In the following essay, Badley analyzes Barker's Books of Blood, his films, and his other literary work.

In the following review, Morrison explores thematic and stylistic aspects of the short stories in the first three Books of Blood.

In the following excerpt, Dziemianowicz treats Barker's Books of Blood as a forerunner of the splatterpunk horror fiction movement in the late 1980s.

In the following review, Morrison provides a generally favorable assessment of Barker's first three Books of Blood.

In the following review, Meeks asserts that the stories in the first Books of Blood are neither original nor frightening.

In the following review of The Books of Blood, Anderson observes that Barker's effective mingling of the realms of life and death in his short stories uplifts the horror genre.

In the following review of Books of Blood, Volumes 4–6, Morgan describes Barker as a highly talented yet inconsistent writer.

In the following review of the third Books of Blood, Keis observes that Barker is an innovative writer in the horror genre, and that Barker's stories appeal to those who are prepared for the bloody details that characterize his fiction.

In the following review, D'Ammassa maintains that the five stories included in the second volume of the Books of Blood are of uniformly high quality.

In the following review of the compilation The Books of Blood, the critic asserts that Barker is a major innovator in modern horror fiction.