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The Books of Blood, Volume 1

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The Books of Blood, Volume 1

By: Clive Barker
Narrated by: Simon Vance, Dick Hill, Peter Berkrot, Jeffrey Kafer, Chet Williamson, Chris Patton
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The Books of Blood combine the ordinary with the extraordinary while radiating the eroticism that has become Barker's signature. Weaving tales of the everyday world transformed into an unrecognizable place, where reason no longer exists and logic ceases to explain the workings of the universe, Clive Barker provides the stuff of nightmares in packages too tantalizing to resist.

Never one to shy away from the unimaginable or the unspeakable, Clive Barker breathes life into our deepest, darkest nightmares, creating visions that are at once terrifying, tender, and witty.

The Books of Blood confirm what horror fans everywhere have known for a long time: We will be hearing from Clive Barker for many years to come. This first volume contains the short stories : "The Book of Blood," "The Midnight Meat Train," "The Yattering and Jack," "Sex, Death, and Starshine," and "In the Hills, the Cities."

©1984 Seraphim Films (P)2013 David N. Wilson Anthologies Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Horror Short Stories Scary Witty Inspiring
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Superb audio book from the brilliant mind of Clive Barker. Definitely worth giving it 5/5

Superb

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Would you listen to The Books of Blood, Volume 1 again? Why?

Yes. The stories are so varied yet similarly brutal.

What did you like best about this story?

The language and the tone.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but as it is an anthology you can also read it in smaller sittings.

Any additional comments?

'Midnight Meat Train', 'Pig Blood Blues' and 'The Yattering and Jack' are all really excellent.

Bloody

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, its a good listen, and the narrators put in a great performance which really helps animate the stories.

What other book might you compare The Books of Blood, Volume 1 to, and why?

I'm fairly new to horror fiction, so it would have to be Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King, although some of the imagery in Barker's stuff is expectedly more otherworldly!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The last few minutes of 'The Yattering and Jack' , and the conclusion to 'The Midnight Meat Train'

My first Barker book, and a good start!

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Hailed by Stephen King as "the future of horror", Clive Barker's debut collection was proof of that title then, and continues to be so now. Each tale is as groundbreaking now as it would have been upon initial release. This gathering of art-horror tales push all imagined boundaries to produce the finest short stories "genre writing" has seen. "The Midnight Meat Train" and "In the Hills; the Cities" are my two personal favourites from volume 1.

Each narrator has been perfectly selected for their respective tale, and only add to Barker's prose. I cannot recommend this collection enough.

Horror at its finest, perfection narration

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An enthralling and thrilling listen. I must admit I felt a little lost at first in the opening chapter, it was hard to grasp exactly what was going on, but once the actual stories began, they felt unique, even in the way that Clive Barker wrote them, and each narrator, admittedly, some better than others, fundemetally all added to the mesmerizing experience. I love the works of Clive Barker at the best of times, but listening to them told with such vigour, made me love them that little bit more.

A feast of classic Barker

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