On Thursday, August 20, a most intriguing post appeared on Kickstarter.com: headlined “Three New Books from Clive Barker,” it’s all about LIBRARY OF THE DEAD, an upcoming three volume anthology, edited by the Barker scholars Phil and Sarah Stokes, that promises to be “the spiritual successor to his debut BOOKS OF BLOOD.”
Clive Barker, for those who don’t know, was for a time the hottest name in horror fiction (after Stephen King), with a veritable empire of novels, self-directed films and comics, all of which were jump-started by the abovementioned six-volume anthology BOOKS OF BLOOD (1984-85). In recent years Barker has fallen silent, felled by an induced coma in 2012 whose after effects have lingered over the ensuing 14 years. Among other things, he’s been beset by an all-too-common issue among artists in decline: the attention of profit-minded hangers-on, or as Barker himself termed them, “parasites.” To wit: “When I came out of that coma, I had a lot that I owned removed…by people I (trusted). Everything I had, had been taken.”
The appearance of LIBRARY OF THE DEAD should be welcome news, representing a long-in-coming return to form by an author who in his post-BOOKS OF BLOOD years focused primarily on fantasy epics that weren’t without interest, but didn’t approach the impact of his early work. The Kickstarter page states as much, promising a “return to the raw, visionary storytelling that has defined him as a master of the macabre.”
Welcome back, Clive Barker
Sounds good, but I’m a bit concerned. Barker’s abovementioned lament about the “parasites” that have assailed him recalls the sad case of Salvador Dali (1904-1989), who according to one quote “died surrounded by vultures,” and, more recently, Marvel legend Stan Lee (1922-2018), who likewise had to contend with vultures of his own making (as depicted in the 2026 documentary STAN LEE: THE FINAL CHAPTER). I sincerely hope Barker isn’t being taken advantage of in a similar way, but certain aspects of the LIBRARY OF THE DEAD Kickstarter page are raising suspicion.
I’m especially struck by the “Note From Clive Barker” contained on the page. It begins with the claim that “after a period of ill health, I am celebrating my full recovery and excited to be generating new work” in books he promises will be “every bit as intense and shocking as” BOOKS OF BLOOD. Furthering the BoB connection, the more deep-pocketed backers of this project will receive a BOOKS OF BLOOD REMASTERED EDITION (are these books Blu-rays?) and miscellaneous tchotchkes like a coffin-shaped bookcase and an art portfolio.
Given that Barker has been battling ill health for nearly two decades (having been an avid early-00s horror convention goer, I can attest that he was in decline long before 2012), and is now well into his seventies, I question how “fully recovered” and “excited” he truly is. I’ll also have to raise questions about Barker’s lucidity (it wasn’t too long ago, let’s not forget, that the internet had given him up for dead); it’s not at all farfetched to opine that his note was written by others, and that it doesn’t entirely reflect his true sentiments.
Another point of concern: the books’ contents, which are left vague outside a promise of “new original tales along with rare and harder to find short horror fiction from Clive Barker that have been curated for this set.” I have a sneaking suspicion that the latter material will outweigh the former; I find I’m getting Harlan Ellison vibes, i.e. flashbacks to the collections Ellison self-published in his final years that turned out to consist almost entirely of previously published slop. I’m also flashing back to Barker’s own SCARLET GOSPELS (2015), a long-awaited opus that arrived in heavily rewritten (and not by Barker himself), abbreviated and, ultimately, disappointing form
Furthermore, why is LIBRARY OF THE DEAD being published through Kickstarter? I understand Barker is no longer the A-list author he once was, but the BOOKS OF BLOOD remain popular in horror circles, and a like-minded collection could undoubtedly attract the attention of a major, or even semi-major, publisher. Kickstarter publishing, I should add, is something that has been steadily gaining traction. It seems like an impractical and ungainly distribution method, but obviously I’m in the minority on this issue. In this particular case, I just hope Clive Barker himself approved.
Having said all that, I’ll confess that I’m among the many people who’ve donated to this project, having dropped in excess of $100 to get copies of these books. Clearly I’m not alone, as the project, with 12 days to go, has amassed close to a million dollars (on an initial goal of $25,000). Apprehensive I may be, but the potential rewards these books offer the Barker fanatic, which I most certainly am, are many. We’ll just have to wait and see.