts for plays by Clive Barker called Incarnations recently and I loved it. I can't put my finger on it but Clive Barker has a formula that just works perfectly for me, I've liked his filmic output a great deal too, Nightbreed and Candyman where and are amazing to me, just perfect.
Anyone dig his stuff? I hate to say it but I'm not a big reader anymore but would definitely like to dig into something of the kind this author offers.
What's worth reading?

Books of Blood (they're short stories so no big time investment required) I'd also check out the directors cut of Lord of Illusions if you want some more Clive goodness on film, and it's hard to go wrong with the comics which again, little time investment, though he wasn't directly involved with the comics (unless you count the adaptations of the books of blood stories) until recently in the Boom Studios HellRaiser comics he basically ended up taking all the lore of that series, even stuff from sequels and comics he hadn't worked on and tied them all into one big epic story (the Hellraiser anthology is also a good time, check out the one marvel did in the 90's with top talent and I think Boom recently did an anthology as well)

As for stuff actually written by Clive in a longer format I can't really help you as I'm not as familiar with that stuff, though when I do dive in I'll probably be starting with The Great and Secret Show, you could also check out Cabal which was the basis for nightbreed, and if you haven't already check out the directors cut of Nightbreed as it's the closest they were able to get to Clive's original vision for the film (the monsters are the heroes of the film)

Late · May 27, 2017

^Yeah, Cabal, totally forgot about that.

HeavyMachineGoob · May 27, 2017

No mention of Clive Barker's Undying for Windows 95/98?

@M · May 27, 2017

I concur on the Books of Blood, and I'd also recommend the Thief of Always, it's more juvenile in nature, but still pretty good. I read Imajica, but didn't care for it much (plus it's a really long book).

DevilRedeemed · May 27, 2017

NeuroticMoose said:
Books of Blood (they're short stories so no big time investment required) I'd also check out the directors cut of Lord of Illusions if you want some more Clive goodness on film, and it's hard to go wrong with the comics which again, little time investment, though he wasn't directly involved with the comics (unless you count the adaptations of the books of blood stories) until recently in the Boom Studios HellRaiser comics he basically ended up taking all the lore of that series, even stuff from sequels and comics he hadn't worked on and tied them all into one big epic story (the Hellraiser anthology is also a good time, check out the one marvel did in the 90's with top talent and I think Boom recently did an anthology as well)

As for stuff actually written by Clive in a longer format I can't really help you as I'm not as familiar with that stuff, though when I do dive in I'll probably be starting with The Great and Secret Show, you could also check out Cabal which was the basis for nightbreed, and if you haven't already check out the directors cut of Nightbreed as it's the closest they were able to get to Clive's original vision for the film (the monsters are the heroes of the film)

thank you! and to the rest of you too

Hello · May 28, 2017

Other than the before mentioned Sacrament, Weaveworld, Burn This Book. I enjoyed The Scarlet Gospels which is supposed to a ending of sorts to Hellraisers character pinhead. Ohh Coldheart Canyon is also worth a read.

NeuroticMoose · May 28, 2017

Hello said:
Other than the before mentioned Sacrament, Weaveworld, Burn This Book. I enjoyed The Scarlet Gospels which is supposed to a ending of sorts to Hellraisers character pinhead. Ohh Coldheart Canyon is also worth a read.

I think in America Burn this Book is called Mister B. Gone, my idiot friend thought it would be fun to actually singe the edges and screw the book shut making it unreadable, which pissed me off to no end seeing as I wanted him to lend it to me to read

Also I've heard mixed things about Scarlet Gospels but it is basically Pinhead (or "The Engineer" or "The Hell Priest" as he's known in both hellbound heart and Scarlet Gospels respectively) Vs. Harry D'Amour, Clive Barker's occult detective character who debuted in The books of blood story "The Last Illusion" and then popped up at the end of The Great and Secret Show and then showed up in the sequel Everville, he's also a main character in those Hellraiser comics I mentioned, so there's a lot in that book to love from what I know without having read it, it is also kind of a culmination for those two characters so I don't know if it's the best place to start out

Also to OP about what makes Barker so compelling, I'd say it probably has something to do with him writing about horrifically grotesque things, while also not giving short shrift to characterization and making his characters feel human, it's like a gorier more metal version of Stephen King or Neil Gaiman

neobuyer · May 29, 2017

DevilRedeemed, trust to my advice here bro, I know of what I speak.

A bit of history- Clive Barker is the reason I started reading novels regularly, and the sole reason I embraced horror instead of being scared shitless of horror movies like I had been as a kid.

Barker is THE last true horror 'voice' in modern times, which complicates his body of work.

I could say so much about this.

DR- if you want Barker's good stuff- please start out with his stuff from the 80s - 90s.

If you want to really have a grand time read his works of fiction in chronological order up until the middle-end of the 1990s.

The Books of Blood are amazing- you wanna hear the Books of Blood tagline? "People are like books of blood- when we're opened- we're red..."

The most vicious, relentless monster story ever written is 'Rawhead Rex' (which is also darkly, obscenely humorous), a story in The Books of Blood.

Late · May 29, 2017

^The comic adaptation of Rawhead Rex is also pretty good.

