Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Cabal

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 7,845 ratings · 157 reviews

For more than two decades, Clive Barker has twisted the worlds of horrific and surrealistic fiction into a terrifying, transcendent genre all his own. With skillful prose, he enthralls even as he horrifies; with uncanny insight, he disturbs as profoundly as he reveals. Evoking revulsion and admiration, anticipation and dread, Barker's works explore the darkest contradictio...more

Paperback, 368 pages

Published January 1st 2001 by Gallery Books (first published 1988)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Horror Novels

113th out of 805 books — 2,381 voters

The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker

Books of Blood, Vols. 1-3 by Clive Barker

The Best of Clive Barker

9th out of 17 books — 102 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Aug 16, 2010 R. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

A long gestation - bought 2001, completely read...now.

Midian is the Vanishing Point of Reference

"Cabal" is a bloodier The Graveyard Book: hero lives in cemetery among...uh, friends...because normal life is ruined by machinations of psycho-killer; but that isn't enough for the evil doctor. No. Decker (played in the movie by David Cronenberg) has to press the issue...but goodthing for the hero that not everything in and under the cemetery is dead. And there goes the hellraiser, being chased by the...more

4 likes · like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Jack rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm so interested in the resurrection of Barker's film of 'Cabal' - 1990's 'Nightbreed' - that I thought I would check out the novel before I saw the theatrical cut of the film. I have wanted to read Barker for years, particularly after reading a short story of his in the Vandermeers' 'New Weird' anthology, called "In the Hills, the Cities", that had a breathtakingly visceral and grand MacGuffin.

Now, the assembly of the 'Cabal Cut' from DVD and VHS sources and the ongoing quest to recover the n...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 27, 2012 P. Aaron Potter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

If you’re not quite ready to get vicariously blood-drenched, but you’d like a taste of the later Barker’s work, try “Cabal.” Like “Hellbound Heart,” it was published after the Books of Blood but is sometimes repackaged as an extension of that series. As a bonus, one of the short stories usually bundled with it is “The Last Illusion,” which served as the basis for the film “Lord of Illusions,” an urban fantasy starring the always excellent Scott Bakula. “Cabal” itself would go on to form the bas...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 02, 2012 Donovan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, fantasy

This book inspired the movie Nightbreed.
It is an easy read but one that is not recommended to the squeamish as it does have its violent moments.

It is one of Barker's earlier novels and I feel it does show at times. In saying that and knowing how well Barker's work has matured since writing Cabal, I would like to see a sequel written for it.

Plot ***Spoiler***
The story concerns a young man named Boone, who is suffering from an unspecified mental illness. Although it is not serious enough to instit...more This book inspired the movie Nightbreed.
It is an easy read but one that is not recommended to the squeamish as it does have its violent moments.

It is one of Barker's earlier novels and I feel it does show at times. In saying that and knowing how well Barker's work has matured since writing Cabal, I would like to see a sequel written for it.

Plot ***Spoiler***
The story concerns a young man named Boone, who is suffering from an unspecified mental illness. Although it is not serious enough to institutionalize him, he is nonetheless seeing a psychiatrist named Decker. To his horror, during a session he is informed by Decker that he is responsible for the brutal mutilation murders of eleven people, murders that have been committed by a serial killer and have terrorized the city (Calgary, Alberta, in Canada) recently. Boone does not recall these actions, apparently because his mind has blanked them from his consciousness. He initially tries to kill himself, but when he fails he begins to believe he can save himself in a place known as Midian, a semi-mythical city, which has appeared in his dreams as a place that offers sanctuary to monsters – both the human kind and otherwise -, known as the Nightbreed. He hurriedly begins to seek Midian, unaware of the truth behind the insidious events that set him on this course.

Boone eventually finds Midian, but discovers that the town is deserted. Travelling to the cemetery nearby he discovers that Midian in fact lies beneath the cemetery. Two of the Nightbreed appear and attack him. One of them bites him, but he is able to escape. Boone returns to the abandoned town where he is confronted by Decker. Decker reveals that Boone is innocent of the killings, and that Decker is the one who actually committed the murders, intending to use Boone as a scapegoat. Soon after Boone is shot to death by Decker and the police, who was following his trail. However, soon after this his body vanishes from the morgue.

