The Painter, the Creature, and the Father of Lies

by Clive Barker (Author, Illustrator), Phil Stokes (Editor), Sarah Stokes (Editor)

From the man who has brought you twenty books of dark fiction and fantasy, unforgettable horror movies such HELLRAISER and CANDYMAN, and countless paintings and illustrations, this is the first-ever collection of Clive Barker’s nonfiction. Representing more than 35 years of writing, THE PAINTER, THE CREATURE, AND THE FATHER OF LIES contains:
•All the introductions he’s written for his own works (prefaces in fiction and non-fiction books, liner notes on CDs/laserdiscs/DVDs, introductions in graphic novel adaptations, text of theatre playbills, and more);
•All the forewords and afterwords he’s written on other people’s works (books, graphic novels, etc.); and
•Essays and articles written for magazines on the horror genre and other topics.

This revised edition includes pieces published since the original 2011 edition, including a newly-discovered unpublished introduction to The Books of Blood from 1982 and features 46 black and white line drawings by the author.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Ebooks, Horror, Audiobook, Research

452 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2008

About the author

Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Joan Rubie (née Revill), a painter and school welfare officer, and Leonard Barker, a personnel director for an industrial relations firm. Educated at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School, he studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool University and his picture now hangs in the entrance hallway to the Philosophy Department. It was in Liverpool in 1975 that he met his first partner, John Gregson, with whom he lived until 1986. Barker's second long-term relationship, with photographer David Armstrong, ended in 2009.

In 2003, Clive Barker received The Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards. This award is presented "to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for any of those communities". While Barker is critical of organized religion, he has stated that he is a believer in both God and the afterlife, and that the Bible influences his work.

Fans have noticed of late that Barker's voice has become gravelly and coarse. He says in a December 2008 online interview that this is due to polyps in his throat which were so severe that a doctor told him he was taking in ten percent of the air he was supposed to have been getting. He has had two surgeries to remove them and believes his resultant voice is an improvement over how it was prior to the surgeries. He said he did not have cancer and has given up cigars. On August 27, 2010, Barker underwent surgery yet again to remove new polyp growths from his throat. In early February 2012 Barker fell into a coma after a dentist visit led to blood poisoning. Barker remained in a coma for eleven days but eventually came out of it. Fans were notified on his Twitter page about some of the experience and that Barker was recovering after the ordeal, but left with many strange visions.

Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, writing in the horror genre early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 – 6), and the Faustian novel The Damnation Game (1985). Later he moved towards modern-day fantasy and urban fantasy with horror elements in Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), the world-spanning Imajica (1991) and Sacrament (1996), bringing in the deeper, richer concepts of reality, the nature of the mind and dreams, and the power of words and memories.

Barker has a keen interest in movie production, although his films have received mixed receptions. He wrote the screenplays for Underworld (aka Transmutations – 1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), both directed by George Pavlou. Displeased by how his material was handled, he moved to directing with Hellraiser (1987), based on his novella The Hellbound Heart. His early movies, the shorts The Forbidden and Salome, are experimental art movies with surrealist elements, which have been re-released together to moderate critical acclaim. After his film Nightbreed (Cabal), which was widely considered to be a flop, Barker returned to write and direct Lord of Illusions. Barker was an executive producer of the film Gods and Monsters, which received major critical acclaim.

Barker is a prolific visual artist working in a variety of media, often illustrating his own books. His paintings have been seen first on the covers of his official fan club magazine, Dread, published by Fantaco in the early Nineties, as well on the covers of the collections of his plays, Incarnations (1995) and Forms of Heaven (1996), as well as on the second printing of the original UK publications of his Books of Blood series.

A longtime comics fan, Barker achieved his dream of publishing his own superhero books when Marvel Comics launched the Razorline imprint in 1993. Based on detailed premises, titles and lead characters he created specifically for this, the four interrelated titles — set outside the Marvel universe — were Ectokid,

Reviews

[Carl Bluesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can believe how good this book of introduction and essays is! This was so enjoyable. It dose excellent job of giving a first hand account from Clive Barker about his writing process, opinions on his own work, and his life when he wrote his stories. It gives the book a kinda biography feel.

Since these introductions were not intended to be collected like this when they were first written, the book has entries that are repetitive. But this is a small setback what is an otherwise amazing and unique collection. I never thought about someone put all the introductions together like this. But my I’m glade he did.

[Orrin Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of essays and introductions by one of our most fascinating authors, if The Painter, the Creature, and the Father of Lies has a problem, it's that it might be too exhaustive. Tucked in among the more substantial essays are a lot of very brief notes that don't always offer much, and because there are multiple introductions to several things there's some repetition. Still, it's probably better to err on the side of too much than too little in a volume like this, and the end result is a pretty indispensable tome.

[Luke Kondor · Rating 5 out of 5]

35 years of non-fiction essays from Clive Barker. Touches the same ground a lot, but what can I say? I love it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

First half is fantastic, a deep dive into inspiration and influences.

[Edward Amato · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you are interested in what Clive Barker thinks about navel lint and pork belly commodities you will love this book. the art, the books, the movies and comics as well as his favorite music is covered. if you are not a Clive Barker fan then this book is not for you.

[Phillip Fitzsimmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy hearing many short pieces in which Clive Barker describes his relationship to horror fiction, art and movie making. But it does go on and on and on. The reader's performance is solid.

[Katie]

I am still reading this book - it is my work book so it takes me much longer to read. So far so good.