Author Stephen King praised Books of Blood, leading to a quote from him appearing on the first US edition of the book: 'I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker.'īooks of Blood Volume 6 is significant for its story 'The Last Illusion' which introduced Barker's occult detective character Harry D'Amour. The Volume 1–3 omnibus contained a foreword by Barker's fellow Liverpudlian horror writer Ramsey Campbell. Each volume contains four, five or six stories. Originally presented as six volumes, the anthologies were subsequently re-published in two omnibus editions containing three volumes each. Known primarily for writing stage plays beforehand, Barker gained a wider audience and fanbase through this anthology series, leading to a successful career as a novelist. Books of Blood is a series of six horror fiction anthologies collecting original stories written by British author, playwright, and filmmaker Clive Barker in 19.