Clive Barker

Clive Barker (born October 5, 1952, Liverpool, England) is a British author, director and visual artist.

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October 5 - 1952 - Liverpool - British

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He studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool University.

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Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, starting out with pure horror writing early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 - 6), and the Faustian novel The Damnation Game. Later he moved towards epic modern-day fantasy with some horror elements. Barker's distinctive style is characterized by the notion of hidden fantastical worlds existing side by side with our own (an idea he shares with contemporary Neil Gaiman), the role of sexuality in the supernatural and the construction of coherent, complex and detailed mythologies.

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Horror - Fantasy - Faustian - The Damnation Game - Neil Gaiman - Supernatural

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When the Books of Blood were first published in the United States in cheap paperback editions, the originality, intensity and overall quality of the stories led popular author Stephen King to say of Barker: "I have seen the future of horror and its name is Clive Barker." (This is a paraphrase of a famous quote said of Bruce Springsteen at the beginning of his career.)

Related Topics:
United States - Paperback - Stephen King - Bruce Springsteen

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A critical analysis of Barker's work appears in S. T. Joshi's The Modern Weird Tale (2001).

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