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Clive Barker



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"The Age Of Desire"
© 1986, The Inhuman Condition
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ wonder award
--/ shock value


"A group of scientists are doing experiments with hallucinogenic love drugs. A victim of one such Aphrodisiac experiment runs away from the lab and soon things start to get very nasty..."
review: 31-Aug-06 (read in 1994)

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"The Body Politic"
© 1986, The Inhuman Condition
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ idea award
--/ wonder award
--/ shock value


Totally "Weird Tales" material. This story introduced me to Barker, and installed a healthy respect for that crazy writer. Something that Fritz Leiber wrote in good old days: an alienation of our body (starting with hands). "Charlie has the strangest thoughts. He thinks his hands are planning a revolt, plotting against him and the whole human race. Crazy, right? Well...when he wakes up to find that his hands have done, he's not so sure any more"
review: 31-Aug-06 (read in 1994)

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"The Books Of Blood"
© Berkley, 1984
--collection/anthology : 1985 World Fantasy W
--collection : 1985 Locus

--/ fourth place dark f collection
--/ wonder award
--/ shock value


"Confessions Of A Shroud"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ wonder award
--/ shock value


"Down, Satan"
© 1986, The Inhuman Condition

"Dread"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ cool dark f story
--/ shock value

"Hell's Event"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ cool dark f story
--/ shock value

"Hellraiser" (nv)
© 1988, Dell Books
--/ cool dark f novel
--/ shock value

"Human Remains"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ shock value

"Imajica" (nv)
© 1991, Dell Books
--horror/dark fantasy novel : 1992 Locus /2
--Translated Novel : 1998 Imaginaire W

--/ cool dark f novel

"In The Hills, The Cities"
© Berkley, 1984
--short fiction : 1985 British Fantasy W
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ idea award
--/ wonder award
--/ shock value


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"The Inhuman Condition"
© 1986, The Inhuman Condition
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ wonder award
--/ shock value


"A guy and his friends beat up a vagrant for fun, stealing from him a piece of knotted rope... That same day, the guy who took the knotted rope from the vagrant,begins to unravel it.With the unravelling of the rope his friends suddenly start to die out,one by one...And a lot of evil starts to be unleashed.The same vagrant whom was a victim has to help the guy battle this evil." A blockbuster for the senses, with a crazy monster-creation twist.
review: 31-Aug-06 (read in 1994)

----------------------------------------------



"The Inhuman Condition" (coll)
(also as "The Book of Blood IV")
© Simon & Schuster, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f collection
--/ wonder award
--/ shock value

A scary and sobering collection of dark fantasy tales. Barker has a wicked imagination and these offerings are not for the faint of heart. However no one can deny the intensity and sheer "pop-culture" brilliance of some of the stories, which have become essential reading for any modern-day pulp-terror fiction reader. Here is the blurb from Amazon: "A master storyteller and unrivaled visionary, Clive Barker has mixed the real and unreal with the horrible and wonderful in more than twenty years of fantastic fiction. The Inhuman Condition is a masterwork of surrealistic terror, recounting tragedy with pragmatism, inspiring panic more than dread and evoking equal parts revulsion and delight."
review: 31-Aug-06 (read in 1994)

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"Jacquiline Ess: Her Will and Testament"
© Berkley, 1984
--novella : 1985 World Fantasy
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ wonder award
--/ shock value


"The Midnight Meat Train"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ wonder award
--/ shock value


"New Murders In The Rue Morgue"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ shock value

"On Jerusalem Street"
© Berkley 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ shock value

"Pig Blood Blues"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ shock value

"Rawhead Rex"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ shock value

----------------------------------------------



"Revelations"
© 1986, The Inhuman Condition
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ shock value

"A modern day ghost story with a small twist. An evangelsit and his troupe check into a motel where a murder most foul had taken place...so do the deceased couple, for they're there to recreate the murder or try and reconcile, who can tell. Witty and strange."
review: 31-Aug-06 (read in 1994)

----------------------------------------------

"Scapegoats"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ shock value

"Sex, Death And Starshine"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ shock value

"The Skins Of The Fathers"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ shock value

"Son Of Celluloid"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ idea award
--/ wonder award
--/ shock value


"The Yattering And Jack"
© Berkley, 1984
--/ fourth place dark f story
--/ shock value

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"SF&F Reading Experience" is part of "Dark Roasted Blend / Thrilling Wonder" family of sites. We try to highlight the most entertaining and rewarding science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on memorable reader experience, not necessarily general acceptance by the critics. Have fun, and delve into our extensive ratings and reviews!

Most reviews are written by Avi Abrams, unless otherwise noted. Reviews also appear on our unique historical retrospective page Wonder Timeline of Science Fiction. Feel free to submit your own review, if a particular story is not listed here.


All major OFFICIAL AWARDS are highlighted in BLUE
("winner" has a letter "W" by it, otherwise it is a runner-up only)

Our PERSONAL AWARDS (ratings) are highlighted in RED and PURPLE:
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--/ cool : (equal to fifth place)
ALL "BEST OF" LISTS ARE LOCATED HERE

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Also, there are our personal STYLE / GENRE SPECIFIC AWARDS. These reflect the story's content and the lasting impression on the reader:

--/ wonder award
sense-of-wonder, "visual intensity" and inventiveness

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