Book Review: Books Of Blood, Volumes 1-3
Anthologies, short stories, collections are all descriptions that I usually steer clear of. I generally avoid short stories in favor of full novels, I like the chance to settle down with a story. The leisure of getting to know the characters, understanding the setting and time and setting of a story. Barker manages to write a series of unique horror stories. The most riveting of which is the book’s name sake, a story of a fraud who is punished by being inscribed with the confessions of the unsettled dead. The beauty of the anthology is that it ranges from the genuinely creepy to the farcical. A accountant devoid of vice, seeks his post mortem revenge on smut peddlers. A seemingly oblivious man outwits a demon, his only weapon a facade of stupidity. A talking pig, alas it is not as benevolent as Charlotte’s Wilbur. Faustian bargains, Golems, doppelgangers, demon’s. The variety of the stories did not leave anything to complain about. The farcical stories leave you glued to the page,