Helpful Score: 2
Clive Barker is a favorite of mine. His plots and characters are always quirky, which makes for interesting reading. Cabal is no exception.
Helpful Score: 2
If you like horror this is a good one...a selection of stories by one of the most darkest authors.
Helpful Score: 2
A collection of short stories including "Cabal" which was later made into a feature film entitled "Nightbreed".
Helpful Score: 1
This book consists of the novella 'Cabal,' the story which the movie
'Nightbreed' was based on, and four short stories: The Life Of Death, How Spoilers Bleed, Twilight At The Towers & The Last Illusion.
'Cabal' shows Barker at the height of his obsession with grotesque
sensuality. It begins with Boone, a mentally disturbed man who had
recently hoped he had been getting his life together and making a new start. he recently met a girlfriend, Lori, and things had been going well. But now, his psychologist has convinced him that he is actually a brutal serial killer who has been repressing the memories of his atrocious crimes. Right here, it seems this would be enough a a premise for a work of psychological horror - but Barker quickly
changes tack and introduces the shadowy world of Midian - an
underworld populated by monsters - but monsters who desperately needed a refuge from the horrors of our mundane life.
Boone and Lori's flight from the deranged doctor, and their efforts to expose his deeds, are action-filled enough, but the really significant part of the story is Barker's morally ambiguous Nightbreed and their world, delicately and sympathetically portrayed, even while filled with unpleasantly corporeal and carnal details. While acknowledging that some outcasts are cast out for good reason, Barker also makes his case, eloquently, for the need for a refuge for all those with dark secrets, for those driven to desperation.
'The Life Of Death' - a woman who has just - barely - survived a
dangerous surgery has become oddly obsessed with death. She, driven by curiosity, ventures secretly into a just-dug-up plague crypt. In a bizarre state of mind, she becomes convinced that a man she meets there is Death. But is her strange state of mind just the aftermath of her surgery? Or is she becoming ill?
'How Spoilers Bleed' - a couple of Europeans who cold-bloodedly
murder a tribe of Native Americans meet the terrible curse of a
shaman. (And never did two people deserve it more!)
'Twilight At The Towers' - the CIA and the KGB have secretly been training werewolves to work for them. But werewolves want to run and live free, not to be secret agents.
'The Last Illusion' - a stage magician's power has derived from a deal with the devil. And now, the magician is dead. But he wished to cheat the devil at the very last, and a mysterious friend of the performer teams up with a hired detective to try to save his soul from a fate worse than death.
'Nightbreed' was based on, and four short stories: The Life Of Death, How Spoilers Bleed, Twilight At The Towers & The Last Illusion.
'Cabal' shows Barker at the height of his obsession with grotesque
sensuality. It begins with Boone, a mentally disturbed man who had
recently hoped he had been getting his life together and making a new start. he recently met a girlfriend, Lori, and things had been going well. But now, his psychologist has convinced him that he is actually a brutal serial killer who has been repressing the memories of his atrocious crimes. Right here, it seems this would be enough a a premise for a work of psychological horror - but Barker quickly
changes tack and introduces the shadowy world of Midian - an
underworld populated by monsters - but monsters who desperately needed a refuge from the horrors of our mundane life.
Boone and Lori's flight from the deranged doctor, and their efforts to expose his deeds, are action-filled enough, but the really significant part of the story is Barker's morally ambiguous Nightbreed and their world, delicately and sympathetically portrayed, even while filled with unpleasantly corporeal and carnal details. While acknowledging that some outcasts are cast out for good reason, Barker also makes his case, eloquently, for the need for a refuge for all those with dark secrets, for those driven to desperation.
'The Life Of Death' - a woman who has just - barely - survived a
dangerous surgery has become oddly obsessed with death. She, driven by curiosity, ventures secretly into a just-dug-up plague crypt. In a bizarre state of mind, she becomes convinced that a man she meets there is Death. But is her strange state of mind just the aftermath of her surgery? Or is she becoming ill?
'How Spoilers Bleed' - a couple of Europeans who cold-bloodedly
murder a tribe of Native Americans meet the terrible curse of a
shaman. (And never did two people deserve it more!)
'Twilight At The Towers' - the CIA and the KGB have secretly been training werewolves to work for them. But werewolves want to run and live free, not to be secret agents.
'The Last Illusion' - a stage magician's power has derived from a deal with the devil. And now, the magician is dead. But he wished to cheat the devil at the very last, and a mysterious friend of the performer teams up with a hired detective to try to save his soul from a fate worse than death.
Helpful Score: 1
Cabal is a novella by Barker that was the basis for the 1990 movie Nightbreed. It's a tale of a character named Boone who believes that he is a serial killer. During sessions with his therapist, Dr. Decker, he tries to convince Boone that he has to give himself up for the murders he committed. Boone decides that he would rather kill himself than be imprisoned for life. After a botched suicide attempt, he meets a half-crazed man named Narcissus. From him, Boone learns of a refuge for monsters that are similar to him in the northern Canadian woods called Midian. He escapes the hospital and sets out for Midian.
Barker crafts an interesting take on the monster movie-style saga where the humans are the real monsters and the shape shifters are the persecuted victims. Along the way, he sprinkles in a healthy dose of Lovecraft-inspired fantasy. The characters are interesting. But, I found myself wanting them them to be developed in more detail. I wanted to learn more of their origins, history, and capabilities. It felt like all I got was a brief tease. I guess when you're left wanting more, that's the sign of a good story. Unless Barker returns someday to fill in the blanks (like King tried to do somewhat with Dr. Sleep), I'll have to let my imagination do the rest.
Barker crafts an interesting take on the monster movie-style saga where the humans are the real monsters and the shape shifters are the persecuted victims. Along the way, he sprinkles in a healthy dose of Lovecraft-inspired fantasy. The characters are interesting. But, I found myself wanting them them to be developed in more detail. I wanted to learn more of their origins, history, and capabilities. It felt like all I got was a brief tease. I guess when you're left wanting more, that's the sign of a good story. Unless Barker returns someday to fill in the blanks (like King tried to do somewhat with Dr. Sleep), I'll have to let my imagination do the rest.
