Clive Barker "The Books of Blood (30th Anniversary Edition)" Slipcased 6-Volume Boxed Set, Signed Limited Edition No. 131 of 500 [Sealed]

Personally signed by Clive Barker. Signed Limited Edition of only 500 produced.

Subterranean Press 2014. Clive Barker's "The Books of Blood" Signed Limited Edition boxed set. Limited Edition of only 500 produced. This is number 131. Hardcover books with dust-jackets as issued in protective red slipcase. Very Fine, sealed without any flaws. 

The first volume is signed by the author Clive Barker

Clive Barker, the English author, film director and visual artist is best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction.

From the publisher:

When the first three volumes of The Books of Blood appeared in 1984, it was immediately apparent that a writer of extraordinary, perhaps unprecedented gifts had emerged, seemingly out of nowhere. The publication, one year later, of the final three volumes merely strengthened that initial impression. Now, some thirty years after their initial release, The Books of Blood has assumed the status of an undisputed classic.

“The dead have highways,” Barker tells us in the frame tale that begins this collection. He then proceeds to take us on a tour of some of those hidden highways. The tour begins with “The Midnight Meat Train,” one of the most extraordinary urban horror stories ever written, and ends with the novella “The Last Illusion,” the basis for Barker’s 1995 film, Lord of Illusions. In between these narrative bookends, Barker offers us a series of unforgettable images. In “The Body Politic,” a pair of severed hands leads a revolution unlike any you have ever imagined. “Son of Celluloid” features a sentient tumor that comes to astonishing life in a nearly deserted cinema. In the World Fantasy Award-winning “Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament,” a bored and suicidal housewife discovers a lethal capacity to transform the human body. “The Yattering and Jack” presents a comic tour-de-force about the relationship between a minor demon and the man he so unsuccessfully haunts. “The Forbidden,” which inspired the classic horror film Candyman, concerns a graduate student who uncovers the grim secret hidden in a rundown housing project. And in the masterful “Rawhead Rex,” a giant, blatantly phallic entity terrorizes a rural English community.

These are just a few of the extravagant pleasures waiting within these pages. The result is a gigantic treasure trove of unique, often darkly beautiful visions. These visions are accompanied, fittingly enough, by the author’s own original artwork, which serves as the perfect complement to these singular—and immensely entertaining—creations. As disturbing and compelling as they were three decades ago, the stories and novellas gathered here are among the preeminent achievements of late 20th century horror fiction. These are narratives that are built to last. No one who encounters them is ever likely to forget their impact.

This edition was available in the following two states:

1. Limited: 500 numbered six-volume sets, with the first volume signed by the author, housed in a custom slipcase
2. Lettered: 26 specially bound six-volume sets, with the first volume signed by the author, housed in a custom traycase

This listing is for state 1.

"Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red." For those who only know Clive Barker through his long multigenre novels, this one-volume edition of the Books of Blood is a welcome chance to acquire the 16 remarkable horror short stories with which he kicked off his career. For those who already know these tales, the poignant introduction is a window on the creator's mind. Reflecting back after 14 years, Barker writes:

"I look at these pieces and I don't think the man who wrote them is alive in me anymore.... We are all our own graveyards I believe; we squat amongst the tombs of the people we were. If we're healthy, every day is a celebration, a Day of the Dead, in which we give thanks for the lives that we lived; and if we are neurotic we brood and mourn and wish that the past was still present.

Reading these stories over, I feel a little of both. Some of the simple energies that made these words flow through my pen--that made the phrases felicitous and the ideas sing--have gone. I lost their maker a long time ago."

These enthusiastic tales are not ashamed of visceral horror, of blood splashing freely across the page: "The Midnight Meat Train," a grisly subway tale that surprises you with one twist after another; "The Yattering and Jack," about a hilarious demon who possesses a Christmas turkey; "In the Hills, the Cities," an unusual example of an original horror premise; "Dread," a harrowing non-supernatural tale about being forced to realize your worst nightmare; "Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament," about a woman who kills men with her mind. Some of the tales are more successful than others, but all are distinguished by strikingly beautiful images of evil and destruction. No horror library is complete without them. --Fiona Webster

Clive Barker

Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English writer, filmmaker and visual artist. He came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the Books of Blood, which established him as a leading horror writer. He has since written many novels and other works. His fiction has been adapted into films, notably the Hellraiser series, the first installment of which he also wrote and directed, and the Candyman series.

Barker's paintings and illustrations have been shown in galleries in the United States, and have appeared in his books. He has also created characters and series for comic books, and some of his more popular horror stories have been featured in ongoing comics series.

Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer. He has since written many novels and other works, and his fiction has been adapted into motion pictures, notably the Hellraiser and Candyman series.

Clive Barker was born in Liverpool in 1952. He is the worldwide bestselling author of the Books of Blood, and numerous novels including Imajica, The Great and Secret Show, Sacrament and Galilee. In addition to his work as a novelist and short story writer he also illustrates, writes, directs and produces for the stage and screen. His films include Hellraiser, Hellbound, Nightbreed and Candyman. Clive lives in Beverly Hills, California.