The Reconciliation (Imajica, Book 2) [Paperback]

Clive Barker (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: HarperTorch (1995)
• ASIN: B000OF5K6U
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Clive Barker was born in Liverpool in 1952. He is the worldwide bestselling author of the Books of Blood, and numerous novels including Imajica, The Great and Secret Show, Sacrament and Galilee. In addition to his work as a novelist and short story writer he also illustrates, writes, directs and produces for the stage and screen. His films include Hellraiser, Hellbound, Nightbreed and Candyman. Clive lives in Beverly Hills, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Monumental Metaphysical Marvel, January 29, 2004

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Reconciliation (Imajica, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

It is hard to believe that it has been over ten years since I first read this mammoth novel- and some thirteen since it was first published. I think "mammoth" is not exaggerating, for how else do you describe on novel that exists as two separate volumes, each of over 500 pages? 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) has failed....

This isn't really the second book of Imajica, it is the second half- it was just necessary for the publisher to split it in half.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The power of love, May 21, 2002

By 

"blissengine" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Reconciliation (Imajica, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

When Judith's estranged husband hires a mysterious assassin to kill his wife, he unwittingly sets in motion a sequence of events that will change all the dominions of the Imajica, of which Earth is the fifth. Both Judith and her former lover John "Gentle" Zacharias are drawn into the mysteries as the assassin Pie 'oh' Pah leads them both forward to remembering their origins and connections to each other and to the ruler of the other dominions, the Autarch. Judith's journey veers from Gentle's when she finds evidence of buried and suppressed goddesses on Earth and in the other dominions. But the Autarch has domination plans of his own, and he won't be stopped without drawing blood first. "Imajica" is essentially about healing, and about love. Gentle is a broken man, a habitual womanizer, who's brought to a place of healing through his relationship with Pie 'oh' Pah, a mystif with the power to change sex according to another's true desires. Judith is claimed by many men, but she battles this ownership, and must find her own way and rely on her own strength if she's to assist in bringing the dominions back together. And ultimately it's in Judith's hands whether this healing of the Imajica comes about or fails yet again. It's a gorgeous epic fantasy that soars to a reader's heart, and once there plants a seed of imagining the world as a better place, much as Gentle and Judith do. This is one of my favorite all-time books. I feel so wordless in attempting to describe it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastically bizarre perspective on human nature., June 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Reconciliation (Imajica, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

In this, the second half of Imajica, we find Gentle venturing to see the First Dominion, where the fabled Happexamendios (God), is supposed to reside. Wonderfully odd perspective on men, the way they think, and the psychology of a god created and worshipped by men. Such fresh ideas could only come from someone outside looking in, as Clive Barker is a classic example. (Intended as a compliment.)