Tortured Souls

The Legend of Primordium

By: Clive Barker

Narrated by: Peter Bishop

Tortured Souls is one of the most vividly imagined, tightly compressed novellas ever written by the incomparable Clive Barker. At once violent and erotic, brutal and strangely beautiful, it takes us into the heart of the legendary "first city" known as Primordium, the site of political upheaval, passionate encounters, and astonishing acts of transformation.

Lurking at the edges of this extravagant tale is the ancient entity known as "Agonistes", who accepts the pleas of selected "Supplicants" - transforming them, through a combination of art, magic, and pain, into avatars of violence and revenge.

The story begins when a freelance assassin named Zarles Krieger commits a routine murder-for-hire. This act will lead him to two life-altering encounters: one with the daughter of his victim, the other with Agonistes himself. This conjunction of the human and the inhuman stands at the center of this instantly absorbing creation.

With great authority and equally great economy, Tortured Souls expands to become a portrait of Primordium itself, with its hierarchies, its hidden mysteries, its shifting power structure, and - most significantly - its indelible cast of characters. A perfectly controlled example of what Barker calls "The Fantastique", Tortured Souls is something truly special, a story whose imaginative reach and sheer narrative power are evident with every word.

©2014 Clive Barker Ink (P)2015 David N. Wilson

I loved it!

The details plus how it was read an spoken with such character, you could almost swear the character's were talking lol.

Short but sweet.

My only complaint the only last for and hour and half. I would love to find out more about primordia and the dark future of the city and its inhabitants. Most of the terrofying parts art left to the imagination. It is a lovely horror story of with a hint of disturbing love. I would recommended to all lovers of horror.

Fabulous Delivery - Not My Usual Genre

Where does Tortured Souls rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It wasn't my most enjoyable book, but it wasn't the worst. To be fair, this is not my usual genre for a reason, but Peter Bishop could read the phone book and I'd listen to it.

Would you recommend Tortured Souls to your friends? Why or why not?

I have friends who love this genre and I'd tell them to put it at the top of their list.

Have you listened to any of Peter Bishop’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Peter Bishop has a great voice and a fabulous delivery. He's narrated other books that I liked better, just because the story was more up my alley, but his delivery and performance is consistently excellent.

Great Tale

I just wish it was much longer. The story was both beautiful, artistic, and horrific in its entirety. I wouldn't expect any less from Clive Barker.

Anachronistic

the anachronisms are driving me nuts. either barker is dumbing down his work or he's becoming delirious. I have read EVERYTHING he's written, and this is the worst if them all. I'm very disappointed.

Brilliant!

What more can i say? If you want Clive Barker stories, here they are. well worth reading/listening too.

only wish it was a full book

if u like Barker or cenobites this is for you also check out the old mcfarlane figures

great

it was wild it's definitely something that would make a good movie if done right

Wish there was more.

A novella comprised of six short stories originally released with six action figures from McFarlane toys telling the story of six monsters in the City of Primordium. The narrator is good and the only issues I have with the story are the lack of descriptors used for the Agonistes, Lucidique, and Kreiger which I cant tell if it was intentional or just overlooked because of the original included figures. This is less of a problem in chapters 3-6. The only other issue is more a wanting for more from these characters and world. Overall a good starting point for people interested in Clive Barkers work that is less graphic then his usual.

Great back story

This a great story that adds lore to the set of Tortured Souls figures. I wish it was longer but for what it is they did a great job. The narrator has a great eerie tone.