If you buy this audiobook thinking you will hear a great horror story you will be disappointed. Though it has it's horific moments the book is mainly about the trial of the devil and whether or not he deserves to go back to heaven. The story takes us through various periods in history showing tragic events and letting you decide whether or not the devil was the engineer behind the events or it was merely man's mistakes and judgement. The jury listens and then has to reach a verdict. Throughout his trial however, the devil pleads, cajoles and even seduces various members of the court so that they can see things his way. He even kills one or two of them for fun. Its an entertaining story, a bit campy at times but funny as well. I would not classify it as a horror story though. The production is well done as is all Sci-fi channel's works and the acting is top notch. The devil in particular has a very sexy voice which truly reels you in. I wouldn't mind spending a few hours in hell. give it a listen if you are a lover of sci-fi, fantasy but it will not scare you that much. the ending is a bit of a shocker and the encounter between the devil and Jesus is helarious. It may be a bit offensive to those who are religious but not by much.

Well produced and acted audio play covers the trial of Lucifer himself as he petitions to be returned to heaven. The question for the jury {12 good ghosts and true} to consider is this "Has the devil been the instigator of misery and depredation in human history, or merely a passive observer and collector?"

The writing is uneven at times and the conclusion will not satisfy all {more likely or not it will enrage devout Christians} but the strong performances and effective foley effects and background score make for a worthwhile addition to anyone's audio library.

This is a great book. I've listened to this book and was not dissapointed. I like the horrific, shocking, and the satanic moments which accompanied the stories told by Satan during his trial. I also like how they put choral background music as part of this audio drama. I also like the fireworks that occur later in this book. If there is any amung you who love the things that are satanic! then this book is for you. You won't regret it.

Reading about Clive Barker's polymathic inclinations, one recalls a scene from his book, The Great and Secret Show. In that tale, postal worker Randolph Jaffe, assigned to the dead letter room, unwittingly finds himself at a spiritual crossroads of America. Uncovering hidden truths by exploring the ramblings of the lost, the lonely, and the mad, Jaffe gets a glimpse of other worlds just under the surface of the "real" one.

Clive Barker has also glimpsed other worlds, but rather than driving him mad, these visions have compelled him to communicate what he has seen to others. This compulsion has led him to express himself in a multiplicity of media, including the sketches he drew as a child (and indeed, throughout his life), the plays he wrote in his twenties, the short stories he penned as he matured, the movies he directed, or even now, in the portraits he paints. It is this impulse that Douglas Winter, a polymath in his own right (lawyer, journalist, editor, author, book critic, public speaker), attempts to chronicle and explicate in The Dark Fantastic.

The book is arranged chronologically, following Barker from his early life in Liverpool, to his years on the London theatre scene, culminating in the present day, where we find him in Hollywood at work on his latest undertaking, the multimedia project known as The Abarat Quartet. Winter seems to have had unrestricted access to his subject and to those around him, as he cites knowledge gained from interviews with Barker and a plethora of Barker's family, friends, lovers, ex-lovers and business partners. Although Winter makes no claim of objectivity, he maintains a respectable distance from his subject, providing valuable insights into both the man and his work. Doing so, he makes a convincing case for Barker's inclusion in the pantheon of the leading creators of fantastic literature.

Perhaps the most important revelations are found near the end of the book, where Barker becomes more comfortable with his sexuality, finding true love with photographer David Armstrong. There also, he deals with the death of his father and his subsequent descent into depression. Barker's latest epiphany is the most fascinating, as he comes to realize that hundreds of paintings, seemingly created at random to combat his depression, all contained common themes, themes that eventually coalesced to form the basis of his Abarat Quartet project. The fact that he unconsciously worked his way towards mental health, even while breaking new barriers, is both inspirational and awe inspiring.

The book's upbeat 'ending" (Barker's only fifty as of the publication date) bodes well for the future. Barker, it seems, will continue to receive messages from other realities, filtering them through his artistic sensibilities to make them more palatable to us lesser mortals. We, the audience, merely have to open our minds, experience his work, and learn. By allowing Barker to take us to other worlds, we can more easily absorb the lessons he has to teach us about our own.

