Clive Barker

So, what's /book/'s opinion of Barker as a writer?  I've read a few of his short stories, and overall I'm kind of torn on how I feel about him.  Some of the ideas he writes about are so ridiculous that I can't take the stories seriously, like in The Body Politic.  Then, once in a while, he writes a story or even just a single phrase here and there that is so earth-shatteringly good that you just want to die.  I think his technique is great, he's very descriptive and his language is precise, but some of his actual storylines are....well...kind of retarded.

That's just my take on it.  What do you guys think?

I fucking love Abarat; I heard that he's done with the paintings and manuscript for the third one, and expects to publish by the end of the year.
Godspeed Clive, godspeed.