In the Flesh

great item. great quality

Believe it or not, I would consider In The Flesh (which is volume five of the books of blood) to actually be the weakest of all six volumes. This doesn't speak to the stories being bad, but rather to the strength of the other volumes. It's pretty clear after the first three horrific volumes, Barker started going more into the dark fantasy. While I loved the gut-wrenching horror of the earlier volumes, Barker's dark fantasy is still done masterfully.To be completely honest, my rating of four stars is probably due to the fact that I've read enough of Clive Barker that his impressive imagination isn't quite as amazing to me as it used to be (though it's still powerful). I felt for the first time that Barker's stories were a tiny bit formulaic, meaning that wierd and bizzare things are going to happen in the story, it's just a matter of how you get there that is different (such as a jail cell, abandoned buildings, and a woman driving down an unknown road).Here's a quick breakdown of the stories:In The Flesh: One of the stories I felt was slightly formulaic, where a man in jail gets a new cellmate who's grandfather was hung at the same prison many years before. Slightly predictable, didn't have the same bang to it that some of Barker's other stories. I did like the setting however.The Forbidden: Good story, and I liked it because it offered a bit of variety, whereas there wasn't too much dark fantasy, more like a straight up thriller for the most part. My second favorite story.The Madonna: Another good story, typical Barker, but well fleshed-out and written very well. My personal favorite storyBabel's Children: Very interesting story, even for Barker's imagination. The concept is quite good, and there's a heavy dose of mystery in this story up to a point. Not quite amazing, but a nice finish to the books of blood for me.If you've read and enjoyed other volumes of The Books of Blood, then you'll know what to expect with In The Flesh. Even when his stories aren't at full strength, they are still pretty potent.

This is a review of the publisher, not the author. Clive Barker is an excellent writer and I love reading him. This edition has many spelling and syntax errors, possibly grammar ones, too. Please proofread your publications in the future.

Good quality, came in on time

In the Flesh consists of four short stories: In the Flesh, The Forbidden, The Madonna, and Babel's Children. The first two stories mentioned are well-written horror stories. The story In the Flesh makes this read worth it, by far the best of the four, fans of the Books of Blood will once again recognize the saying: "The dead have highways," only in this story the reader sees where those highways lead to. The Forbidden though a clever ghost story was also disappointing, primarily if the reader has seen the film "Candyman" prior to reading the story. The Madonna and Babel's Children were probably the weakest and most disappointing stories, not horror and not as imaginative as one would expect from Barker.

I love Clive Barker. This one was no exception. The copy I got was in perfect condition too, even though the description was just good condition.

This is a book of short stories some of which are very strange. I didnt think these were Barkers best effort,

Awesome1

Not one of Barkers most memorable books I have to admit. The book it's self was over and done with very quickly. The storyline however was as good as ever. Recommended for Barker readers

Great Barker stories

In the Flesh...one of a trilogy to be enjoyed as part of the Clive Barker experience...order, read and recommend..a page turner.