Midian Unmade

In 1991 I (or more accurately my parents) rented the VHS tape of the movie "Nightbreed" and my obsession with Clive Barker was born. He was one of the first authors I actively searched out at my local library. When I finally read his novella "Cabal" I was immediately drawn to the characters and after finishing the cliff-hanger ending, was utterly dismayed to find out that there was never a sequel. Imagine how excited I was this year when I read on-line that Midian Unmade: Tales of Clive Barker's Nightbreed was being released.

First let me say that I applaud all the authors in this anthology. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to pick up another authors story and try to make it one's own while still being true to the image and spirit of the original author's vision. There are twenty-three short stories in this anthology and this would be one heck of a long piece to review them all, but I think some of the stories for me were standouts.

The first one was, ironically the first story in the anthology, "The Moon Inside" by Seanan McGuire, i.e. Mira Grant. Ok. I BLASTED her book Feed as one of the worst novels I had ever read. I mean I really disliked it, almost as much as Twilight, so I was very, very disappointed to see she was one of the authors in the anthology. But to my complete and utter surprise, I truly enjoyed her story. Hers is the story of Babette, a small child in the original novella, she is now a teenager still on the run with her nightbreed family. Ms. McGuire was able to capture the frustration of the teenage years with the difficulties of being a monster in hiding. Although I still think Feed was a complete piece of drivel, this short story has made me question whether I should give some of her other novels a fair shake.

The second was "Rook" by Rob Salem. This short story encompassed the almost unbearable heartbreak that is the story of the nightbreed. At just over 10 pages, it's one of the shorter stories but was so very heartbreaking. I know I have already used that descriptive work, but I just cannot think of a better description for Rook's story.

The third story was the final one in the book, "The Farmhouse" by Christopher Monfette. This story is filled with both the best and the worst of the Breed's traits. It is the story of a little human boy who has a dying mother, and one of the Breed who lost their children to human monsters. Just like in "Cabal" although tragedy and death strike the characters, ultimately this is a story of hope and a better future.

I still have hope that someday Clive Barker will write a sequel to "Cabal." Although it has been 27 years since he wrote the original novella, I have not given up. After all he wrote "The Hellbound Heart" was written in 1986, and he just released the sequel to it, The Scarlet Gospels this year. So maybe someday......

One thing a reader should be aware of, a working knowledge of Cabal the story or Nightbreed the movie, although not necessary, will make the enjoyment of this book increase by a hundred fold. Read "Cabal." See the movie "Nightbreed." These are wonderful stories and deserve the acclaim they have from the horror community.

5 of 5 stars