Books of Blood

Books of Blood are a series of horror fiction collections written by the British author Clive Barker. There are six books in total, each simply subtitled Volume 1 through to Volume 6, and were subsequently re-published in two omnibus editions containing three volumes each. Each volume contains four or five stories. The volume 1-3 omnibus was published with a foreword by Barker's fellow Liverpudlian Ramsey Campbell. They were published between 1984 and 1985. With the publication of the first volume, Barker became an overnight sensation and was hailed by Stephen King as "the future of horror". The book won both the British and World Fantasy Awards. Although undoubtedly horror stories, like most of Barker's work they mix fantasy themes in as well. The tales invariably take place in a contemporary setting, usually featuring everyday people who become embroiled in terrifying or mysterious events. Barker has stated in Faces of Fear that an inspiration for The Books of Blood was when heread Dark Forces in the early 1980s and realized that a horror story collection must not have any narrow themes, consistent tone or restrictions.