Cabal [Paperback]

Clive Barker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1989

In the terrifying title story, a tortured soul called Boone seeks refuge in a necropolis in the wilds of Canada, where he finds the shape-shifters known as the Nightbreed. Only the courage of this strange human can save them from extinction. And only the undying passion of a woman can save Boone from his own corrupting hell... In "The Last Illusion," the basis for the United Artists motion picture Lord of Illusions, master illusionist Philip Swann meets a bloody, untimely death-- and his lovely widow calls on private eye Harry D'Amour to save Swann's immortal soul...

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Pocket; 1St Edition edition (September 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671685147
• ISBN-13: 978-0671685140
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,567,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Clive Barker was born in Liverpool in 1952. He is the worldwide bestselling author of the Books of Blood, and numerous novels including Imajica, The Great and Secret Show, Sacrament and Galilee. In addition to his work as a novelist and short story writer he also illustrates, writes, directs and produces for the stage and screen. His films include Hellraiser, Hellbound, Nightbreed and Candyman. Clive lives in Beverly Hills, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Book; Better Than One Might Think From Something So Nihilistic And Cynical, June 26, 2006

By 

Stephen B. O'Blenis (Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cabal (Paperback)

"Cabal" is the novel the movie "Nightbreed" was based on (directed by its own author, Clive Barker) and the first appearance of the Nightbreed, who've aquired a dedicated following of fans over the years. Despite the fact that both the movie and the original novel were both helmed by Barker, there are quite a few differences.

In both, the character of Boone believes himself to be responsible for a number of murders, and heads off to find the legendary city of monsters, Midian, home to the Nightbreed. In the movie, the Breed were more sympathetic and there was a sense that Boone was seeking Midian in order to control the monsterous aspects of himself. In "Cabal", while there are sympathetic and even likable aspects to both the Nightbreed as a whole and, especially, to individual members of the Breed, they are as a whole a much nastier and more bloodthirsty lot. There is dazzling imagination at work in the descriptions of the Breed, but their world of Midian and the glimpses of their lifestyle are less developed, more bare bones and primitive. It kind of fits with the more basic, barbarous nature of much of the Nightbreed. This is as a whole one of the darker and certainly more nihilistic of Barker's novels (though definately not as much so as "The Great And Secret Show").

This is subjective, but I found most of the main protagonists - both human and Breed - a little...lacking. The character who held the most interest for me, and gave the book much of its power, was a shapeshifting little girl Nightbreed named Babette. The child presents a different face of the Nightbreed than the main characters the novel focuses on, and gives the reader an insight into the more benevolent members of their kind, and in doing so provides a lot of the reason to care about the fate of Midian. I would have liked it if the child and her mother Rachel had played larger roles overall.

Parts of the book are written with great humor, often but not always a very black humor. Overall the tone is more ruthless and cynical than in the film version, with Babette and several other characters providing a nice balance. The novel and the movie also differentiate themselves in having drastically different endings. The Nightbreed comic of the 90s, although it followed the continuity of the movie and not the book, had a feel and a depiction of the Breed much closer to the novel. It's not up there with Barker's greats (like "Sacrament" and "Weaveworld"), but it is a fine book in its own right, one of the better of the 'ultragrim-and-nihilistic' type tales out there.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an odd tale by a great auther!, July 15, 2000

By 

Rhonda L. Strickland (Canyon Lake, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cabal (Paperback)

This story NIGHTBREED is an odd one indeed.But the way Clive B. writes it is amazing!He weaves an intricate tale of a scarce undeground breed of monsters who live under a cemetary.I don't want to say much and give the plot away, so, get it !