Clive Barker: The Dark Fantastic

Written with Clive Barker’s complete cooperation and based upon years of research and interviews with family, friends, and fellow professionals, The Dark Fantastic is an epic journey into the life, personal and creative, of the “polymath of the perverse”: artist, playwright, storyteller, novelist, filmmaker.

After a detailed look into Clive’s family history, his youth, and the early, lean years of his life as a playwright and actor in Liverpool and London, The Dark Fantastic undertakes a chapter-by-chapter analysis of his major creative works, from The Books of Blood and Hellraiser to the epic fantasy Imajica, the illustrated children’s book The Thief of Always, and the recent novels Sacrament and Galilee. The concluding chapters offer an in-depth preview of Clive’s forthcoming work, including the lavishly illustrated Abarat Quartet, which has been licensed by Walt Disney for motion pictures and theme parks.

Rich with insights into the creative life — and the perils of genre and typecasting — The Dark Fantastic is a delight for fans, and mandatory reading for anyone interested in the rise, fall, and resurrection of horror and fantasy fiction and film in the late Twentieth Century. It includes the complete text of a never-before-published short story, exclusive glimpses into additional unpublished stories and plays, and a detailed bibliography.

This Cemetery Dance Publications special limited edition will include full-color artwork created especially for the Limited Edition by Clive Barker, as well as some unique surprises not to be found in the mass-market edition!