Clive Barker

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Steffen

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Aug 9, 2015
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I really liked Thief of Always. Totally not what he is known for.

Yes, thank you! He really threw me for a loop when I read that book. I love it lots! And can somebody please tell me why we have to suffer through endless sequels, reboots, prequels of the same movies when there is a WEALTH of horror and fantasy to be adapted in Clive's work? "Thief" for instance is tailor-made for Tim Burton. And the mythology of Imajica is the next "Game of Thrones" hit that HBO doesn't seem to be aware of. I think Barker's twisted beauty is still too intimidating for even the most adventurous film-maker out there.
 

carrie's younger brother

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Mar 8, 2012
5,428
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NJ
I read the Books of Blood, Weaveworld, Imajica and a few others. I can't remember which book it is, but I was through with him after

a male character came all over a pile of excrement and demons were born... At least that's how I remember it

That was just too much for me.
 

HollyGolightly

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Sep 6, 2013
9,660
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Heart of the South
I read the Books of Blood, Weaveworld, Imajica and a few others. I can't remember which book it is, but I was through with him after

a male character came all over a pile of excrement and demons were born... At least that's how I remember it

That was just too much for me.
:beated: Yeah, that's not my brand of erotica either.
 

EMARX

Well-Known Member
Feb 27, 2009
2,970
15,757
Yes, thank you! He really threw me for a loop when I read that book. I love it lots! And can somebody please tell me why we have to suffer through endless sequels, reboots, prequels of the same movies when there is a WEALTH of horror and fantasy to be adapted in Clive's work? "Thief" for instance is tailor-made for Tim Burton. And the mythology of Imajica is the next "Game of Thrones" hit that HBO doesn't seem to be aware of. I think Barker's twisted beauty is still too intimidating for even the most adventurous film-maker out there.
If you liked " Thief " you'll probably like the Abarat series of novels. They are aimed at younger readers but have all the hallmarks of his fiction without the more explicit content. The interesting thing about those books is that the artwork within them is all created before he writes one word.
 

MadBoJangles

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Jan 6, 2015
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I read the Books of Blood, Weaveworld, Imajica and a few others. I can't remember which book it is, but I was through with him after

a male character came all over a pile of excrement and demons were born... At least that's how I remember it

That was just too much for me.
That was The Great And Secret Show, the "Lix"...
Yeah that was a bit of a "did I seriously just read that right....(rereads the page)....holy crap yes, yes I did!" moment.
 

Steffen

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Aug 9, 2015
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Clive's work deals with the profane, in its classical meaning (and not merely the contemporary association with crudity or crassness). I've read most of his stuff. Believe you me, the Lix is the least of your worries! :D
 

Steffen

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Aug 9, 2015
2,233
12,800
If you liked " Thief " you'll probably like the Abarat series of novels. They are aimed at younger readers but have all the hallmarks of his fiction without the more explicit content. The interesting thing about those books is that the artwork within them is all created before he writes one word.

Almost done with Abarat 1, but I've been sidetracked with catching up on my shows and reading Marvel Comics' adaptation of the Dark Tower. I have Abarat 2 & # waiting on my Kindle, along with Scarlet Gospels. You are quite correct: for anyone who might be put off by Clive's more extreme stuff, Abarat is a great book to check out.
 

MadBoJangles

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Jan 6, 2015
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So I finally got around to reading the Abarat Trilogy.
At first, I was really struggling with the name "Candy Quackenbush" and "ChickenTown" and could not for the life of me understand why Clive chose those!
Ultimately though, the story hooked me good and proper. Loved it and cannot wait for book 4 to release, some of the artwork is sublime too.

On a side note, acquiring a first edition of book 3 turned out to be a rather expensive exercise.
You can pick up the first two for around the £6 mark each in the UK, but Absolute Midnight is selling for around £80 per copy on eBay.
I have no idea why, unless they printed significantly less copies of the third book maybe?

I eventually got mine for £30 from an online bulk book seller, they had listed the condition as very good, but it was a bit of a gamble as the company only uses stock images and not pics of the actual book you are buying. Luckily it turned up and is nigh on pristine, so one happy little collector here :)

Anyone else read the Abarat books?
Thoughts?
 

Religiously_Unkind

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Aug 19, 2017
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He's one of my favorite authors but man oh man did The Great and Secret Show weird me out; Rape by a tentacle monster, incest, beastiality, poop monsters...Jesus h Christ can you believe I bought that book from a store called The Bible Book Store & More?
 
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MadBoJangles

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Jan 6, 2015
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Just noticed yesterday (from one of the usually annoying and irrelevant Google pop up ads on my phone) that Barker has a new book out in roughly two weeks called Scare Baby. Had a quick google and couldn't find any info about it at all, other than its 160 pages long.

Pre-ordered as I always do with him, King and Koontz and a few others.
 

Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
2,201
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The Netherlands
Just noticed yesterday (from one of the usually annoying and irrelevant Google pop up ads on my phone) that Barker has a new book out in roughly two weeks called Scare Baby. Had a quick google and couldn't find any info about it at all, other than its 160 pages long.

Pre-ordered as I always do with him, King and Koontz and a few others.

It's hard to find info about it (which is odd since it will be released so soon), but it seems to be a poem from Abarat rather than a new book. That was how it was announced at least:

Clive Barker’s New Book Revealed! | www.CliveBarkerCast.com
 

Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
2,201
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I'm wondering how his health his now. There is still news coming from him, but it seems to be less and less. His Twitter feed is slowing down too. The thing about a coma is that you often never really fully recover from it - I've known people who've been in comas and it's like they've become a slower version of their former selves. I'm sure he's still working on things, but it seems his production has slowed down a lot.
I hope he can still finish The Books of the Art, but I'm doubting it more and more. He has good people working around him though, like Mark Miller, so if he has outlines for his unfinished works perhaps it can be finished by them, but you rather wish he'd do it himself of course.

Anyway, I hope it just seems that way and that his health is better. I still spoke to him on Twitter after the coma and his personality and intellect don't seem changed by it. There can be other reasons for slowing down production too, of course, like perhaps his work has become less popular (Scarlet Gospels was the first not to be translated here), but my main feeling is it has to do with his health.
 

Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
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The Netherlands
I can't find the exact conversation anymore, so it may have been lost or deleted, but I do remember he seemed less optimistic than he used to be. He said he found his work (I think he mainly referred to the written work as opposed to drawings or paintings) ego-destroying. He said his work never turned out as good as he wanted it to be, as good as he had dreamed it would be. It seems a strange thing to say for someone so successful, but it may also be a reason why he slowed down. I find it hard to say if these feelings were brought on by his coma-experience, or that he always had felt that way. He didn't come across as overly depressed, so it may be he always felt a bit like that anyway.
Painting seemed always what he liked doing most, and probably it can more fully express his ideas and visions (at least in his mind and opinion) than the written work can. I think painting in a way was always a bit of a liberation for him from writing.