Cabal

Seems like Barker really barreled through this one. It was a short novel, less than 200 pages, and might have benefited from being fleshed out a bit. (No gruesome puns intended.) The story was very complex for the short length. Yes, it's a cool plot with lots of imaginative monsters that Barker's so good at. I just get the feeling that he expected the reader to take a lot on faith without much to work with. I can suspend my disbelief but only if the writer develops the characters sufficiently to make it worthwhile.Some of Cabal was well done. Boone is a solid underdog character. Mentally unstable and fragile at the start, he goes through a very weird story of supernatural transformation and finds unexpected heroism. It's also a story of misfit creatures, known as the Nightbreed, who are simply trying to hide from the humans who would see them as monsters. Not original, but Barker has a touch with these kinds of things ([b:Everville 32627 Everville (Book of the Art #2) Clive Barker https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407712149l/32627.SX50.jpg 942616], [b:Weaveworld 957648 Weaveworld Clive Barker https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1429998286l/957648.SX50.jpg 942564]). Despite the fact that they eat human flesh, I do empathize with the Nightbreed. Decker aka Button Face, the villain, is just not scary. Partly because we only see some of his deeds in retrospect, like convincing the public that Boone is a serial killer or murdering six people at once in a hotel room, none of whom ganged up on him and fought back. If some of these scenes were better written, I might understand his powers of persuasion/physical prowess. The other bad guy, Eigerman, is a cop who goes after the Nightbreed for reasons that are poorly defined other than ego. (I did like the lacy-undergarment-wearing priest though. Why? Because it's left open for me to interpret.) The relationship between Lori and Boone is supposed to have an emotional impact at certain key points throughout the story, but again it is not well defined. All I got was: he's vulnerable; she's insecure. There's no hint that Lori has any hidden depths or dark side that would motivate her to stick with Boone through all the crazy crap that happens in this book. What saved this collection for me were the short stories at the end, especially “The Last Illusion,” the story that the film Lords of Illusion was based on. Short and simple, with some black humor revolving around pacts with demons and a dead body. Harry D'Amour and the other characters all have personality, so clearly Barker is capable of it. It also works because D'amour is an observer in the story, taking action but tangentially involved so the reader gets to see the diabolical events unfold through the eyes of a relatable person.