Infernal Parade by Clive Barker
First Printing, First Edition Hardcover Novella
This astonishing novella, Infernal Parade, perfectly encapsulates Barker’s unique abilities. Like the earlier Tortured Souls,
an account of bizarre–and agonizing–transformations, Infernal Parade is
tightly focused, intensely imagined, and utterly unlike anything else
you will ever read. It begins with the tale of a convicted criminal, Tom
Requiem, who returns from the brink of death to restore both fear and a
touch of awe to a complacent world. Tom becomes the leader of the
eponymous “parade,” which ranges from the familiar precincts of North
Dakota to the mythical city of Karantica. Golems, vengeful humans both
living and dead, and assorted impossible creatures parade across these
pages. The result is a series of highly compressed, interrelated
narratives that are memorable, disturbing, and impossible to set aside.