Customer Reviews

Imajica (Voyager Classics)

5 star:		(108)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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 had never read anything by Cliver Barker and usually am not a fan of horror or fantasy, but I picked up Imajica on a whim, for a change of pace. I just finished reading it-an endeavor that has taken me about 2 years all together, not because it's a slow read, but because I have a short attention span. Because I'm an editor of academic books by day, my "fun reading" tends to be much less involved. Imajica, however, requires some serious attention, a great deal of imagination, and some brain retention space.

It's over 1000 pages long, but the story, settings, and characters make you want to keep reading. I found it frustrating at times because when you think you're getting to a climax scene, or a point of intense action, the plot twists again onto a different path. HOWEVER, despite the number of times I put this book down, I always returned. I even found myself driving home from work, after not reading the book for a couple months, and thinking "wonder what ever happened with Gentle and Judith?" That's the greatest endorsement I can give any book, and I've recommended it to many friends for that reason: It haunted me, and I had to finish. I'm so glad that I did, and I will probably read Imajica again someday. There are so many wonderful pieces to this work, I'm sure you could read it 200 times and still pick up new things each time. I would also like to meet Clive Barker someday, just to talk to a person whose mind creates like this.

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!

Clive Barker sure knows how to give his stories life: with breath and pulse, and with each page, he draws you deeper and deeper into their embrace (it's really hard to pull away). Although, I'm happy to say, Imajica is one I'd never pull away from. From beginning to end I was absolutely consumed by Barker's story telling. My unwillingness to put the book down left me a little sleep deprived, but it was well worth it. And I'd be willing to do it again and again and again. Kudos Mr. Barker! I think this book is down right perfection.

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.

Having read almost everything that Clive Barker has written thus far, I will admit that Imajica contains many elements that seem to echo in several of his books; Weaveworld,The Great and Secret Show/Everville,and most recently the Abarat series. However, this does not detract in any way from the intricately woven story of Imajica. In fact, I think it is in this book that the author finally finds the scope to perfect the "genre" that can only be described as Clive Barker - the mix of the mundane, the fantastical, the horrific and the surreal, blended seamlessly together to create a captivating story that resonates within the soul of the reader. Imajica isn't the easiest to read for many people, mainly because there are so many characters and sub-plots intertwined that it is easy for the reader to lose sight of the story's core and get lost in the minutiae. But I promise you that if you go into the book with an open mind and without preconcieved notions of what a "Clive Barker" novel should be like, you will be rewarded with a most excellent reading experience. I have read the book at least 3 times now and each time find a new gem hidden in plain sight, and have discovered new levels of depth with each reading. It is fantasy, horror, philosophy, theology, theosophy all rolled into one, and John "Gentle" Furie Zacharias is one of the most memorable characters in Barker's worlds.

I take issue with those people who complain about the book being "aimless" or "meandering" - as in any story, there is a time for action and a time for reflection. If you are the type of reader who needs the action to be non-stop and in your face in order to keep your attention, you may be missing many opportunities to discover a truly magical and engaging reading experience. Give it the chance it deserves!!

Imajica was really hard for me to get into at first. The first couple of chapters are a bit scattered and confusing as the characters start to develop. Then, suddenly it all becomes clear. It's interesting how Clive Barker writes this book. The book starts in the middle of this plot with these characters that you know essentially nothing about, so it's rather confusing. But as the story grows, all those small details at the beginning are suddenly much clearer. Barker then takes the reader on this journey through other dimensions and worlds with such fierce momentum that before you know it, the book is over. I read both the books in about four days. I just couldn't put them down. The books are very captivating with detail and description. I found myself so engrossed in this world that Barker had created, I actually found myself a bit depressed after finishing it. How boring our reality seems now.

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.

This book reminded me, in mood and character, of Tad William's "Tailchaser's Song" and of Richard Adam's "Watership Down" -- no, nothing to do with animals, but to do with otherworldiness. 'Imajica' is populated with a variety of interesting people, all of whom are lovingly rendered with a level of detail and attention to history that makes them uniquely motivated and easy to relate to... and they move through episodes, evolutions, and worlds in ways which are vivid, captivating, suspenseful, and satisfying. I believe near the end the book loses some degree of focus and some of the characters I felt I knew intimately started behaving in ways I didn't find believable, and there was the unfortunate 'and then they disappeared' type ending... but, ending aside, the journey was fabulous. I couldn't put the book down. I read it voraciously. I highly suggest it, if you're in the mood for involving, highly detailed fantasy and world-building.

John Furie Zacharias, also known as Gentle, is a master forger. His life is nothing but a series of lies that go far beyond the paintings that he forges. But behind all the lies, Gentle unknowingly carries with him a secret of universal proportions. Once every two hundred years the universe, which some call the Imajica, enters a mystical moment at which it can be reconciled. Exactly at this moment the five Dominions can be reunited. Earth, being the fifth Dominion, is at the center of this process and Gentle is one of the few who can start the reconciliation. When Gentle learns that in a few weeks that unique moment will start again, he has to race against time to find out which role he has to play. But that is not all: also his friends get sucked into a spiral of magical events that bring all of them to worlds they could have never imagined.

That Clive Barker has an amazing imagination is maybe best proven by the magic of his early novel Imajica. More than eight hundred pages of wonderfully strange and outlandish images are bestowed upon the reader. It is not always easy to make any sense of the story itself, but after the exciting and utterly dark opening, many people will be forgiving about this shortcoming . True, Imajica is anything but a light read, but it succeeds where many fantasy novels fail: it sucks the reader into a completely new universe and really grows on you. Maybe this is mostly due to the strangely erotic suspense that seeps through the pages. The character of Pie'oh'pah is the best example of this tension. Not surprising if you know that Pie is an androgynous creature that shows itself to people as the object of lust they crave the most.

Although this book will not be everyone's cup of tea, it will be unforgettable for those who dare to take the jump into Clive's other Dominions.