After Boone's apparent death, his lover, Lori, travels to Midian after hearing of his corpse's disappearance. Along the way she makes friends with Sheryl, another woman who decides to accompany Lori. When they arrive at Midian Lori encounters two of the Nightbreed, Babette, a small child, and Rachel, her mother. Lori is refused entrance to the underground by Lylesburg, another member of the Nightbreed.

Lori and Sheryl depart Midian and return to a nearby inn. Sheryl brings Lori out to a restaurant with her to meet her new boyfriend, who ends up being Decker. Decker, who possesses a button faced mask that houses his murderous personality, kills Sheryl, and Lori narrowly escapes. She returns to Midian, where Decker pursues her. She is saved by Boone, who goes above ground and reveals himself, being banished for doing so. Before he leaves, Boone sees Midian's creator, Baphomet, who appears as a dismembered body in a large fire.

Boone and Lori depart Midian as demanded and return to the hotel where Lori had stayed with Sheryl. They soon discover that Decker was at the hotel, and has killed many inside. The police arrive and Lori is able to flee, while Boone degenerated to an animalistic state and is quickly arrested. Decker goes to the police himself, and is able to convince them to go to Midian and capture or kill everyone living there.

Lori meets up with Narcisse, a former human who like Boone traveled to Midian and became part of the Nightbreed. They enter the jail where Boone is being held and break him out. They return to Midian, which is overrun by the police, who have killed or captured many of the Nightbreed, forcing them out from the underground by setting it aflame. Boone and the others engage in the fight and he has his final confrontation with Decker, killing him. The remaining policemen are all either killed or chased off, but Midian is completely destroyed. Those who remain of the Nightbreed bind up the parts of Baphomet and leave, in search of a new home.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 23, 2011 Alex Telander rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2001

The Dark Weaveworld of Clive Barker, Part 3 of 3: “Cabal”

Cabal: The anthology starts off with this novel from Clive Barker. In the remote town of Midian, there is a race of the undead, similar to vampires, and yet different; the sun kills them, they feed on human meat. They also have strange powers, where they can metamorphose into flesh-hungry beats with astounding strength.

The min character, Boone, “thinks” he has committed an uncountable number of murders and goes to Midian, where he feels he...more The Dark Weaveworld of Clive Barker, Part 3 of 3: “Cabal”

Cabal: The anthology starts off with this novel from Clive Barker. In the remote town of Midian, there is a race of the undead, similar to vampires, and yet different; the sun kills them, they feed on human meat. They also have strange powers, where they can metamorphose into flesh-hungry beats with astounding strength.

The min character, Boone, “thinks” he has committed an uncountable number of murders and goes to Midian, where he feels he will fit in. There he is set-up, the murders are blamed on his without question, and he is shot and killed. Except, for the trap fell, he was bitten by one of the Nightbreed, becoming one of them.

The time is now at hand. The Breed have been in hiding for too long, and Boone now knows where the Breed reside. En force they will come to wipe them out, but the Breed have other intentions in mind. Led by Boone, they will combat the humans and fight for their right to survive.

Cabal was made into a movie, under the title Nightbreed. The story is one of Barker’s short novels, only 195 pages long, but like his other works, it is a masterpiece in itself, reaching out and titillating the human psyche with its supernatural hands.

“The Life of Death”: A church from the seventeenth century is being demolished, while onlookers wish otherwise. In the church is a crypt, but within are not a collection of organized bodies, but piles of them, tossed in without concern, and they appear to have suffered from some disease. Now this disease has been released into the open; the problem is nobody knows it exists.

“How Spoilers Bleed”: Locke has “bought” a piece of land in the jungle of Brazil, but the Indians who have lived on this land for centuries do not agree. What I the white man’s greedy answer? To kill them all off with disease, but the Indians also have a disease of their own kind to give to the white man. It is a disease that causes the skin to split and bleed upon touching any surface. The death is most painful and unstoppable.

“Twilight at the Towers”: A member of the KGB wishes to be one no longer. He wants to disappear into the democratic world, with the help of the British Security Service, in return for trade secrets. There are also the inhuman experiments the KGB has been performing, creating their very own beasts.

