I had never read Barker until this week, when, prompted by an interview with Nathan Ballingrud, I picked up The Books of Blood from the library and read "In the Hills, the Cities." Hotsie motsie! That one is a real brain burner, no question. Among other things, it features two Eastern European cities that contest with each other by strapping their residents together into giant man shapes hundreds of feet tall and meeting in the wilderness to combat. Yes, every metaphor you just thought of is in play, as are dozens of others. It's a wild ride. Imagine if they had actually had necromancers.

I recommend checking it out.