Quote:
Originally posted by urgeok
sure, get started :)
dont you find that he doesn't know how to end his books .. and like King he felt he had to get more and more raaunchy because he had nowhere left to go ?
I love his books of blood .. very tight stories ... but I'm not a fan of the novels, and I've read quite a few.
(i have his autograph on the script for hellraiser by the way .. (it came in a laserdisc box set)
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Well, to be honest, I agree somewhat. I love his earlier novels and Imajica is one of my favorite novels of all time, though it does tend, at times, to feel like it was an ego trip. Meaning, it does feel self-important in places but, despite that, I think it shows amazing depth of character and imagination. Cabal is my other favorite Barker work and I think it has the same depth, on a smaller scale. I also love The Books of Blood. I have re-read them several times and his short stories are nearly perfect, in my opinion.
But Cold Heart Canyon was a complete disaster, in my opinion. Though I like parts of it, by the end it just seemed pointless. It didn't seem to have anything to say. As I said, I liked parts of it, so I don't think it is completely witout merit. But I do wonder where his mind was when he wrote it. Maybe it is like you said, he had nowhere left to go. But no, I never really got that feeling until Cold Heart Canyon.
I have yet to read the second in the Abarat series, however I did read the first one and enjoyed it quite a bit. It is directed at a young audience, but it is still dark and interesting. But without reading the series as a whole, I can't really make a judgement there.