Clive Barker

[BKS]

Yeah, he makes movies. Nightmare on Elm Street if I'm correct, but have you read his books?


I recently picked up the Books of Blood Vol 1-3. Haven't read them yet, but I wonder, has Barker written anything noteworthy, or am I just out of the loop?

[Rob]

You're a little bit out of the loop, but don't worry. He's not really a household name.

He wrote a surreal and disturbing children's book called The Thief of Always, which still scares the hell out of me when I read it. He managed to write a scary children's book that uses psychology to be scary instead of big monsters.

If my recommendation alone isn't enough, here's what it's about:

A young boy finds a secret house that's cut off from the rest of the city, where there's always good food on the table and each day goes through all four seasons, so you can build snowmen, go swimming and fly kites all in the same day. Every evening is Halloween, every morning is Christmas.

That's before it gets really fucked up. If you want to know more about the story just ask, but I really recommend you read it.

[BKS]

Sounds like an interesting concept, what makes it scary, if I may ask?

[History]

I read the first book of Abarat. It's a book for "young adults", but it isn't too bad of a read. The concept is really cool anyways. Just to give you a quick generalization Abarat is a world with different islands and every island is supposed to represent a different time on the 24 hour clock. Cool idea, not too bad of a story, but I haven't read any of the others.

[Rob]

Sounds like an interesting concept, what makes it scary, if I may ask?

When he finally leaves, he learns that every day that passed while he was in the house was actually a year in the outside world. His parents are old and don't remember him, thinking he ran away from home decades ago even though he was gone for about a month.

It gets crazier.

[BKS]

Holy shit. That would be fucking horrible if that happened. Is it its own book, or is it part of a collection..?

[Rob]

It's a standalone I think. I could be wrong.

[Android]

If you enjoy Clive Barker I suggest picking up Weaveworld (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaveworld). It's quite a read at 717 pages but it is well worth it.

[Balibus]

Actually he's relatively well-known in terms of Horror Genre writers (but then again how many could you list off the top of your head to begin with)...

writers themselves don't tend to get alot of exposure, but he so happens to be one of my favorite "artists"

I call him an "artist" because he is actually more versatile than you may know:
Writer:
Yeah he makes movies, but he started off a writer. Among his famous stories (Thief of Always, The Abarat Trilogy, Weaveworld) he's also written many SERIOUSLY disturbing short stories...

My favorites: "Rawhead Rex" and "The Midnight Meat Train"
Look them up. Trust me on this one.

Painter
Flip through his books of Abarat and you'll find hundreds of bizarre and twisted illustrations. Those are just the one's appropriate for kids books. There is a book that features the hundreds of paintings he's done over the years...and they're pretty damn cool.

Video Game Designer
I trust you've heard of the video game "Clive Barker's Jericho"
It features all of his character models

So overall he's an amazingly talented guy. And you won't find anyone with his distinct concepts for horror.
He lives in New York city with his partner.

And yes, I know this all off the top of my head. Don't ask me why. I'm just a fan.

[Balibus]

Check his art out...I must say it's great.
http://http://www.clivebarker.com/html/visions/gallery/index.htm

*correction by the way: Abarat isn't a trilogy, I think he's planning on at least 5 books....

[Jasmyn]

"The Thief of Always" is my favorite book by him. It's brilliant.
"Abarat" is a fun read, and the artwork in it is pretty cool. "Days of Magic, Nights of War" kicked some serious ass as well.
I have several of his other books. This guy is seriously awesome.
He has written plays, there are comic versions of some books ("Thief of Always), he's worked on video games, movies, and he paints and sculpts. He's pretty much a badass.

[SODA]

I'm just curious is there a book that came before the game jericho? I ask because the game sucked fat nuts but the story synopsis really intrigued me.

[BKS]

I'm just curious is there a book that came before the game jericho? I ask because the game sucked fat nuts but the story synopsis really intrigued me.


Agreed, from what I played of the game, a brief demo, I had NO interest. The story, however..

[unsungjackass]

The Hellbound Heart was a definite worthy purchase in my opinion. Gritty, vile, and a good introduction to the Hellraiser universe.