I do not often read biographies, but since Clive Barker is one of my favorite authors and I enjoy his writing so much, I figured I would give this book a shot. First off, if this book were just about the life of Clive, it would be at probably only half as long. Winter uses much of the book as an in-depth critical analysis of Barker's fiction. At first I didn't like this method, and if you are not familiar with all of the works he discusses, the respective sections may not be as informative. However, as I read more and more of the book, it became clear that Winter was not only analyzing Barker's fiction, but Barker himself as well. At times this works wonderfully, shedding light not only on Barker as a writer and person, but on the process of creating art and literature. I learned a lot about writing and many times discovered things in his fiction that I had not seen before. Thus, if one was rereading Barker's works, Winter's book could be an insightful commentary. The only problem that I had with the book was that at some points if felt not like a biography but only a critical interpretation of certain pieces. The in-depth analysis of most pieces of Barker's work seemed a little overboard for a biography. Otherwise, this is a very well-written, insightful, and overall entertaining book. A must for any fan of Barker, fantastic fiction, or an interest in creativity in general, since Barker seems to leave very few creative endeavors unexplored.

Although, as always, the stories are a very nice read, they don't come accross as plays. Only one of the three plays would be managable on stage, and even then difficult for an audience. The other two are nearly impossible. Still a nice read though.

I am very happy with all the Clive Barkers works. I can't figure out how he writes all these great stuff. His imagination is out of this world. I love reading it. He sends my mind flying.

This book is of very good quality, hard back, and white pages. It's got some nice black and white pictures of Diamanda in it, but in my opinion, it could have been a few more. It's nice to have all the lyrics, however, there are no lyrics for her album "The Sporting Life" and several passages from "Plague Mass" are missing. But the texts for "Vena Cava" are absolutley funny!

A collection of writings culled from Diamanda's performance texts and notes, the works comprising this book read well as poems and prose pieces, and give readers valuable insight into Galas's message and methods of composition. The words lose none of their power when relocated to the page from Galas' vocal projection. Galas, as studied a theologian as any produced by the clergy, here turns the Fundamentalist perspective on Chirstianity on its head; she utilizes the Bible as a springboard for her meditations on the right of the afflicted (particularly People With AIDS and the insane) to compassion and the immunity of the diseased from judgement by man. Ultimately, she creates a new vehicle of empowerment for the heretofore "victimized." Aligning herself with the condemned, the castigated and the demonized, she emerges as the avatar of the Holy, seen robed in the filth of the Rebel by the warped visions of the hypocrite evangelist. Known until now as "The Voice," Diamanda Galas here proves herself just as moving and effective in her role as "The Writer."

European imports Clive Barker & Neil Gaiman have spoken of their dislike of Tolkien in print, Barker whose initial fame has worn thin over the years mistakes political correctness for depth (like his fellow "special interest" fantasist Ursula Le Guin) that his literary themes will soon parallel theme parks in Disney Land just confirms the superficial nature of much of his writing. Gaiman billed as one of the top post-modern writers reveals the cut & paste method of character development and his works are ideally suited for video game developers and Quentin Tarrantino. Both are limited to the London rave scene and U.S. equivalents in their appeal. And both lack the numinous "extra literary" qualities of Tolkien & C.S. Lewis and their successors like Stephen R. Donaldson or even Stephen King.

i love clive barker, but he should stick to writing books and not just pick through his old books and put bits and pieces of them all in a book just to make a dime. if you want to read some of barkers works read the actual books! i am sorry to inform the other four dimwits who reviewed it but this book is not good at all. i had to force myself to read it it was so dull. and if you are wondering why i bought it, i didn't i recieved it as a gift and that is the only excuse i can think of for owning this book.

The Essential Clive Barker (019529-0) will prove important to any who are avid followers of his various horror and supernatural scenes and writings. For over twenty years Barker has created distinguished and vivid horror scenes: this provides a range of his writings, from early works to recent literary novels. Excerpts from plays and short stories are included within thirteen themes which examine his works.

Now who's the clueless bonehead who orders a book called "... drama training" and thinks its a horror story. Jeez. Too much television.

I haven't read this, sorry. But I wanted to stop anyone who thinks this might be Clive Barker, novelist. It isn't, trust me (I waited months for a copy of this book only to find out too late

This is a book meant for someone who works actively with theatre (both professionals and amateurs). The focus of this book is how to use children games in actor training. The concept was new and unusual when Clive Barker developed it 30-40 years ago, but is now used by many actors and teachers. The book is full of practical exercises but present also a very valuable theoretical foundation for this kind of work. I read this book for the first time about 20 years ago, and it is still one of those books that I come back to and finds valuable information and inspiration from.