“The Last Illusion”: The illusionist has had enough of the crowds and the life of trickery. He has staged his last illusion, one in which he will disappear forever. The wife of the illusionist hires a detective to find out what happened to him. The detective, Harry D’Amour, goes on a great adventure in trying to find the master illusionist. Along he way he will see sights that are not humanly possible, and feats that defy the wildest imagination. “The Last Illusion” was made into a movie, under the title Lord of Illusions, starring Scott Bakula.

Originally published on October 8th 2001 ©Alex C. Telander.

For over 500 book reviews, and over 40 exclusive author interviews (both audio and written), visit BookBanter.(less)

like · see review

Dec 16, 2010 Suzana Vuksanovic rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book really took me by surprise. Although it is a story that includes much that is supernatural, I found it extraordinarily believable. In fact I found myself wishing that Midian was real. Midian is where the bulk of the action in the book takes place, and can be applied both to the ghost town and the cemetery that lies nearby. Even in it's heyday the town of Midian was a one street town, so the unusual thing about this cemetary is it's hugeness. The inscriptions on the various plots (which...more

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 13, 2009 Dreadlocksmile rated it 5 of 5 stars

First published back in 1988, ‘Cabal’ followed the release of the hugely popular novel ‘Weaveworld’. The story turns all our ideas about horror fiction on its head, with Barker’s classic tale of misguided humanity. The tale subtly tackles the conception, misguided judgment and ridicule of views on homosexual community, with the homosexuals represented as the Nightbreed. Hounded, hunted and attacked, merely due to their way of life, the novel takes you into a world of questions and suggested conc...more

2 likes · like · see review

May 30, 2009 The_Mad_Swede rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, horror, barker-clive

There is something special about Clive Barker's prose. Perhaps in particular his early works like the short fiction in The Books of Blood and The Hellbound Heart, and Cabal is clearly (pardon the pun) of the same breed.

Barker writes with all the stops out and throws his readers into the midst of world both nightmarish and fantastic. A world of gross depravity, yet human in all its monstrosity. Barker gives the monsters and outcasts of his fiction souls, making them perhaps more human than some o...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 25, 2009 Lori rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: rereads-first-read-years-ago, 2009june

I seem to have outgrown Clive Barker. It's been years and years since I picked up anything of his, but he's always lived on my shelves.

Maybe Cabal was the wrong choice. (I've got a stack of new-to-me books begging to be read, but I'm trying to hold off on those until an upcoming vacation.) I picked Cabal, a pairing of one novella with some longer short stories, because I wasn't in the mood for the complications of Imajica or Great and Secret Show. Now I wonder if they would have held up, becaus...more

like · see review

Mar 02, 2012 Jean rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

So much of this book is said in subtext, in the language that the characters speak secretly of themselves and others, that I see a lot of readers having completely missed the point or not even willing to formulate an opinion to take a stab at answering the questions they say the story raised for them and never answered. The heart of the book is Lori, a highly sympathetic and believable female character (Barker's good at that), and the shift from Boone's narrative to hers at first felt jarring, m...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 14, 2011 Amanda rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

It seems that many of the reviews praising this book are written by die-hard Clive Barker fans urging everyone "if you like Barker, read this book". Well, this is my first novel by Barker, and I have mixed feelings about the book. First of all, I bought this book off the shelf and paid retail for it, and only because it passed the first-page test. I think it is the height of arrogance for publishers to market novels based solely on editorial reviews with NO description of the plot on the back co...more It seems that many of the reviews praising this book are written by die-hard Clive Barker fans urging everyone "if you like Barker, read this book". Well, this is my first novel by Barker, and I have mixed feelings about the book. First of all, I bought this book off the shelf and paid retail for it, and only because it passed the first-page test. I think it is the height of arrogance for publishers to market novels based solely on editorial reviews with NO description of the plot on the back cover (as if readers should trust in the author's name that the story will be good). Any well-read person knows that even great authors sometimes write duds. I'm not saying Cabal is a dud, but it is deceiving given that only the first 195 pages of a 358-page book are devoted to the actual story. The latter half of the book is a series of short stories that have no connection to or similarity with the novel itself (other than the horror element).

