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The Essential Clive Barker: Selected Fiction

Clive Barker (Goodreads Author),

Armistead Maupin (Foreward)

4.17 · Rating details · 626 ratings · 12 reviews

"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 ...more

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Hardcover, 608 pages

Published November 3rd 1999 by Harper (first published 1999)

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· 626 ratings · 12 reviews

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Sep 14, 2015 PUMPKINHEAD rated it liked it

Shelves: horror, masterful-writing, not-what-i-hoped, great-read

Uhg. I was so torn on this book...

I picked this up on sale because I'm a Clive Barker fan who hasn't really read enough of him in my life, in particular his novels (I'm all over his movies and Books Of Blood short stories though! And the Hellraiser comic book spin-offs I really dig too).

On the one hand, this is a great collection of Clive's various writings, giving you glimpses into a number of the fantastic worlds and characters he's created. Barker's a master of horror fiction and there's a l ...more

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Aug 23, 2013 Geert Daelemans rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

A complete rip-off

There are many things wrong with The Essential Clive Barker. For starters, the title is simply incorrect. This book does not give you an overview -or even a hint for that matter- of what Clive Barker is all about. At best it gives you a set of teasers that hopefully will entice you to read the full novels. But why not start by picking up a real novel and explore the craftsmanship of the author yourself. Indeed, a concise version of The Essential Clive Barker should read: close ...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Michael Whetzel rated it liked it

Nice overview of Barker's work but it is mostly excerpts from his books. Would rather read the complete works themselves. Only for the hardcore fan. ...more

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Sep 27, 2019 Ashlie McDiarmid rated it it was ok

If you love Clive Barker, are familiar with his inventive stories, and would like to see how his words can be extrapolated to fit many important themes of life, I would highly recommend this book. If you have never read or heard of Clive Barker before, I would not start here.

I had never read or heard of Barker before, only vaguely familiar with works like HellRaiser and Candyman. To put it simply, his stories are incredible. The way he makes each world come alive is beautiful and visceral, raw ...more

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Apr 22, 2020 Mark Groenen rated it did not like it

Imagine, if you will, a greatest hits album. There’s always a slight cynical edge to this concept, as often fans will buy what they already own. However, especially back in the pre-digital days, it does allow for a nice overview the best songs of a band you like and maybe some extra features. This book is somewhat like a greatest hits album. Various snippets of Barker’s books are collected for the reader. They’re loosely themed and have an introduction by Barker. The first introductions were alr ...more

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Mar 09, 2018 Sonia rated it liked it

If you have never read anything by Clive Barker and you want to get a feel for his writing, this is an excellent book. However if you want to sink your teeth into a good book, I'd recommend buying one of his novels, or the Books of Blood. ...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Wizzard rated it it was amazing

Clive Barker made a name for himself in the horror genre. But this book shows his strength in the fantastical: science fiction, fantasy, terror, mythological, even theater, and of course horror. The book is set up very creatively-- instead of arranging by date of publication, excerpts from his various works are arranged by theme: Memory, Body, Terror, Doorways, etc. Definitely makes me want to explore more of his works!

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Apr 02, 2008 C Jon Tice rated it it was ok

Shelves: didn-t-like

It was a good book for reading passages from his many novels, but without having read all the novels I didn't really follow on some of the themes. I didn't dislike the book but you really have to like his work and read his books to follow along with the themes. ...more

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Jan 11, 2008 Andrea rated it really liked it

Shelves: dark-fantasy, horror

Good for the Barker enthusiast, great for examining common themes and tropes... not so great for actual read-throughs ;>

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Dec 16, 2013 Mario rated it it was amazing

this was a good christmas gift , i still read it. it's so fun , even the pro pieces. ...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Midnight Blue rated it it was amazing

Shelves: erin-s-all-time-favs, clive-barker

A book full of Clive Barker and more Clive Barker...can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon. ...more

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About Clive Barker

Clive Barker

11,124 followers

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 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, ...more