| Books of Blood, Volume 4 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publisher's info | |
| Title: | Books of Blood, Volume 4 |
| Author: | Clive Barker |
| Publisher: | Sphere Books |
| 1st printing: | July 1st, 1985 |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | Volume 3 |
| Next: | Volume 5 |
Books of Blood, Volume 4 is a British novel of the horror anthology genre. It includes five individual stories, all of which were written by author Clive Barker. It was published by Sphere Books and printed in mass market paperback on July 1st, 1985.
"The Inhuman Condition"[]
A young man named Karney and his friends beat up a vagrant for fun. Karney steals a strange knotted piece of string he finds on the vagrant. A keen fan of puzzles, Karney undoes the knots that evening, not knowing that, in doing so, he is releasing a succession of demons who proceed to kill off his friends. The demons seem progressively more advanced, appearing to evolve with each knot. When he realizes what he has done, Karney has to seek out the vagrant for help.
Featured characters
- To be added.
Supporting characters
- To be added.
Villains
- To be added.
Minor characters
- To be added.
Organizations
- To be added.
Races
- To be added.
Locations
- To be added.
Items
- To be added.
Vehicles
- To be added.
Vocations
- To be added.
Miscellaneous
- To be added.
"The Body Politic"[]
In a bizarre version of a revolution, it appears that all human beings' hands have their own consciousness and are not happy at being ordered what to do by their owners. The hands of a factory worker named Charlie plan to lead the revolution. Charlie's hands even have their own personalities, with Left being more cautious and Right being very determined and even proclaiming itself a Messiah. Right – against Charlie's own wishes – chops off Left, who scuttles away to summon other hands to do the same before returning to rescue Right, starting a violent revolution of human limbs.
Featured characters
- To be added.
Supporting characters
- To be added.
Villains
- To be added.
Minor characters
- To be added.
Organizations
- To be added.
Races
- To be added.
Locations
- To be added.
Items
- To be added.
Vehicles
- To be added.
Vocations
- To be added.
Miscellaneous
- To be added.
"Revelations"[]
A woman named Virginia is unwillingly taken on a tour through the U.S. by her unfeeling husband, a preacher named John Gyer. They stay at a motel which is visited by the ghosts of Buck and Sadie, a married couple who stayed there thirty years before. In the same room, Sadie murdered Buck and was subsequently put to death for the murder. Buck and Sadie find that Virginia has the ability to both see and hear them. Meanwhile, a scuffle ensues when John discovers their driver, Earl, has been giving Virginia pills to help her deal with her anxiety issues. While looking for Earl to confront him about the pills, John finds the married driver in bed with the daughter of the motel owner, Laura-May. Virginia ends up getting her hands on the same murder weapon used by Sadie thirty years prior, which Laura-May has kept as a souvenir. Virginia uses the gun to try to kill Buck's ghost, who managed partial materialization in order to attempt to rape her, but the bullet goes through him and finds its way into John's throat, killing him. Virginia contemplates suicide, but Sadie's ghost advises her to plead insanity. Whilst being taken in by the local sheriff, someone asks her why she did it. Virginia answers "the Devil made me do it" while gazing at the moon with "the craziest smile she (can) muster".
Featured characters
- To be added.
Supporting characters
- To be added.
Villains
- To be added.
Minor characters
- To be added.
Organizations
- To be added.
Races
- To be added.
Locations
- To be added.
Items
- To be added.
Vehicles
- To be added.
Vocations
- To be added.
Miscellaneous
- To be added.
"Down, Satan!"[]
The shortest story of the collection relates the tale of a wealthy middle-aged businessman, Gregorius, who becomes depressed when he believes God has deserted him, and he comes up with a plan to build a Hell on Earth to summon Satan, believing that God will then sweep him (Gregorius) out of Satan's clutches and into his heavenly fold.
In North Africa, in his vast Satanic Cathedral, Gregorius soon loses sight of his original intention of attracting God's attention and is captured after torturing hundreds of people to death in the well-equipped torture chambers. It is deliberately left ambiguous whether Gregorius went insane, or if he really did succeed in tempting Satan into taking residence in his own personal Hell. While Gregorius languishes in prison, a man bearing the accoutrements of a priest enters the cell and shoots him in the head with a revolver.
Featured characters
- Gregorius (Only appearance; dies)
Supporting characters
- Warren Dickerson
Villains
- Gregorius
- Satan (Referenced only)
Minor characters
- Leopardo (Only appearance; dies)
Organizations
- North African military
Races & Animals
Locations
- Hell (Referenced only)
Items
Vehicles
Powers
Miscellaneous
- Falling from a great height
- Gore
- Gunshot victims
- Military units
- Prison
- Ritualism
- Satanism
- Shot in the head
- Suicide (Unconfirmed)
"The Age of Desire"[]
A private laboratory runs experiments on volunteers to investigate the libido and try to develop a chemical aphrodisiac. One of the experiments goes wrong, when a man suddenly goes insane with lust. His perpetual state of arousal erodes his respect for morality or the law. He rapes, murders, and mutilates one of the scientists and then escapes to cause wanton mayhem, eventually burning himself out and dying.
Featured characters
- To be added.
Supporting characters
- To be added.
Villains
- To be added.
Minor characters
- To be added.
Organizations
- To be added.
Races
- To be added.
Locations
- To be added.
Items
- To be added.
Vehicles
- To be added.
Vocations
- To be added.
Miscellaneous
- To be added.
Notes & Trivia[]
- Books of Blood: Volume 4 and Books of Blood: Volume IV both redirect to this page.
- Stories from this collection are also reprinted in the Books of Blood: Books 4-6 omnibus edition.
- This volume has also been released under the title The Inhuman Condition, which is also the title to the first story.
- "Down Satan" was adapted in comic book format in Tapping the Vein #5, published by Eclipse Comics in January, 1992. The adaptation was written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Tim Conrad. The comic book adaptation was also reprinted in the Dread graphic novel, released by Eclipse in May, 1993. The story was also reprinted in Tapping the Vein: Books 1-5 by Checker in 2002.
See also[]
- Books of Blood, Volume 1
- Books of Blood, Volume 2
- Books of Blood, Volume 3
- Books of Blood, Volume 5
- Books of Blood, Volume 6