 |
The Essential Clive Barker: Selected Fiction by Clive Barker
Book Summary InformationAuthor: Clive Barker Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published) Published: 1999-12-01 ISBN: 0060195290 Number of pages: 608 Publisher: HarperCollins
Book Reviews of The Essential Clive Barker: Selected FictionBook Review: A good resource for established Barker fans... Summary: 4 StarsI'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.
Summary of The Essential Clive Barker: Selected Fiction"I wonder if the reverse is not also in some way true. That the artist is constantly working on anelaborate and fantasticated self-portrait, but at the end has drawn, unbeknownst, a picture of the world." -- Clive Barker, "Private Legends: An Introduction" Clive Barker, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author, playwright, artist, producer, director, screenwriter, and one of the world's master storytellers, writing in the haunting and moving traditions of Poe and Dickens, invites us to join him on a dazzling, wondrous journey through the worlds of his imagination and to experience visions, dreams, love, terror, heaven and hell, and revenge. As we read, we discover and explore the dream-sea Quiddity and the islands of Ephemeris; the five Dominions of the Imajica, of which the Earth is but an imperfect facet; the rapturous world woven into an ancient, threadbare carpet in a derelict house in Liverpool; Hood's Holiday House where each day contains four seasons and children's wishes may come true; the Sky Room of Galilee, where the creation of the universe may be witnessed; and the clubs and bars of San Francisco and New York, in which all manner of sexual adventures lie in wait. In these stories, the real and the miraculous are within a breath of one another, life gives way to death, and death to life; doorways open into other states of existence, and each doorway leads us back to our own dreams and fears. The Essential Clive Barker is an irresistible narrative compendium that superbly represents the impressive quality and range of Barker's fiction, spanning more than twenty years of writing. It contains more than seventy excerpts from novels and plays and four full-length short stories, all personally selected by Barker, and offers a privileged insight into a remarkable writer and his art. 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
|
 |
The Hellbound Heartby Clive Barker HarperTorch; Published: 1991-11-01; Mass Market Paperback; BookBest price: $2.67Price in other shops: $6.99
The Dark Descentby Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, John Collier, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates Tor Books; Published: 1997-01-15; Paperback; BookBest price: $14.95Price in other shops: $29.95
Weaveworldby Clive Barker Pocket; Published: 2001-04; Paperback; BookBest price: $7.97Price in other shops: $16.00
The Reconciliation (Imajica, Book 2)by Clive Barker HarperTorch; Published: 1995-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; BookBest price: $4.08Price in other shops: $7.99
The Thief of Alwaysby Clive Barker HarperTrophy; Published: 2002-02-01; Paperback; BookBest price: $2.00Price in other shops: $5.99
Imajica: Featuring New Illustrations and an Appendixby Clive Barker Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2002-08-01; Paperback; BookBest price: $8.98Price in other shops: $19.95
Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War (rack) (Abarat)HarperCollins; Published: 2006-10-01; Paperback; BookBest price: $3.83Price in other shops: $7.99
Mister B. Goneby Clive Barker HarperCollins; Published: 2007-10-30; Hardcover; BookBest price: $12.00Price in other shops: $24.95
Clive Barker's Books of Blood 1-3by Clive Barker Berkley Trade; Published: 1998-10-01; Paperback; BookBest price: $7.50Price in other shops: $17.00
The Living Deadby Stephen King, Joe Hill, George R. R. Martin, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Laurell K. Hamilton, Joe R. Lansdale, Poppy Z. Brite, Harlan Ellison Night Shade Books; Published: 2008-09-29; Paperback; BookBest price: $10.85Price in other shops: $15.95
|
The Great and Secret Showby Clive Barker Harper Paperbacks; Published: 1999-12-01; Paperback; BookBest price: $8.91Price in other shops: $18.95
The Reconciliation (Imajica, Book 2)by Clive Barker HarperTorch; Published: 1995-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; BookBest price: $4.07Price in other shops: $7.99
The Inhuman Conditionby Clive Barker Pocket; Published: 2001-02-27; Paperback; BookBest price: $8.06Price in other shops: $15.00
Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War (Abarat)by Clive Barker Published: 2004-10-01; Hardcover; BookBest price: $10.68Price in other shops: $24.99
Abarat (Abarat)by Clive Barker Published: 2003-10-01; Paperback; BookBest price: $7.90Price in other shops: $11.99
Sacramentby Clive Barker HarperVoyager; Published: 1997-05-01; Paperback; BookBest price: $20.30
Evervilleby Clive Barker Harper Paperbacks; Published: 1999-12-01; Paperback; BookBest price: $7.45Price in other shops: $17.95
In the Fleshby Clive Barker Pocket; Published: 2001-01-30; Paperback; BookBest price: $6.00Price in other shops: $13.95
The Damnation Gameby Clive Barker Berkley; Published: 2002-11-05; Paperback; BookBest price: $4.03Price in other shops: $7.99
Clive Barker's Books of Blood 1-3by Clive Barker Berkley Trade; Published: 1998-10-01; Paperback; BookBest price: $9.58Price in other shops: $17.00
|