Books of Blood 2

Any additional comments?

The Books Of Blood are a compendium of stories that are macabre and some pretty bloody.They twist and turn and make you think,or sick depending on the story.Each were told by someone new.Jeffery Kafer stands out in this series as an excellent narrator,along with quite a few others.
I was gifted a copy through Audioblast for an honest review.

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Lacks a Certain Thrust

Overall I find this hits Clive Barker's great strengths, Elegant Prose and Imaginative (often transgressive) ideas, but none of them really knock it out of the park in either horror or surrealness. If you are fans of him for those two things then this collection is for you. The two best stories are only 4-stars, the worst story is a 2).

"Dread" - I think this is the best story in the book. It certainly shows its age as there are technological references that seem super-dated to any modern reader, so if you are the type that prefers a more timeless feel to your fiction that might take you out of it. I found the idea of an up his ass philosopher trying to discover true Dread/Fear/Despair to be great, sort of a dime store Batman villain.

"Hell's Event" - While I think Dread is the best, I think this is my favorite because of the imaginative demons and the specific premise, a foot race to save the world from demons, to be rather tight and enjoyable.

"Jacqueline Ess: Her Will And Testament" - This reads like a 300 page Stephen King book that has been cut to the bone. I think that this should have been a novel and as is does not work as well as it could have had the story been given the full room to breath.

"The Skins of the Fathers" - I would argue this is the worst story in this collection, but I think it could have worked if the premise had gone in some different directions. A town under siege from a parade of 20-ft tall monsters from the desert is cool, a father who finds out he is not the father and instead his son is some kind of halfbreed monster is cool... But they did not come together for me.

"New Murders in the Rue Morgue" - This one is missing something I cannot put my finger on. The story's ultimate revelation (No spoilers) really reads like a premise from a century ago, I think there needed to be another level to the story. This is another one that feels like it should have been a short novel rather than a short story. It is perhaps bad criticism to say, "I can't put my finger on it" but I really can't figure out why this doesn't work for me.

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Barker at his best

One of the best collections of short stories in horror
Excellent narration from a fantastic cast I highly recommend getting the audiobook versions
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

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Dread

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It is really scary. But you have to read the first one

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jackie Ess

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not that I recall

Who was the most memorable character of The Books of Blood, Volume 2 and why?

The teacher , the two alumni and Jackie Ess

Any additional comments?

Dread and Jackie Ess were the best

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Standard Clive Barker goodness

Dread: excellent, the ending is far different from the film, and I was quite pleasantly surprised.

Hell's Race: Meh. Very meh.

Will and Testament: A lovely ode to violence akin to The Wishmaster.

The Skins of the Fathers: Oh yes! So good. The ending should be iconic horror by now.

New Murders of the Rue Morgue: Thoroughly engaging, thought provoking, and fun, even though it's not very horrific.

Great anthology

I find his work imaginative and well paced. I wish other horror writers understood that you can be chilling and not over do the background of the character and location.

Nobody does the dark and strange better

Even after 35 years, no one does it like Barker. Incredibly eclectic in his sub genres, but always with that signature style of total WTF. I don’t think anyone can write the horrific tales mixed with eroticism that he makes feel so fluid and effortless.

Detailed Horror Short Story Collection

The stories are very detailed and disturbing. Wide assortment of stories. What an imagination Clive Barker has!

another banger from clive

i dont know what to tell you clive is a great world builder when it comes to his stories

A very good follow up to Volume One

Not quite as tightly plotted as Volume one, but still beautifully written, and the performances are absolutely top notch.