This 567-page sampler of Clive Barker's darkly fantastic work has an unusual format. You'd expect a huge collection of his macabre short stories (like the three 1984 Books of Blood that made his name in horror), or perhaps an omnibus of the sinisterly exotic novels in which he moved from Grand Guignol to his own warped brand of epic fantasy. Instead, here's a book of bits: 70-odd passages from novels and plays, plus four complete stories and an introduction in which our author offers glimpses of what makes him tick. The Essential Clive Barker is thematically arranged in 13 sections, each with its own brief prologue: "Doorways," "Journeys," "Visions and Dreams," "Lives," and so on. Some of these fragments are powerful and evocative, some numinous, some horrid; many are teasers to make you wonder what comes next. Reading this is like sitting through a movie-length feature composed entirely of trailers flaunting pyrotechnic effects. It's a volume for dipping into rather than swallowing whole. There are fine things here, especially the complete stories--including "In the Hills, the Cities," an unforgettable mix of surreal horror and Balkan political allegory. But aficionados will already own the books containing these excerpts, while newcomers surely prefer to begin with a complete novel or collection. A perfect present for the Barker fan who has everything else. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk
A good resource for established Barker fans (Rating 4 of 5)
» B. C. Giles
I'll admit, I was pretty dissapointed at this book when I first cracked it open. It's a rather thick hardcover with excepts which mostly come from his novels, which I'd already read. "Why don't I just go read the novels?" I thought.
Clive himself gives us a good reason in his introduction. The idea isn't to read it straight through, it's to open the books and drift around to whatever catches your interest. In effect, it's the sort of book you read when you're not sure what to read.
And, to be honest, Clive Barker's writing lends itself particularly well to this format. His novels often drift off into self-contained vignettes, easily appreciated on their own.
New readers are better off getting either one of the full novels, or an actual short-story collection, but for someone who has read a sizeable chunk of Barker's work and simply wants to relax with some of the best passages from it, this book is perfect
Glam Trash (Rating 1 of 5)
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European imports Clive Barker & Neil Gaiman have spoken of their dislike of Tolkien in print, Barker whose initial fame has worn thin over the years mistakes political correctness for depth (like his fellow "special interest" fantasist Ursula Le Guin) that his literary themes will soon parallel theme parks in Disney Land just confirms the superficial nature of much of his writing. Gaiman billed as one of the top post-modern writers reveals the cut & paste method of character development and his works are ideally suited for video game developers and Quentin Tarrantino. Both are limited to the London rave scene and U.S. equivalents in their appeal. And both lack the numinous "extra literary" qualities of Tolkien & C.S. Lewis and their successors like Stephen R. Donaldson or even Stephen King
don't buy this book (Rating 1 of 5)
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i love clive barker, but he should stick to writing books and not just pick through his old books and put bits and pieces of them all in a book just to make a dime. if you want to read some of barkers works read the actual books! i am sorry to inform the other four dimwits who reviewed it but this book is not good at all. i had to force myself to read it it was so dull. and if you are wondering why i bought it, i didn't i recieved it as a gift and that is the only excuse i can think of for owning this book
"Must" reading for all Clive Barker fans (Rating 5 of 5)
» Midwest Book Review
The Essential Clive Barker (019529-0) will prove important to any who are avid followers of his various horror and supernatural scenes and writings. For over twenty years Barker has created distinguished and vivid horror scenes: this provides a range of his writings, from early works to recent literary novels. Excerpts from plays and short stories are included within thirteen themes which examine his works
Clive Can Write No Wrong (Rating 5 of 5)
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This is an awesome collection of dreams and nightmares. A must read
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