The writing (to begin with) was fast-paced and vivid, but the pacing felt rushed (understandably so after I discovered how short the novel was). While the characters are vivid they are not well-developed. For example: we never learn what it is about Boone that inspires such devotion in Lori. We learn almost nothing of Boone other than that he is suffering from an unnamed mental psychosis. Decker is the Jeckyll & Hyde bad guy trying to convince Boone that he is guilty of murdering 11 people. We get the story from each of their perspectives: first Boone, then Lori, then Decker and minor characters near the end (a stereotypical southern sheriff: "For Eigerman bright ideas and excretion were inextricably linked").

My biggest two problems with the book (and why I took off 2 stars) are: (1) I don't think Barker pens believable female characters, and (2) the crude writing style when it comes to sexual content(which is a noticable departure from the almost lyrical writing style of the rest of the book). If Barker had been crude throughout, I wouldn't have been bothered so much by the unjustified use of crudity. The pointless scene in the motel room with Lori masturbating is gratuitous and serves absolutely no purpose to the story other than a Hustler-style confessional. Considering how short the story is, I would think the pages devoted to this voyeurism would be better served furthering the plot. Women don't use the c-word when describing themselves naked. That is a man's idea of how women think. I notice no men in the story masturbating or staring at themselves naked in the mirror.

The scene with Lori and traveling companion Sheryl arriving to a burned-out warehouse in a bad neighborhood at night reads like a like a bad B-movie where the girl in lingerie walks out to see if there's anyone hiding in the dark. The women arrive to the address given them by Sheryl's new boyfriend where they are supposed to meet for dinner. Lori (understanably) thinks to herself what kind of sicko would play such a practical joke as Shyrl enters the fire-trap. She hears Sheryl laugh from inside and, what does she do, goes ahead and FOLLOWS SHERYL INTO THE BUILDING! No woman would ever do this, and especially not for such a dumb reason "suspecting now [Sheryl's] compliance in this fiasco, Lori stepped through the door in search of the tricksters." This would have been more believable if Lori had entered the building because she was afraid to linger by herself on the street.

The plot was engaging up to the point of the Nightbreed, and then there were too many cuts to different characters' points of view. We got more than enough of maniac Decker's cartoonish evil thoughts as the Mask. I skimmed the latter half of the story around the time of the sheriff's introduction. At that point, I didn't have the patience to read through yet another cliched character's thoughts merely to find out whether Boone triumphs from the dead and Decker gets his in the end.

Bottom line: if you have to read it, borrow it or get it from the library. Don't pay full price -- or even amazon price. $10 is too much for this short novel. (less)

like · see review

Jan 01, 2013 Bookhode rated it 2 of 5 stars

This novella kind of felt like Weaveworld's little brother, much in a way that Obscured by Clouds came before Dark Side of the Moon, providing much needed testing ground for many of the basic motives and ideas to grow into the masterpiece that will follow.

Cabal is a fast paced story about a man cast out of his world, and forced to seek solace with the dead, forgotten and hidden race called the Night Breed. Even though they look monstrous, and live in a graveyard (hello, Neil Gaiman!) we quickly...more

like · see review

Jul 03, 2011 James Martinez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is always interesting to go and read the story that inspired a movie that you enjoyed. Ever since the first time I watched the movie Nightbreed I though that I should go read the original novella that was the inspiration for that movie. And as the old saying goes the book/story was even better than the movie since so much more atmosphere and feeling can be put into the written word that just does not easily translate to the screen. The book Cabal is actually a novella and four short stories t...more

like · see review

Jul 24, 2011 Jaime rated it 2 of 5 stars

This was needlessly violent and disturbing. Mr. Barker has lost his way and has succumbed to useless gore and violence as his interpretation of writing horror..

1 like · like · see review

Oct 20, 2012 Mina LaFleur rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is the first and only Clive Barker book I've read thus far. Maybe it's not the best to start with? I'm not sure. I know it's very beloved book to many, so I'm surprised not to have enjoyed it as much as I forced myself through it. The plot was interesting to me, so I gave it two stars instead of one. I really didn't enjoy any of the characters though. I didn't feel anything for them, unfortunately. I also have to say, the dialogue in certain scenes, and some of the description (I'm thinking...more

like · see review

Jun 27, 2012 eva rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone willing to gore it out with some interesting psychological ideas

Shelves: critiqued-reviewed

As usual, Barker wows us with beautiful language and imaginative places and characters. In “Cabal,” he takes us on a journey into the depth of depravity of human consciousness. Artfully and skillfully done, his words are strung along together in a fluid, steady beat — with alternating paces to excite the reader.

