In the Flesh, by Clive Barker

(pb; 1986: story anthology)

From the back cover:

"In the depths of an abandoned steam bath, strangely beautiful women seduce two businessmen into a ritual of macabre sexuality; in a Greek asylum, wise men race frogs to decide the fate of the world; a petty convict's cellmate reveals to him the gruesome birth of evil; a young woman's slum research leads her into the hook-handed grip of The Candyman, a vicious supernatural killer."


Overall review:

This is one of the few perfect anthologies I've read. Barker's writing is word-tight, character-memorable and idea-wild, its themes relevant and relatable, with many of its lines quotable.

In the Flesh is easily one of my all-time favorite anthologies, as well as one of my favorite Barker reads.

Worth owning, this.


Review, story by story:


1.) "In the Flesh" - Cleve Smith, an incarcerated felon, gets a new cellie (Billy Tait), a young man whose quiet manners conceal a harsher, gorier world.

Perfect, gripping, exemplary read that references one of Barker's other stories, "The Books of Blood" (collected in the anthology Clive Barker's Books of Blood, Volume One).


2.) "The Forbidden" - A woman (Helen), writing a sociological theme paper, happens upon a shadowy urban legend that may be far more relevant than she ever imagined.

Thought-provoking, wise (in its roots-of-fear way), exciting and unique - not to mention (again), perfect.

Two directly-linked films resulted from this story.

The first, a 36-minute short titled after the story, was released in 1978.

Peter Atkins played Faust. Doug Bradley, Julia Blake, Phil Rimmer and Lyn Darnell also acted in the short, though their roles aren't named on imdb.com.

Clive Barker, who scripted and directed the film, also acted in it.

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The second version, Candyman - this one a full-length work - was released stateside on October 16, 1992.

Virginia Madsen played Helen Lyle. Tony Todd played The Candyman (aka Daniel Robitaille). Xander Berkeley played Trevor Lyle. Kasi Lemmons played Bernadette 'Bernie' Walsh. Vanessa Williams played Anne-Marie McCoy. Ted Raimi played Billy. Rusty Schwimmer played "Policewoman".

Bernard Rose scripted and directed the film.

Two sequels, both of them starring Tony Todd, followed: Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) and the direct-to-video Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999).


3.) "The Madonna" - An abandoned bathhouse is the site of damnation or salvation for two men, a wealthy thug (Ezra Garvey) and his business partner (Jerry Coloqhoun).

Gripping, distinctive and science fiction-wild take on the themes of masculinity/femininity, religion and motherhood, with a story finish that is reader-resonant.

In 1989, Eclipse Books published a comic book mini-series, Tapping The Vein, that is based on Barker's writings.

Fred Burke adapted, and Stan Woch, Fred Von Tobel and Mark Farmer illustrated "The Madonna" in issue #4 (its front cover is seen below). This same issue contains an adaptation of one of Barker's other stories, "Hell's Event" (published in Clive Barker's Books of Blood, Volume Two).




4.) "Babel's Children" - Vanessa Jape, an insatiably curious, roadtripping woman, stumbles upon a long-held, world- and life-changing secret on a backroad.

Fun, relatively light work, that's as fascinating and relatably weird as the other stories in this anthology.

Dune by Frank Herbert

(hb; 1965: first book in the Dune Chronicles)

From the back cover

"Set in the far future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar empire where planetary dynasties are controlled by noble houses that owe an allegiance to the imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides (the heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides and heir of House Atreides) as he and his family accept control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the 'spice' melange, the most important and valuable substance in the cosmos. The story explores the complex, multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion as the forces of the empire confront each other for control of Arrakis."


Review

Dune is rich in political intrigue, treachery, oracular mysticism, lust, loyalty, love, jihad and societal upheaval, as well as many interesting, often conflicted characters. What makes Dune great is how it's simultaneously personal and emotional, yet coolly distant in an intellectual way, without compromising either of the elements, tracking the course of an empire over three or so years – Herbert manages this balancing act by focusing on the characters, while making them aware of their importance (or lack thereof) in the struggles and violence that consumes them.

This is one of my all-time favorite books. It has been since I read it as a boy (approximately thirty years ago); I've reread it several times since, and every time I read it, I get something completely new out of it – there are so many levels on which to take this landmark work that I foresee more readings of this personal magnitude in the years to come.

Followed by Dune Messiah.

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Dune has been filmed twice.

The first film version was released stateside on December 14, 1984.

Kyle MacLachlan played Paul Atreides. Jürgen Prochnow played Duke Leto Atreides.  Francesca Annis played Lady Jessica.  Alicia Witt, billed as Alicia Roanne Witt, played Alia. 

Richard Jordan played Duncan Idaho.  Patrick Stewart played Gurney Halleck.  Linda Hunt played Shadout Mapes.  Freddie Jones played Thufir Hawat.  Dean Stockwell played Doctor Wellington Yueh.  Max von Sydow played Doctor Kynes.  Jack Nance played Nefud.

Sean Young played Chani.  Everett McGill played Stilgar. 

Kenneth McMillan played Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.  Sting played Feyd Rautha.  Brad Dourif played Piter De Vries.  Paul L. Smith, billed as Paul Smith, played The Beast Rabban.

José Ferrer played Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV.  Virginia Madsen played Princess Irulan.

 David Lynch scripted and direct the film.  Lynch also - uncredited - played a "Spice Worker".

If you see this film, make sure you see the three-hour/Director's Cut version, which makes more sense than the initial/studio-cut version of the film.

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The second version began airing stateside as a three-part television miniseries on December 3, 2000.

Alec Newman played Paul Atreides/Muad'Dib, a role he reprised in the 2003 television miniseries sequel, Children of Dune.  William Hurt played Duke Leto Atreides.  Saskia Reeves played Lady Jessica Atreides.

P.H. Moriarty played Gurney Halleck.  James Watson played Duncan Idaho.  Karel Dobrỳ played Dr. Pardot Kynes.

Uwe Ochsenknecht played Stilgar.  Barbora Kodetová played Chani.

Ian McNeice played Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.  Matt Keeslar played Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.  László I. Kish played Glossu Rabban.

Giancarlo Giannini played Padishah - Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV.  Julie Cox played Princess Irulan Corrino. 

John Harrison scripted and directed the miniseries.