Imajica

I ordered Imajica and received River of Darkness. It’s now actually showing like this.

Chose a more expensive option which showed a different cover art (an orange-ish colored globe-like object with yellow light swirling around it against a dark background). When the package arrived, it was a copy of the book with the white cover with the two tattooed figures in the middle. I could’ve gotten the latter for much cheaper, but opted for the former because of the cover art.

When I decided to reread this mammoth novel after thirteen years this is the edition that I chose. I picked it for the illustrations, for the badly needed explanatory appendix, and because it has been tightened up into a single volume instead of two 500+ page halves. This will no doubt be the definative edition in the years to come. This isn't a casual read. It represents a considerable investment in time. There are also so many characters, settings, plot lines, specialized vocabulary and underlying principles to keep straight.... Yet, it is worth the investment in time and effort.The basic framework, like so many of Barker's other novels, is that of a hidden world behind the superficial façade of our mundane world. Barker is such a master at interweaving mundane, and profane, details into the greater fabric of his realities that you find yourself totally drawn in. I found myself totally immersed in this hidden reality. For this is a story of five worlds, or dimensions, or Dominions. These make up the whole of Imajica. That is, they should. Two hundred years ago there was an attempt to reconcile our own fifth Dominion with the other four. This ended in a metaphysical catastrophe so great that that nearly all of the Dominions great theurgists, shamans, and theologians were killed. The result was that almost all magical knowledge passed from our world and for two centuries science and materialism held grim sway.Now, conditions are once again ripe for an attempt to reconcile the Dominions. The great magus', or Maestros, know that this may very well be the last attempt to heal the rift in creation. To fail this time will undoubtedly mean two more centuries of isolation- plenty of time for the Fifth Dominion to destroy itself in nuclear or ecological suicide.Yet, to heal the rift will require a Master of such power and confidence that he will try to succeed where all those that have gone before him (even the Christos) have failed....

I think it's because I never had the proper background for it: never got read fairy tales as a child (cue the sad violin music in the background), only saw "The Hobbit" as an animated movie, didn't even own a copy of Grimm's Fairy Fales until I was in my mid-twenties. Sad, huh?Then, after a little pondering, I figured out some of my problem: since I didn't have the fantasy background, I'd need a guide through the fantasy world -- a protagonist who was as much a stranger to the area and culture as I was. I requested book titles on a local bbs (boy, oh boy, did *that* spark discussion), and this was one of the titles mentioned. I'd read some Barker before, and gave it a go.Oh. My.Do not, under any circumstances, let the size of this book intimidate you. Yes, you could use it to fend off an attacker -- consider that a bonus. I was SORRY THAT THE NOVEL HAD ENDED when I finished it. And yes, I read the big "single" edition.Descriptions of the Imagica made me think of faeries and Dr. Suess and foreign countries all rolled together. I have never wanted to go walking in an enchanted wood before, nor have I ever been quite so fascinated by snails. I think that Barker excells at writing long novels: he's my anti-Steven King. I could picture the weather and the landscape without the images in my head feeling cartoony, as they usually tend to. I was lost in the Imagica and didn't want to come out.This novel starts in our world, and while that's what I really need to get going with fantasy novels, I initally found that the length of the book and the images of how dreary our world was kept me from picking it back up for long stretches at a time. I'm here to tell you: keep going, it gets better. Much, much better. Oh, baby.Very few books have since sucked me in like "Imagica" did, and I consider this work a very rare find for doing so. If you want to really escape into a novel, I highly recommend this one.

I have been writing poetry for 16 years now and always fascinated the idea of writing a novel. This book cemented that idea. Clive's uncanny ability to tinge the psyche and finesse you into his world(s) is creepy and romantic! He is the only author of late that I can read and re-read over and over. Imajica is a masterpiece of the first order...run...don't just sit there...get a copy straight away. You will be very glad indeed. The entire novel as a whole is the best read.

And I used to think that it couldn't get any better than "The Great And Secret Show"... Enter the powerful imagination of Clive Barker as he takes you on a mindblowing journey through the Imajica... Join Gentle, once a great and powerful Reconciler, as he meets his former love Pie'oh'Pah, rediscovers his destiny and travels through the worlds that make up the Imajica in a desperate attempt to reconcile the Earth with the four reconciled worlds of the Imajica. Set in a mystical fantasy universe, Imajica is a monster of a book. Although my European version of Imajica was 1138 pages big, I managed to read it within three days - I simply couldn't stop once I got started. Imajica contains everything that a reader could ever want in a single book: Exotical characters, a wonderful story, powerful violence and a vivid sexual element. And as if that wasn't enough, Barker also redefines the entire Christian mythology! Read it at all costs!