In the Flesh
Clive Barker

With his first collection of short fiction, Clive Barker has streaked like a comet across the literary horizon, establishing himself firmly in the tradition of such luminaries of horror as Poe, Lovecraft, and King. In this new collection, Barker proves once again how entertaining, erotic, and resonant the best horror fiction can be. For he knows the sins the flesh is heir to, and he is not afraid to peel away that flesh and explore the deeper aberrations of the psyche that lie beneath.
Join Mr. Barker on his dark investigations: into a prison cell where a young prisoner searches for his grandfather - and finds himself in a city of which we are all prospective citizens, where the sins of the flesh are infinitely malleable; into a haunting project, where an evil feeds on rumor, gaining life from the lips of the crowd, and the young academic doing research finds herself face-to-face with a forbidden truth; into a labyrinth, where two businessmen from the wrong side of the law encounter a mystery, a seduction that leads to a life source beyond their wildest imagining; into a strange asylum where the fate of the world hangs in the balance, beginning with a game played with frogs...
Mr. Barker will lead you to new and terrifying places; he will prove himself a disarmingly elegant and graphic guide; he will make you understand why "there is no delight the equal of dread".

As yet another of Barker's books of short stories, this one does not disappoint. Four stories are gathered here and all show off the author's talent to an incredible degree. All are worth reading and I found none of them wanting for anything.

My person favorite, was The Forbidden, which is the original incarnation of Candyman. While many things were changed for the movie, as always, the story is better. If you've seen and enjoyed Candyman, I highly recommend that you at least pick up this book for The Forbidden.

The other stories are equally as enchanting, however, I don't believe any of those have been made into mainstream movies as of yet.

As with most of Barker's works, this is a novel for adults.

As long as you're old enough and as long as graphic gore, sex, and weirdness do not bother you, then I would highly recommend this book. It was fantastic.

My rating: Five out of five snails.