F4U57 · May 29, 2017

I like this thread.

I've never read any Clive Barker - I should fix that.

DevilRedeemed · May 29, 2017

neobuyer said:
DevilRedeemed, trust to my advice here bro, I know of what I speak.

A bit of history- Clive Barker is the reason I started reading novels regularly, and the sole reason I embraced horror instead of being scared shitless of horror movies like I had been as a kid.

Barker is THE last true horror 'voice' in modern times, which complicates his body of work.

I could say so much about this.

DR- if you want Barker's good stuff- please start out with his stuff from the 80s - 90s.

If you want to really have a grand time read his works of fiction in chronological order up until the middle-end of the 1990s.

The Books of Blood are amazing- you wanna hear the Books of Blood tagline? "People are like books of blood- when we're opened- we're red..."

The most vicious, relentless monster story ever written is 'Rawhead Rex' (which is also darkly, obscenely humorous), a story in The Books of Blood.

ah brilliant, thanks so much for that advice, I will try and go in this direction

NeuroticMoose said:
Also to OP about what makes Barker so compelling, I'd say it probably has something to do with him writing about horrifically grotesque things, while also not giving short shrift to characterization and making his characters feel human, it's like a gorier more metal version of Stephen King or Neil Gaiman

yes, plus the humour, but also de sensuality of the horror and the flesh. from the little I've read so far from him ofcourse.

neobuyer · May 29, 2017

Late said:
^The comic adaptation of Rawhead Rex is also pretty good.

Oh yes yes! Less Edwards work is so amazing here, it's my favorite single piece of painted graphic novel work ever done.

But readers keep in mind- Edwards' depiction of Rawhead is clued into the psychosexual joke element of the story...

Read the story in the Books of Blood FIRST- then snag the graphic novel and be blown away by it.

Also- Midnight Meat Train (from BOB) is amazing.

LoneSage · May 29, 2017

I saw Lord of Illusions a few weeks ago and it wasn't good, wasn't bad. Just really stuck in the middle there.

neobuyer · May 29, 2017

I have a bunch to add that I think DR and anyone else looking to get into Barker's works will find really helpful:

Start here at Barker's 1984-1985 collection of short horror stories- the much aforementioned 'BOOKS OF BLOOD':

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_of_Blood

Then move on to his other 2 short horror story collections from the same mid-1980s period:

- The Inhuman Condition
- In The Flesh

Then move directly to his 1985 novel 'The Damnation Game' (GOOD)

Then 'The Hellbound Heart'- the novella that created the 'Hellraiser' franchise.

Then 'Weaveworld': one of my favorite Barker works and his first 1/2 horror 1/2 fantasy novel. An amazingly awesome novel- but just know that every other work of Clive Barker's after this one that mixes fantasy and 'wonder' into his horror stories gets progressively worse!

1998's 'Cabal': maybe Barker's last truly great story- a novella- introduces a horrifically frightening serial killer who I will not name due to spoilers, etc. One of Clive Barker's greatest works of world-building in the horror-sense.

The Great and Secret Show: worth reading. Good stuff if you are planning on watching th film 'Lord of Illusions'

@M · May 30, 2017

I almost forgot that I picked this up last year too and it was a nice read with lots of photos. It's not a novel, but, if I'm remembering correctly, rather a 1997 print adaptation of a television mini-series documentary that Clive did for BBC, giving his thoughts on various aspects/themes of horror in an alphabetical format. I apologize for the shitty photo, but I can't recall exactly where I have that volume stashed in all of my clutter, so, I can't take a better one at the moment.

jro · May 30, 2017

neobuyer said:
Then 'The Hellbound Heart'- the novella that created the 'Hellraiser' franchise.

How is this the only mention of Hellraiser so far!? The series went downhill fairly quickly and got milked far beyond what it should have, but the original is still a classic. Pinhead and the other Cenobites are still my favorite horror movie monsters ever.

pixeljunkie · May 30, 2017

Imajica and Books of Blood for real - Imajica is one of my favorite if not my favorite book of all time.

xelement5x · Jun 2, 2017

HeavyMachineGun said:
No mention of Clive Barker's Undying for Windows 95/98?

I came here to post this as well.

If there was ever a game that needed a remaster it would be this game; the writing, characters, music, and overall ambiance of it was amazing when I played it.

LoneSage · Jun 2, 2017

xelement5x said:
I came here to post this as well.

If there was ever a game that needed a remaster it would be this game; the writing, characters, music, and overall ambiance of it was amazing when I played it.

Did you used to post on the OPM forums on gamers.com in 2002/2003?

Clive Barker recomendations

teh

Long Dong Silver.,

Reichsf?rer-Finnland,

teh

Super Spy Agent

Reichsf?rer-Finnland,

My poontang misses Lenn Yang's wang

Vanessa's Drinking Buddy,

teh

Crossed Swords Squire

Super Spy Agent

Master of Disguise,

Reichsf?rer-Finnland,

General Morden's Aide

teh

Master of Disguise,

A Broken Man

Master of Disguise,

Vanessa's Drinking Buddy,

Gonna take a lot

Whilst Drunk., I Found God., Booze = Bad.,

Galford's Armourer

A Broken Man