Tortured Souls

Publisher's Summary

Tortured Souls is one of the most vividly imagined, tightly compressed novellas ever written by the incomparable Clive Barker. At once violent and erotic, brutal and strangely beautiful, it takes us into the heart of the legendary "first city" known as Primordium, the site of political upheaval, passionate encounters, and astonishing acts of transformation.

Lurking at the edges of this extravagant tale is the ancient entity known as "Agonistes", who accepts the pleas of selected "Supplicants" - transforming them, through a combination of art, magic, and pain, into avatars of violence and revenge.

The story begins when a freelance assassin named Zarles Krieger commits a routine murder-for-hire. This act will lead him to two life-altering encounters: one with the daughter of his victim, the other with Agonistes himself. This conjunction of the human and the inhuman stands at the center of this instantly absorbing creation.

With great authority and equally great economy, Tortured Souls expands to become a portrait of Primordium itself, with its hierarchies, its hidden mysteries, its shifting power structure, and - most significantly - its indelible cast of characters. A perfectly controlled example of what Barker calls "The Fantastique", Tortured Souls is something truly special, a story whose imaginative reach and sheer narrative power are evident with every word.

©2014 Clive Barker Ink (P)2015 David N. Wilson

Short but sweet.

My only complaint the only last for and hour and half. I would love to find out more about primordia and the dark future of the city and its inhabitants. Most of the terrofying parts art left to the imagination. It is a lovely horror story of with a hint of disturbing love. I would recommended to all lovers of horror.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A hit of Hellraiser

This is a fun, short book that have a Hellraiser feeling, but with a more interesting “Pin Head”. I enjoyed the story for its great setting, good characters, and neat little plot. It a nice package I do not regret listening to. If you are a fan of Hellraiser, I could see you liking this as well

A worthy story from the master of visceral horror

Possibly the most well thought out story ever written for a toy line. Clive Barker's charnal house imagery lends itself wonderfully to this short form story, and Peter Bishop's even and deliberate narration is quite suited to the mythological tone of the writing.

Great Book

Although short it is very entertaining, as a Barker fan I am very content with this.

Great Tale

I just wish it was much longer. The story was both beautiful, artistic, and horrific in its entirety. I wouldn't expect any less from Clive Barker.

Brilliant!

What more can i say? If you want Clive Barker stories, here they are. well worth reading/listening too.

Fresh and Fascinating

Much as is his fashion, Barker manages to weave an intricate tale in a very rich world in a very short number of pages. What began life as the back story to a collectible figure line, is now another haunting story in Clive Barker's universe!

very clean well executed horror

outstanding, very detailed and telling for a fast pace, the work of a talented writer that's been at it for a while

it okay.

It OK I was hoping there be more action more horror. But feels more like hour and half teaser.

Fabulous Delivery - Not My Usual Genre

Where does Tortured Souls rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It wasn't my most enjoyable book, but it wasn't the worst. To be fair, this is not my usual genre for a reason, but Peter Bishop could read the phone book and I'd listen to it.

Would you recommend Tortured Souls to your friends? Why or why not?

I have friends who love this genre and I'd tell them to put it at the top of their list.

Have you listened to any of Peter Bishop’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Peter Bishop has a great voice and a fabulous delivery. He's narrated other books that I liked better, just because the story was more up my alley, but his delivery and performance is consistently excellent.