Clive Barker poll!

[sophiaserpentia]

For a long time Clive Barker has been one of my favorite authors. His novels and movies have been labelled "horror," largely because he is not afraid to shy away from moments of gore or psychological turmoil. But by giving heroes and villians who are at turns flawed and sympathetic he forces us to examine our own motives and inspirations. He is at his best when evoking imagery of other realms, and his stories are just as likely to lead through territory that is as ecstatic as terrifying.

I think of him as the heir to H. P. Lovecraft.

[Poll #230250]

Comments

[alobar.livejournal.com]

I don't do well remembering names so I can't answer most of the questions in your survey. Imagica was great, but the ending seemed real contrived & rather stupid. I like Galilee a whole lot. Is that the only real love story he ever wrote? The tales with Pinhead in them (I don't remember theier names) were quite gripping, but certainly not realms I's enjoy. The premise seemed to have a flawed execution because the puzzle box was supposed to open up more mult-fasceted realms

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

Galilee was in some ways the most sublime novel of his that I've read. It's not the most fascinating, but in some ways it is the deepest.

The second time around I didn't hate the ending to Imajica as much. I recall the first time I read the book, all the dread, and after 900 pages of stuff, the ending seemed extremely anti-climactic. I do wish he could have found a more satisfying way to resolve the major conflicts, but I think maybe Clive wanted to find a way to end his story with something other than a Big Good vs. Evil battle. This second time I read it the ending seemed to work in a poetic sort of way.

The concept of the Hellraiser movies -- a multifaceted realm where pain and pleasure, good and evil are playthings that are mingled in bizarre ways -- didn't translate well in execution. The third film was untrue to the original vision, I think Clive had withdrawn his involvement from the series by that point. I never saw the fourth film.