SOURCE: Joshi, S. T. “The Persistence of Supernaturalism.” In The Modern Weird Tale, pp. 50-132. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 2001.

In the following excerpt, Joshi contends there are conceptual flaws in Barker's short stories and novels.

Clive Barker: Sex, Death, and Fantasy

When Clive Barker's Books of Blood were published by Sphere Books in London in 1984-85, the world took notice. Hitherto known only as a dramatist whose plays had been performed but not published, Barker (b. 1952) accomplished a feat almost unheard of in publishing by having not one but six paperback volumes of his short stories issued by a major firm. At a time when even established authors in the field had difficulty in publishing collections of short fiction, Barker's achievement was more than unusual. Barker has now issued a novel, The Damnation Game (1985), a novella, The Hellbound Heart (1986), and three more novels, Weaveworld (1987), The Great and...