For much of the 1980s, it was impossible to pick up any of Clive Barker's books without encountering on the cover this blurb from fright-master Stephen King: "I have seen the future of the horror genre, and his name is Clive Barker." Barker's more recent work, however, does not usually feature the King quotation, and this fact seems to represent his publisher's recognition that Barker has moved beyond the horror genre to become one of the modern masters of fantasy.

Clive Barker grew up in Liverpool, England,—not far from Penny Lane, celebrated in song by his fellow Liverpudlians, the Beatles. He studied literature and philosophy at the University of Liverpool and moved to London after graduation. Barker's first literary efforts took the form of plays which he wrote, directed, and produced, all on the shoestring budget that he was able to scrounge up...