The Thief of Always question

Yep, I've read this one, and almost everything else Barker has published. I, like a lot of people I think, started out with the various "Books of Blood". "Thief" is better than the standard YA dreck, sure. But personally I always prefer to just jump into a new authors work with both feet and the complete "Books of Blood" collections that you can get these days really show off his range, even at the very beginning of his career.

With Barker being who he is, if I were to try to get someone who has never read any of his stuff to give him a go, "Books" or maybe "Weaveworld" or "The Great and Secret Show" is where I would start. "Thief" and his other YA series just seem like outliers to me...

I`d rather agree with John. The Thief of Always is a good start. But it also is a book you read at your own risk...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I enjoyed the book immensely. A bit different from much of his earlier work. Not sure if it is the best place to start, but it isn't a bad place to start.

Love this book so much. Read it almost entirely in one sitting.

I'm awful late to this discussion, but wanted to chime in. Thief of Always is the first Clive Barker book I ever read and I loved it. It enthralled me and when I was done with it I wanted more, so I moved from there to Weaveworld, then Great and Secret Show, all the way through pretty much all his works. So, I think it was a great starting point. Weaveworld could be a solid starting point as well, if you were introducing his works to someone skeptical of reading a YA book.

For one inclined towards fantasy stories I would recommend TOA, before engaging with his longer works; Weaveworld, Everville, The Great and Secret Show. If you enjoy it, then move on to these bigger 'adult' novels. I personally am not a huge reader of fantasy fiction, but I've read most of Barkers work and all of his fantasy novels and find them to be more engaging and beautifully written than anything else he's composed in other genres. Barker has a unique and soaring imagination that finds its most holistic and healthy expression in these dense fantastic books.