In this book Clive Barker introduces a concept of "Body Think" - a new concept at that time when he wrote this book, and a concept that is meant as a practical way to deal with the kind of non-logical-thinking that an actors has to work with. Since then people like Howard Gardner has introduced theories about 'Multiple Intelligence's' which has gained a general acceptance all over the world. Clive Barkers writings about the actors use of 'Body Think' gives additional information to what Howard Garner calls 'Spatial Intelligence' and ''Bodily- kinaesthetic Intelligence'. It can probably be very useful to read Clive Barkes book alongside Howard Gardners books (Frames of Mind, The Arts and Human Development, Multiple Intelligence - The Theory in Practice). Also Daniel Goleman's book on Emotional Intelligence might be a good companion.

Clive Barker's book is a very good book that presents theoretical concepts as well as practical methods that makes sense in the daily practical work of an actor. In many ways this book is much more useful than the famous books of Stanislavsky.

I'm a big fan of Heinlein in general -- both pre- and post- "Stranger in a Strange Land". I've read nearly all of his novels, and enjoyed them all -- except for this one. I had a problem with how unlikeable the "hero" was and how unrealistic his interactions with the other characters were. Usually I like character motivation and behavior to flow with the plot more realistically, even in fantastic situations like science fiction novels. That didn't really happen for me with this book, though. The "hero" seemed to be there more as a mouthpiece for a political philosophy, and that kind of soapboxing by an author often overshadows the story itself. It certainly did in this case for me. I wouldn't recommend this as your first Heinlein novel.

I picked this book up in the store because it looked interesting... then didn't put it down again until I'd read the whole thing three times. Heinlein became one of my favorite science fiction authors as a result. A futuristic "What is the world coming to?" type novel that can be likened to "1984", "The Handmaid's Tale" or "Brave New World", Heinlein puts his own spin on things, and it's decidedly more human than some of the afore-mentioned books (although I love them all dearly). Intelligent and sometimes downright astounding, the character relationships are much more clearly drawn and developed than in your standard run-of-the-mill pulp sci-fi that gets pumped out by the publishing machine. If you read one Heinlein, this should be it, although I am not knocking "Stranger In A Strange Land". While I have not found any of RAH's other works to live up to the standard he set for me with this one, I would still highly recommend trying any of his works.

I have been reading RAH's works since 1961. I was about nine years old when I picked up "Starship Troopers" at the library. Little did I know that this man would become a central figure in my literary world for years to come. From then on I was hooked on his books. When I had read all of the Heinlein books at the library, I began to prowl the local used paperback book stores looking for his SF treasures. I even rode a bus for two hours once to another city because one store had a copy of "Methuselah's Children". I was eleven then. My old man had a field day on my rear end when he found out about that one. It was worth it. Anyway, "Farnhams Freehold" is an excellent example of what a true survivor must do, whether they like it or not, to get by. I liked the book as a child because it was an adventure! I liked it as I grew older because of Hugh's tough no nonsense attitude when it came to everyone's well being. Hugh was smart eno! ugh to knuckle under while he was a slave so he could gain the trust of his captors. In todays world that is called sucking up. He had his reasons though and used this ploy to his, the twins and Barbara's advantage. I would recommend this book to anyone who isn't thin skinned and a whiner.

...

I used to enjoy his books, but with "Books Of Blood III" I suddenly realized what a pile of [junk] is this all about... This guy must be really sick to write such dement histories... He has no limits. In this book, a monster (Rawhead Rex) decapitates the head of a child, swallow it!

What kind of joy can one obtain by reading such kind of literature? None. It will only pollute your brain with blood, death, pain and depravity. I reazlize it only now, after reading a lot of Barker's books...

This was a great book. Full of gore, humor and an intensity which makes you want to keep going. (Too bad the book is only about 400 pages though)

I have personally read the first two volumes of the "Books of Blood" and think the first one is the best. This particular volume follows suit to Barker's previous books, but is kinda of the same hack, dice, slice, squash, eat, destroy material that we have read in previous volumes. Barker is delightfully disgusting all the way through the novel in both detail and imagery. However I thought "Confession of a (Pornographer's) Shroud" was an excellent tail of venegeance on the author's behalf.

All in all, if you in enjoyed the series already I would recommend this book to complete the collection. If you HAVEN'T read the other two novellas then I would recommend the first volume over this one. In any case, you will get your money's worth.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Each story is very well written and has a good storyline and intersting characters. The themes of these stories are in some cases tried and tested favourites such as doppelgangers, buried monsters awoken and revenge beyond the grave. Others are completely new like the concept of an island made of the bodies of the drowned, and of a cancerous tumor continuing to grow after it's victims death and developing a twisted mind of it's own - as well as incredible powers over human perception.