Unfortunately, Barker doesn’t do so well for the plot in this short story, and the ending seems too quick to justify the length of the beginning. He intends to wrap up the message found...more

like · see review

Mar 18, 2012 Grayson Queen rated it 2 of 5 stars

I picked up this book thinking it was a full length novel. As it turned out it was more of a short story collection.
I didn't find them particularly horrifying or interesting. Mostly it read like a bad horror movie where they relied more on blood and gut that story. It seemed to me he wanted his 'monster' to have a depth to them that he failed to express in his writing. Making them shallow beasts lurking in the darkness and given fancy names and powers.
If i had to say that anything was interestin...more

like · see review

Jul 29, 2009 Christina Crooks rated it 5 of 5 stars

Clive Barker's dark Cabal (the movie "Nightbreed" is based on it) is one of his many great tales. I'm almost as impressed by this author's economical writing power and his grasp of human nature as I am with his original stories. This one's a horror love story that begins with a trusted but secretly psychotic psychiatrist convincing the hero he's a murderer. Hunted, the hero seeks a safe haven with the shape-shifting Nightbreed.There's one gorgeously direct sex scene in Cabal that should be read...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 20, 2013 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Have you ever wondered whether the things that can only come out at night really exist?
Well in the town of Midian not only do they exist but they have made a home there. Those who belong with them know that Midian is a safe place for those that are made of humanity's nightmares.

When Boone is confided in by his therapist that he believes that Boone has committed a series of brutal murders, Boone unsuccessfully tries to take his own life. While in the hospital he hears of Midian and believes that...more

like · see review

Apr 05, 2011 Ape rated it 1 of 5 stars

Review I wrote in 2003

This is a horror about ’half dead’ people, who actually turn out to be far less threatening and dangerous than the living, perhaps something to think about. I actually read this a couple of years ago. This is the first and only book I have ever read by Clive Barker and to be honest I was not that impressed. It was not scary and I found the overall plot a bit ridiculous and the main female characters a bit two dimensional, but it would be interesting to see what other people...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 30, 2007 Susan Polcz/Volbrecht added it Recommends it for: geeks

Shelves: booksiread

guilty pleasure.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 31, 2013 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: entretenidos, ebooks

Hace tiempo ya que termine este libro y no me había animado a hacer una reseña, pero bueno ya me decidí (^_^). Este fue el primer libro que leí de Clive Barker (a la fecha llevo 3) y aunque no me ha fascinado, si que me gusto la narración y la originalidad del tema.

El crear un submundo por llamarlo de alguna forma, donde habitan monstruos, cada cual con sus propias características, sin duda fue lo mejor de la novela; pude imaginarme a cada uno de esos seres que iba describiendo y cuando Aarón se...more

like · see review

Nov 26, 2010 Lila rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, own-it

I didn't like this story too much. It was very bizarre and granted, there were some gory scenes in there, but something just didn't click for me. Maybe the length of the novel is to blame (it really was a novella). I am thinking that Mr. Barker is not very good at writing short stories or I'm just not the type of person to like them. There simply was no time for me to develop any kind of feelings for the main character, let alone all the supporting cast. Everything felt rushed and I felt detache...more

like · see review

Jul 07, 2008 Tortla rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dragons

I really liked these stories when I started (especially the titular one), but somewhere into the second story or so, I just got Barker-ed out. Now I can't get myself to pick it up again. Which is unfortunate, because I really want to know what the other stories are about. I just don't want to read them...

Upon finishing this book I've reached a hasty generalization about Clive Barker (which I'm probably not entitled to make seeing as how I've only read Cabal and The Hellbound Heart and The Great...more I really liked these stories when I started (especially the titular one), but somewhere into the second story or so, I just got Barker-ed out. Now I can't get myself to pick it up again. Which is unfortunate, because I really want to know what the other stories are about. I just don't want to read them...

