Clive Barker wrote Tortured Souls back in 2001 to accompany a series of action figures sold by McFarland Toys. The series started with six action figures released in 2001. The second series, Clive Barker’s Tortured Souls: The Fallen, was released in 2002.
Each action figure came with a short story, and these stories combined to form a novelette called “Six Destinies”. In 2015, Subterranean Press published Tortured Souls: The Legend of Primordial which collected the short stories into a slim volume with the Bob Eggleton cover above.
As is typical in Clive Barkers stories, there’s violence, horror, and nightmare creatures. If you’re a fan, Tortured Souls is worth tracking down. I’ve not seen a series of stories bundled with hideous action figures so this is really Something Out of the Ordinary. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Book 1 – Agonistes: The Secret Face of Genesis — 7
Book 2 – Scythe Meister: The Assassin Transformed — 17
Book 3 – Lucidique: The Avenger — 31
Book 4 – Talisac: The Surgeon of the Sacred Heart — 45
Book 5 – Venal Anatomica: The Hunter of Primordium — 59
Book 6 – Mongroid: The Second Coming — 71
It’s been years since I’ve read Clive Barker. For me, a little goes a long way.
Jerry, Clive Barker’s output has been spotty in the 21st Century. But some readers will remember the impact his work had on horror fans way back when…
I read the “Books of Blood” when they first came out in the eighties and thought they were a lot of pulpy fun at the time. Ditto the first “Hellraiser” movie and to a lesser degree, “Nightbreed.” He seemed like the right horror maestro for the eighties but I lost interest in him after that.
I’ve never heard of this poject which sounds very fanboy. It’s interesting that the current horror boom hasn’t rekindled interest in Barker’s work but such are the whims of the BookTok crowd…
Wonder how many frisky ten-year-olds staged cage fights between these guys and the GI Joes? Presuming they were able to unbox the figures and sneak them away from collector Dad. I haven’t read Barker in years and then only sparingly, back when he and Anne Rice were Big Deals.
Fred, the prices for those TORTURED SOULS action figures are astronomical now!
Byron, you’re right about the Clive Barker timeline. He was a sensation when BOOKS OF BLOOD were published. HELLRAISER and the movies also had a big impact. However, the fickle horror fans seems to have moved on to more gory stuff.
What Jerry said goes for me too.
Jeff, like you and Jerry, a little horror fiction goes a long way for me, too.
The only horror writer I liked was Dean Koontz, due to his book watchers, which is one of my favorite books, & stars a Golden retriever.
I’m at Bouchercon in NOLA and so few of the fans of the past are here. I probably only recognize the names of 10-15 percent of the writers here.
Ali Karim is finally getting the fan guest of honor in person. Ted Hertel & Steve Steinbock are the only old timers I’ve seen so far.
Maggie, glad you arrived safely at BOUCHERCON. Say “Hi” to Ted and Steve for us. I would probably only recognize 10$ of the writers there.
I have never read Clive Barker and I can tell this is too full of horrors and nightmares for me. The Action Figures are great though. I would have loved those, even in 2001.
Tracy, I was stunned by the prices those TORTURED SOULS action Figures are going for today! Yikes!
Horror isn’t my thing!
Bob, I like a bit of horror just to distract me from the Tariffs.
Har har hardy har har!
have been a horror reader all my literate life, but I have only been a mild enthusiast of Barker’s work…as opposed to Joe Lansdale’s, among that of many others.
Todd, I’m with you on Joe R. Landsdale!