StokerCon 2019

When Clive Barker published The Books of Blood in 1984, horror fiction readers took to its storytelling power, diversity of setting and character, and astonishing gore. As 2019 marks the 35th anniversary of The Books, their power and relevance persist. What are some of your choice stories? What do you think of some of their adaptation to film? What might explain Barker's path from theater to horror fiction to film directing? Do you have any technical/craft issues with some of the stories? What from them inspires you? What do The Books suggest about life during the Thatcher/Reagan era? Barker was one of the first dark/fantasy fiction authors to come out as gay before it was fully above-ground in mainstream Western culture--did you see his work in a different light than other writers?