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 Sacrament by Clive Barker
reviewed by Underview
Original appearance: Albedo one issue 12, 1996
Clive Barker has come a long way from his Books of Blood. Although there is violent death stalking the pages of Sacrament, it is a much subtler beast than that which left its bloody footprints across his early works. Nor is death the worst that his protagonists have to fear. For some of them the threat of life is far worse. As is often the case in the mundane everyday world we ourselves inhabit.
It is from this mundane world that Clive Barker draws his power. His characters inhabit it and are of it. Their concerns likewise. Even the subtle horrors that stalk the pages of Sacrament must inhabit our world, though they are definitely not of it. They encapsulate the dread and wonder of the unknown, perhaps the unknowable. They are the stuff of our darkest dreams and we know them. And fear them. They may be waiting for us around the next dark corner. We are vulnerable to them when the sun is gone and we are alone. We whistle to ward off the silence that a single alien footstep can shatter. Forever.
Will Rabjohns is a successful wildlife photographer whose life work has been the chronicling of the death of species. In documenting the degradation of polar bears, forced to feed off a rubbish tip, he is attacked and mauled. The ensuing months of coma give his mind the freedom to travel the forgotten or sublimated roads of his past, of the tragedy of his perfect brother's early death, the gradual destruction of his parents' marriage and the erosion of their sanity.
Will could never match up to his brother when he was alive. In death there was no contest. Running away from the pain and self-destruction of his mother's mourning, Will encounters a man and a woman in the wilds of Yorkshire, near his home. They are preternaturally attractive and possessed of unusual powers. Will makes a psychical connection with the man, Jacob Steep, during which he meets a youthful artist and later is shown the artist's corpse, upon which a fox has fed. Steep's companion, Rosa McGee, has a talent for murder which she adequately displays to the locals and the couple are forced to flee the area.
When Will awakens from his coma he wanders listlessly through the remains of his old life in San Francisco, meeting old friends and revisiting old lovers. Faced with the reality of a lifestyle that has forever been transformed by AIDS and an increasing list of friends among the victims, Will dabbles at living until an accident to his father forces him to return home where he will confront the past. To survive the confrontation Will must discover the true nature of Jacob Steep and Rosa McGee, along with the dead artist from his vision.
Sacrament is a mature and considered novel. It ponders the nature of the human condition and, while it treats us to no great insights, it invites us to view the shadowy outlands we might never see without his guidance. If there is knowledge to be gleaned from novels, even those presented as mere entertainment, then perhaps Clive Barker has some for us in Sacrament. It feels fuller than his previous offerings, perhaps because it is more honest about the author, exploring areas he may previously have been afraid of and allowing his metaphor hold a mirror up to life.
Rawhead Rex
reviewed by XXXXX
Original appearance: Albedo one issue ??, date?
Whether you are a fan or not it would be difficult not to be impressed by RAWHEAD REX, which is a CLIVE BARKER story adapted by STEVE NILES and drawn by LES EDWARDS. This story was also made into a film, though my friends who have seen it tell me it is an awful mess.
So for those who enjoy the work of Clive Barker and would like to see a graphic version of the story I can do no more that recommend this unreservedly. The storyline concerns an old evil resurrected from the tomb in which he had been trapped. Driven by a lust for blood and revenge it sets about destroying the village nearest its erstwhile grave. To be honest this is a simple linear plot with few twists or surprises but the story is so well told both in words and pictures that there is nothing more it needs.
It takes seven pages for the pastoral quiet of the opening panels to be shattered and from there onwards the only description for the violence and terror portrayed is graphic. There are no nits to be picked in this one - it is top class stuff on all fronts from beginning to end.
There is a second story TWILIGHT AT THE TOWERS, once again adapted by STEVE NILES but with HECTOR GOMEZ taking care of the artwork. The sheer power of the first story prevents me from staying OTT while talking about this one. Its possibly a better story per se, more intelligent but more restrained and in this format restrained is not the name of the game. If TWILIGHT were a boxer it would be Chris Eubank. RAWHEAD REX is Mike Tyson force fed on a mixture of speed and steroids.
Clive Barker - Mythmaker For The Milllennium
by Susan J. Barbieri
reviewed by Underview
Original appearance: Albedo one issue 7, 1995
CLIVE BARKER - MYTHMAKER FOR THE MILLENIUM, written by SUSAN J. BARBIERI, with internal illustrations by Pete Queally is the first publication from the British Fantasy Society and when I saw it advertised my first thought was: "Great. This deserves support." My second thought was: "It's got illustrations by Pete Queally. I've got to get my hands on a copy."
Having internal illustrations by Pete Queally means I'm going to be biased toward the publication, whatever it is, because I've always been a big fan of his artwork and he drew my favourite illustration of a story written by me. As I am also involved in small press publishing I therefore have sympathy for the goals of others involved in this area of endeavour. It must also be said that I'm a big fan of Clive Barker and an in-depth critical study of his work is exactly the sort of thing I would look forward to curling-up with in front of a blazing log fire of an evening. So I feel it only fair to preface my comments with my obvious lack of objectivity.
With all that bias in its favour I am astounded by just how negatively I feel about the book(let) now that I've got it in my hands and have digested its contents. Not that the digestion took long. When I finished I found myself going back through the pages and counting things. For instance, there are twenty-six full (or nearly full) pages of text. There are another thirteen partial pages of text - half pages or less. Eleven of the others are given over to chapter titles or quotations in large print. Then there are ten half page illustrations and a single full page illustration by the aforementioned Pete Queally. And lastly the cover drawing is repeated twice internally.
Even the text pages themselves are not entirely devoted to the scholarly study which this extended pamphlet purports to be. There's a foreword by the scriptwriter of HELLRAISER and a three page extract from EVERVILLE.
I'm afraid my personal conclusion must be that Ms Barbieri had so little to say about Clive Barker it was necessary to put more padding than actual essay between the covers. Now I don't blame Suzanne J. Barbieri, she is, after all, merely the writer. The blame must be firmly placed where it belongs, upon the shoulders of the person (or persons) who commissioned the work or who allowed it to be published.
The actual meat of the 'study' could, at best, have been stretched into a two part article for Critical Wave or SF Eye. But what Ms Barbieri actually has to say, apart from running through a list of his books and discussing some of the characters from her (possibly) unique viewpoint, could really be contained in a pretty short essay if edited properly.
I am sorry to have to say that CLIVE BARKER - MYTHMAKER FOR THE MILLENIUM is an ill-conceived mess. It is also a very expensive mess and nothing can conceal the fact that it is very bad value. The justification for small press publications is normally that they handle subjects or writers that the mainstream press will not. And often (but not always) the production values will be less than professional. But this does not necessarily mean that the work is second-rate, merely less commercial than would be viable for a major publishing house. But even if this booklet had been written by a well known critic (John Brosnan, for instance) and published by Harper Collins in paperback - unlikely as that scenario may be - it would not cost £4.99, because it could not command £4.99 on the shelves of the local bookshop.
Unfortunately value is not the only criteria upon which this publication stumbles. I would find it difficult to recommend it at any price. It is really just a padded-out magazine article and not a particularly enlightening one either. So despite everything, especially Pete Queally's drawings (and even these are of variable quality but still give an indication at least of his immense talent) I have to say 'Sorry folks, better luck next time'. And, though it may be difficult to believe, I do hope there will be a next time for the BFS as publishers.
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