Upon finishing this book I've reached a hasty generalization about Clive Barker (which I'm probably not entitled to make seeing as how I've only read Cabal and The Hellbound Heart and The Great and Secret Show and the first two books of Abarat). Here 'tis: Clive Barker is a shallow Hollywood exhibitionist. Or something. I can't really think of a nice way to say it. Superficial? Hack? Unapologetic purveyor of crassness? None of it seems to communicate the proper undercurrent of affection. Because, seriously, I really like Clive Barker. His style of writing is appropriately soul-less, given the (lack of) morality he tends to write. The final story in this book of short stories (The Illusionist's Final Act or something...sorry I don't remember the title, but you get the gist) embodied what it is that I like about the style, what keeps me going "ooooOOOoo Clive Barker!" even though he offends all of my delicate sensibilities. I don't know if I can adequately put it into words without sounding stupid(er than I already do), but there's a redeeming quality in his writing, an undercurrent of hope and of purity that makes all the depravity and the horribly graphic and disturbing imagery seem justified. (Also, How Spoilers Bleed was highly satisfying because it was obvious that the people who were dying were--for the most part--horrible horrible people, so it was somehow...right to read about their gruesome deaths)
Still, I think a lot of people wouldn't like this book. Barker's background in movies is glaringly apparent in how cinematically (is that a word? sure it is...) his stories play out, not to mention the lack of depth to the writing and the intense imagery which tends to drive the stories. So even though it feels kind of like a sin against books (a book that reads like a movie? egads, that sounds almost like the dreaded DAN BROWN), the one-dimensional writing is saved by clever pacing and surprising reassignments of blame/morality AND (and this one is very important, because it's the main distinction between Barker and worthless worthless Brown) the fact that Barker doesn't condescend to the reader.
I think Clive Barker's definitely an acquired taste (one which I had to gradually accustom myself to, since I worked my way from the YA books of Abarat to the highly disturbing hellbound heart AND BEYOND).
Some of what made this difficult for me to finish was probably the fact that I was reading it at night. As I was falling asleep. And his books truly deserve the distinction of being the "stuff of nightmares."
I'm not sayin' that Clive Barker gives me nightmares, but he certainly does make me reluctant to fall asleep.(less)

like · see review

May 01, 2013 Matus Miksik rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

you can clearly see all that Barker's style constitutes of in this book... it may be a bit slow-paced and maybe even boring from the start, but as the tempo gets faster, this text is more and more interesting...

overall I prefer longer works such as Imajica and Weaveworld, but a reader can get nicely in touch with Barker's work by reading this 250-page book.

In other words, reading this is worthwhile if you want to give Clive Barker, the master of horror, a chance... and I think you should ;)

like · see review

May 12, 2012 Eren Cain rated it 5 of 5 stars

This might be my favorite Clive Barker movie, and once again, it translated brilliantly to the big screen because of Barker's sort of half-literary/half-cinematic brain...the best part being the psychiatrist Dekker (whose also a masked serial killer) played by David Cronenberg, who is brilliant!

I love it because it's really a plunge into a world of monsters just beyond our own, which is an idea that I pray every day is true !

like · see review

Jan 23, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

I loved this book, sure it is a romantic horror story on the surface but the moral issues it brings to light, Midian mirroring the homosexual community and how they were treated in the past, or some places still to this day (this book being published in the late 1980s) was interesting to read about when kept in mind. I felt an immediate connection and empathy for Lori and even though it was a short book there was enough detail for me to care about the other main characters. I enjoyed the sex sce...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 23, 2009 Travis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classic-monsters, sf-fantasy

My favorite Clive Barker book.
Messed up young man is framed for murder, goes on the run and ends up in a city, beneath a graveyard, of monsters.
Really brilliant, twisted story that feels like equal parts horror movie and fairy tale.

Cabal is a novella, but I have no memory of the couple short stories in this book, so I guess they didn't make much of an impression.

This is the story that was turned into the movie 'NightBreed'.
I recommend the movie too.

1 like · like · see review

May 08, 2009 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've finished the main story in this book, Cabal, which was made into a film in the early 90s (Nightbreed). The story was quite good, actually, but the movie was not fantastic (though it did stick fairly close to the book and co-starred David Cronenberg in a suitably creepy role). I didn't read any of the other stories in the book, but I'm kinda surprised at how much I enjoy Barker's writing.

like · see review

Feb 22, 2013 gbcjr rated it 4 of 5 stars

One of the follow up collections of short stories after his Books of Blood (in England it was another book of blood). In any case, some great short stories that aim to horrify; it's not as strong as the first three collections (Books of Blood), but worthy of any horror collection. "The Last Illusion" was the premise for "Lords of Illusions" and my pick out of the pack.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (28)

More editions...

