Horror Aficionados discussion

Hey there, HA group! I figured that this would be the group to ask the following.....1st of all, I am ashamed to say that I have not read ANY Clive Barker. SO, I was wondering- what should I read? I DO NOT want to get tangled up in a trilogy or series by accident, so I am finding it hard to navigate the waters of his titles and find something that is a stand alone....suggestions? Thanks so much, everyone! -Jen from Quebec :0)

Both will give you a good taste of his early writing and aren't enormous tomes!

The Hellbound Heart

Books of Blood: Volume One

PS don't feel ashamed! I still haven't read Dracula.

Aren't those books part of a SERIES, though? I am trying to avoid an entire series/trilogy and read stand alone books...

Books of Blood are short story collections that can be read as standalones and The Hellbound Heart is a novella that the original Hellraiser movie was based on.

Oh, really!? OK! See, it looked like Hellraiser was an entire series of books, which was surprising to me, but this one is a stand alone? I WILL check it out, then! Thanks so much for the help! -Jen from Quebec :0)

There are several Hellraiser graphic novels but those are based on the Hellraiser franchise, I'd say go for the Hellbound Heart.

John wrote: "Weaveworld is pretty good."

That's a good one too, I read it when I was a teen back when I could read 700+ page tomes in a week. I miss those days.

And there's Cabal too.

Jennifer, I would echo The Hellbound Heart and Cabal, as either would be a great place to start.

Yes, CABAL looked interesting to me upon reading its description. Anyone here read it? Review? Synopsis?

I WILL be buying one of his to read over the holidays: CABAL or THE HELLBOUND HEART? Which, I wonder...

Thanks for the help, everyone, now I just need to make up my damned mind, eh? lol --Jen from Quebec :0)

I've read Cabal and it's one of my favorites. It's a novella that's a great reflection of some of Clive Barker's better work. Also, The Damnation Game is my favorite book by him. The Great and Secret Show and Everville are technically a two-book series, BUT The Great and Secret Show is the first and arguably the better of the two books, and Everville is not required reading. I found that it paled in comparison.

The Hellbound Heart is 'technically' part of the series as well if you count The Scarlet Gospels. But there's very little which connects the two apart from the character of Pinhead, and can easily be read and considered a standalone (which I do, since I personally think The Scarlet Gospels is kind of terrible). I'd highly recommend that one, probably one of my favourites by him.

I'd also second The Damnation Game.

I strongly recommend any and all of his short story collections.

Bark's Book Nonsense wrote: "Both will give you a good taste of his early writing and aren't enormous tomes!

The Hellbound Heart

Books of Blood: Volume One[book..."
Both are great, and Hellbound Heart is a short read - perfect for getting your feet wet.

And I'll third Damnation Game.

Bark's Book Nonsense wrote: "There are several Hellraiser graphic novels but those are based on the Hellraiser franchise, I'd say go for the Hellbound Heart."

Does anyone have an opinion on whether the graphic novels are worth it, or if the book should be read first, etc?

I would choose Cabal. It is the basis for the awsome movie "Nightbreed." IMO one of the creepiest and best movies ever. I wish he would revisit the world of Cabal.

I have not read the Graphic novels but Clive Barker is a painter, and so he probably had a hand in the artwork, and that can't be bad.

Mixofsunandcloud wrote: "Bark's Book Nonsense wrote: "There are several Hellraiser graphic novels but those are based on the Hellraiser franchise, I'd say go for the Hellbound Heart."

Does anyone have an opinion on whethe..."

I thought they were pretty good but I did get confused with some of the storyline so I think you need to have an understanding of Barkers world.
I've read the Nightbreed graphic novels and thought they were a lot of fun.

I'm a huge Barker fan and have a read almost everything he's put out. I agree that Hellbound Heart, Cabal, or the Books of Blood are an excellent starting point.

Anyone who want's something different (not horror) but, in my opinion, the greatest thing written by Barker should try out Galilee. It's brilliant.

Mixofsunandcloud wrote: "Bark's Book Nonsense wrote: "There are several Hellraiser graphic novels but those are based on the Hellraiser franchise, I'd say go for the Hellbound Heart."

Does anyone have an opinion on whethe..."

The book should be read first to provide backstory and it's highly rated. The graphic novels received lukewarm reception as far as I know and work off the established storyline

The Books of Blood: Volumes One to Three are a wonderful introduction to his work. They're a beautifully crafted collection of short stories, that can easily give you an idea of what his style's like.

The Hellbound Heart is the novella that the movie Hellraiser is based off of. It's a very quick read, and can be read as a stand alone, but if you want more there's a series of comics, the movies, and a recent sequel called The Scarlet Gospels which I have unfortunately not read yet, but I heard it's very loosely connected, and not all that good.

Cabal is another good place to start. It leans a little more to the dark fantasy genre, and it's a full novel, but it's still extremely well written and gives you a good taste of his writing style. This is the book that the movie Nightbreed is based off of.

I recommend to start with Cabal, great story and great introduction to the author work.

Weaveworld is going for 99¢ on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Weaveworld-Cli...

Mister B Gone is a one-off Clive Barker novel which I personally found hugely entertaining.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mister-B-Gon...