"In the Flesh": Cleveland Smith, recurrent criminal, is undergoing one of his usual stops at jail. Unable to leave the crime life, he studies, searching for the origin of sin. When a spooky new kid is put as his cellmate, he is placed on the threshold to the answers he is looking for...

"The Forbidden": An English academic steps out from the Ivory Tower into the housing projects, and learns from the local gossip the urban legends of everyday violence and death. Yet she refuses to believe them. So the urban legend materializes for her own benefit, in the shape of the Candyman...

"The Madonna": Two men, a racketeer and an ineffectual businessman, plan to turn an abandoned swimming pool spa into a recreational complex. But this two men, who go around displaying their confused manliness, are about to find how fragile their masculinity can be, and whether anything will be left of them afterwards...

"Babel's Children": Vanessa Jape always refused to take the clearly signaled road. She just had to venture through the unmarked path. So it was no surprise she ended getting lost during her vacation at Greece. What she wasn't expecting, though, was finding the convent, the unusual dwellers therein, and the real rulers of the world...

From gory horror to cosmic dread to a fable beyond classification, Barker is one of the best writers of dark fantasy you will ever find.


In The Flesh Absolutely F*cking Rox!!!!!   March 21, 2006
 9 out of 15 found this review helpful

First things first. The Last reveiwer referred to King and Koontz as hacks. King and Koontz should not be uttered together in the same sentence. That is sacrilege. Koontz is a hack. King is God. We mock what we don't understand. We fear what we cannot perceive. And let us remember, if it wasn't for King's kindly reviews, Mr. Barker might still be an obscure genius. Let me get one thing straight, Clive Barker is a (...)genius. No need to be angry with Mr. King. Secondly, let's talk about In The Flesh. Not for the average or mainstream reader as the last reviewer mentioned (He seemed very hostile and confused. Gender issues? Skeletons in the closet?)nor the faint of heart. Clive Barker is an acquired taste. Rigid in style and precise in wording, Clive Barker is not afraid to show us everything we never wanted to see. Be it pornographic or horrific, Barker never flinches. In The Flesh & The Forbidden are the masterpieces here. The Forbidden has the origins of the silly Candyman pictures, but I assure you, this incarnation of the Candyman is all out chilling. In The Flesh is a dark prison tale of a young man haunted by the taint of his grandfather's infamous deeds. The Madonna and Babel's Children are the lesser, but still brilliant tale of the book. The Madonna is a chilling, perverse look into the shadows of an abandoned sauna where strange apparitions dwell and ungodly depravities are unleashed. Babel's Children is a story of a woman on holiday who takes a wrong turn in the wilderness and comes across a strange abbey with even stranger inhabitants. Are they all crazy? Only Clive will tell. Overall another great chunk of Clive Barker's perfection. Read this and be afraid, for down the way and around the corner is an empty flat with a lot of graffitti on the walls, take a look inside and remember, Sweets to the sweet.

Dig it!


What's wrong with the U.S.?   April 16, 2001
 5 out of 11 found this review helpful

One of the reasons why I feel lucky to be Canadian is that we get a lot of the best that both the U.S. (because of our proximity) and Europe (because of our closer cultural ties) have to offer. Because of this, all 6 volumes of Clive Barker's Books of Blood were availabe here under that title instead of half inexplicably being given a different title, with the original cover paintings by Clive Barker, and all have been largely available here either in the original six volumes or in 2 trade paperbacks reprinting #1-3 and #4-6 respectively.

I am sure that if enough fans in the U.S. put in the effort, the american publishers could be convinced to release the whole series as it should be in the U.S. It is worth the trouble. When I first read them 15 years ago they were the best horror stories I had ever read, and I still love them.


Best work in Horror fiction!   April 18, 2001
 3 out of 8 found this review helpful

Clive is par excellence! His work is amazing! Gripping! Enthralling! Emotionally stimulating! I could go on, but I won't. My opinion: If you don't have this book you are missing out! Also, check out Mark Ventimiglia's new book. He is a contemporary of Clive's and his work rivals the master. I discovered him by accident and must say, I was impressed!


More fantasy than horror   February 6, 2002
 3 out of 10 found this review helpful

In the flesh was not as good as The Inhuman Condition. While I was glued to my stereo listening to Inhuman I found getting through In the Flesh a bit laborious. In the four stories presented in this audiobook version, only one, "the forbidden" could be construed as being a horror tale. The other thre were really more fantasy then anything else. The last story, "babble's Children" was plain silly and stupid. A filler if there ever was one. Still, as a whole, the book was entertaining to listen to though the reader, Dillinger Steele, while having a sexy voice, did not truly bring the characters to life. Barker is english after all and these stories take place in London or have leading English characters. Steele forgoes any kind of British accent and simply reads the text. he does convey the drama of the story but at times he mumbles the words or speaks too fast. yet his overall reading is passible. As a horror fan, I did enjoy this production and would recommended but it truly does lack the suspense and terror of The inhuman Condition which I also own. Still, since barker is one of my favorite authors I now have one more book to add to my collection. buy it if you can though it might be difficult to track down.