This is among the best collection of short stories I have ever read, some of them even better than similar length stories by Stephen King. The books of blood are all excellent.

I would recommend this book to any fan of the horror genre, but I would even more strongly recommend that you buy the omnibus edition of volumes one to three.

I have now bought parts four to six and am looking forward to reading them. This second omnibus includes 'The inhuman condition', 'The last illusion' (On which the film 'lord of the illusions' was based), and 'In the flesh' -All released as separate mini-novels. The second omnibus is not available from amazon.com at present but can be found at amazon.co.uk.

Words fail me, which is not usual at all. All I can say is if they decide to do another one of these things for God's sake pick an editor that knows what he's doing!

Well, I finished revelations ed by Douglas E. Winter. I appreciate what he tried to do here, a novel of short stories, and it was a good idea, but it just seemed to fall flat. I could never quite see the connection between the stories. But it fell short. And I was surprised that this wasn't that great, because Winter put together _Prime Evil_, which I truly enjoyed.

Clive Barker's wraparound story wasn't very good. It had some interesting parts to it, but really, not his best work. Landsdale, who wrote the first story (each story took place in a different decade...but I'm not sure when barker's story took place) wasn't too bad. David Morrell's story I'd say the same about. F. Paul Wilson's story about Nazi Germany was excellent. Probably the best in the book. Poppy Z. Brite and Christa Faust's story was a good one. charles grant's story wasn't bad. Whitley Streiber wrote an unintelligable, very bad story for the 50s decade. I never really caught on to what was happening. Elizabeth massie wrote what would be the second best story in the book, it too was excellent. Matheson, who I know is a good writer wrote some garbage for the book...it sucked. David J. Schow and Craig Spector wrote a story for this book that was okay, it was almost good, but something is missing from it (hmm...I wonder if that'd be Skipp). And since at least half of this book was bad, I was worried when I got to the last decade/story which was written by ramsey campbell. Luckily he wrote a pretty good story.

Doug Winter has outdone himself. This assemblage of writers and stories is guaranteed to thrill and chill you. The Joe Lansdale story is worth the purchase price alone. It will (allegorically and literally) blow you away. Clive Barker's "bookend" pieces are also fantastic. There are no weak links in the century long chain in this book. This is what an anthology should be like

...I have thoroughly enjoyed Clive Barker's work (this is my ninth Barker book) and it is difficult to believe that Galilee was penned by the same man who wrote the classic "Books of Blood". I think Barker wanted it to be...He was trying to do "something different", "something epic", and it just went horribly, horribly wrong. The master of horror decided here to change pace and write about two great families (one human, one "divine") and their rivalry throughout the years. The more boring the character, the larger their role in this overwrought saga...The romantic leads are particularly unsympathtic and unconvincing. Yes, the book has its moments, but there are far too few of them in a 650-page book. It was painful to get through hundreds and hundreds of pages of romanticized [writing], that might sound beautiful as poetry, but does not advance the plot in the slighest. Highly disappointing.....and Clive actually has the nerve to set us up for a sequel. ...

The master of horror and oddly fantastic worlds has underdone himself with Galilee. It is a fasinating story of two warring families that leads the reader into thinking that there is going to be a catastrophic battle, all in the name of love. The story drags on and on with promisses of war, death and destruction but to which none ever happens. The book is filled with all sorts of information, past and present, and takes the reader through the ages of time but does little in what we expect to happen. I was hooked for the first half of the book but then I just wanted to finish it. Read it if you are a Barker fan but be forewarned that it is NOT what you are used to. It could have been condensed and made shorter and I think the author ran out of material to work with in the end. I would compare this novel to Rose Madder by Stephen King but Rose Madder is a better read.

Many, many years ago, I reluctantly picked up my first Clive Barker novel. I expected it to be a "classic horror" with a monster, stupid women, lots of blood, etc., etc. However, and much to my delight, I was wrong. Barker's books are wonderful and image provoking tales that can leave a reader breathless and wanting for more. When I read "The Great and Secret Show" I was spellbound by the image of a hole opening up in the space between me and the wall. If you've read the book, you know what I mean. I have also noticed that the hero in a Barker novel is almost always a woman. It is truly a pleasure that a man can see deeper than a woman's good looks to her inner strength. "Galilee" is yet another work of art depicting strong women, a fabulous tale and characters that you'd love to believe are real. A must read....