Genres

Horror

462 users

Fantasy

85 users

Short Stories

16 users

Novels

10 users

Fantasy > Dark Fantasy

9 users

Thriller

7 users

Horror > Zombies

6 users

Romance

5 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

5 users

Adult

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Clive Barker's Night Breed: Genesis
by Alan Grant (Adapter)
Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Collected Best Volume 1
by Alex Ross
Clive Barker's The Great And Secret Show Volume 1
by Chris Ryall (adaptor)
Clive Barker's A - Z of Horror
by Stephen Jones (Compilation)
Book of the Dead
by John Skipp

About Clive Barker

Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Joan Rubie (née Revill), a painter and school welfare officer, and Leonard Barker, a personnel director for an industrial relations firm. Educated at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School, he studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool University and his picture now hangs in the entrance hallway to the Philosophy Department. It...more Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Joan Rubie (née Revill), a painter and school welfare officer, and Leonard Barker, a personnel director for an industrial relations firm. Educated at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School, he studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool University and his picture now hangs in the entrance hallway to the Philosophy Department. It was in Liverpool in 1975 that he met his first partner, John Gregson, with whom he lived until 1986. Barker's second long-term relationship with photographer David Armstrong, ended in 2009.

In 2003, Clive Barker received The Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards. This award is presented "to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for any of those communities". While Barker is critical of organized religion, he has stated that he is a believer in both God and the afterlife, and that the Bible influences his work.

Fans have noticed of late that Barker's voice has become gravelly and coarse. He says in a December 2008 online interview that this is due to polyps in his throat which were so severe that a doctor told him he was taking in ten percent of the air he was supposed to have been getting. He has had two surgeries to remove them and believes his resultant voice is an improvement over how it was prior to the surgeries. He said he did not have cancer and has given up cigars. On August 27, 2010, Barker underwent surgery yet again to remove new polyp growths from his throat. In early February 2012 Barker fell into a coma after a dentist visit led to blood poisoning. Barker remained in a coma for eleven days but eventually came out of it. Fans were notified on his Twitter page about some of the experience and that Barker was recovering after the ordeal, but left with many strange visions.

Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, writing in the horror genre early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 – 6), and the Faustian novel The Damnation Game (1985). Later he moved towards modern-day fantasy and urban fantasy with horror elements in Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), the world-spanning Imajica (1991) and Sacrament (1996), bringing in the deeper, richer concepts of reality, the nature of the mind and dreams, and the power of words and memories.

Barker has a keen interest in movie production, although his films have received mixed receptions. He wrote the screenplays for Underworld (aka Transmutations – 1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), both directed by George Pavlou. Displeased by how his material was handled, he moved to directing with Hellraiser (1987), based on his novella The Hellbound Heart. His early movies, the shorts The Forbidden and Salome, are experimental art movies with surrealist elements, which have been re-released together to moderate critical acclaim. After his film Nightbreed (Cabal), which was widely considered to be a flop, Barker returned to write and direct Lord of Illusions. Barker was an executive producer of the film Gods and Monsters, which received major critical acclaim.

Barker is a prolific visual artist working in a variety of media, often illustrating his own books. His paintings have been seen first on the covers of his official fan club magazine, Dread, published by Fantaco in the early Nineties, as well on the covers of the collections of his plays, Incarnations (1995) and Forms of Heaven (1996), as well as on the second printing of the original UK publications of his Books of Blood series.

A longtime comics fan, Barker achieved his dream of publishing his own superhero books when Marvel Comics launched the Razorline imprint in 1993. Based on detailed premises, titles and lead characters he created specifically for this, the four interrelated titles — set outside the Marvel universe — were Ectokid, (less)

More about Clive Barker...

Books by Clive Barker

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Cabal

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Cabal

“The sun rose like a stripper, keeping its glory well covered by cloud till it seemed there'd be no show at all.” — 39 people liked it

“Of all the rash and midnight promises made in the name of love, none, Boone now knew, was more certain to be broken than "I'll never leave you.” — 4 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Cabal
avg rating	preview: Cabal Goodreads rating: 3.89 (7845 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/103035.Cabal?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348668242l/103035.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/103035.Cabal?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Cabal by Clive Barker[/url]

Cabal

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website