Jorge Kavicki Kavicki itibaren Al-Fuwayliq Suudi Arabistan
What was originally Books of Blood Vol. IV is a solid, and at times brilliant, collection of Clive Barker fiction. "The Inhuman Condition" -- A vagrant picks up a rope lined with three knots after the gang he's with beat up an old drunk. The vagrant then decides to undo the knots thus unleashing demons once under the drunks' control. ***1/2 (There aren't any heroes here and the action is grim but early Barker was like that. Very well written. "The Body Politic" -- A man's hands decide to revolt against him and unite all hands on every person to world domination. ***** (This sounds ridiculous to describe but Barker makes the ridiculous seem believable! "Revelations" -- A preacher's wife finds herself haunted by a ghost couple who were murdered in the motel she is now staying in. ***** (One of Barker's best. . .a masterpiece of short story horror fiction. The highlight of the volume). "Down, Satan!" -- A man tests God's existence by dedicating his life to building a personal hell on earth. ***** (Another marevlous, if all too short, Barker short story. The short amount of action begs you for more). "The Age of Desire" -- A victim of a failed experiment based on sexuality, Jerome travels the city looking to love anything and everything. ** (I just couldn't get into this one. . .too depraved even by Barker standards. Too horrific and too sexual. . .which is saying something if you've read Barker.
After hearing rave reviews about this series, I was a bit disappointed when I finally read it. I'm a huge fan of BKV, and think he writes great characters and dialogue. But my main issue with the series is its *tokenism*... whether done wholeheartedly or pointedly, it's just durn annoying...distracting from the greater elements of the story!