[.ca] Imajica (ISBN 0060937262)

A Monumental Metaphysical Marvel:
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....

"Majic" of Clive Barker:
"Imajica" was the first Clive Barker book I had the pleasure to read. I knew of him through the movie "HellRaiser", and figured his books would be all blood and gore and gothic violence. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!! He's my main read, and I've spent the last two months reading his books from cover to cover. The fantasy in Imajica wooed me in ways I just cannot describe. When you read a book, and it sucks you into each page with such force that you do not do a thing until you've read it from cover to cover, you've found a good read. The book departs one dominion for another until you get used to dipping and soaring with the characters and their travels. The sights, sounds, smells, the life, the descriptive prose that is so poetic and so Barker, just grabs your brain and engages. Barker's books are lusty in a way that I don't find offensive either. As a spoon fed American horror reader, I cannot believe I spent all these years NOT reading anything by Barker. His writing is a cut above the rest in such a way that you feel like you were spoon fed some kind of weird food or drug that just plugs you in and leaves you breathless. Im not happy till I get my Barker fix, and Imajica was an incredible way to experience my very first Barker book.

waiting on mr. barker:
I read this book in the mid 90's and re-read it last year. Its nothing short of incredible. What kind of mind does it take to write something like this? And not just once. Barker has hit the bullseye on numerous occasions (Great and Secret Show, Everville, Gallilee, Etc...). I have yet to read a clunker from him. This one, Imajica, is the crown jewel. It was like one of those trick boxes, where you open one only to find another and each box down opens unto more boxes. The story is that layered. After the first 100 pages you can see the story is going to get big but you have no idea just how grandiose it is going to become. An epic, multi-world struggle erupts from the seeds of a man hiring an assasin to do in his wife. This is the kind of tale that takes over your life, yourself powerless to put the darned book down. So, when can we expect to take another journey into the extra-ordinary? Mr. Barker, it seems is to wrapped up in his Tv and Film stuff and forgets it is his pen that is his greatest asset. Never mind the nonsense man, start writing again! Get that third book of the art going! I digress, i am getting off topic. Imajica is flawless. It is big, complex and demands your attention to unlock its secrets. And there is more to be had on the second reading.

The alpha is the omega:
Is this book a rewriting or a perversion of the Gospels and the Book of Revelation ? Both and neither. The story itself, the plot if you want, is beyond any telling, summarizing or even sketching. It is extremely complex and difficult - at times - to follow. Not too many notes like in Mozart, but too many characters. As a rewriting of the New Testament, a Reconciler (a Christ) has to reconcile and regenerate the five Dominions of the Universe, Imajica, creating love and prosperity. But the male God has to be destroyed - since he is an imposter - to enable the three female Goddesses he had crushed down to take over and give life a chance. He also has to be killed to open the final door for spirits situated in the first layer of this universe. The male God is a tyrant. It is his son that has to go through the process of getting him destroyed and regenerating the alpha to open the omega. This vision is entirely dominated by the female principle : three Goddesses take over ; the God's son's mother who was rapterously raped by this God is the tool used to destroy him ; this universe is composed of five dominions that are building a circle, with a sixth one for the dead that is inside this circle. This book is also a beautiful symphony of words, images, situations and symbols dedicated to love, particularly love between beings who are not supposed - by standard ethics - to love each other : homosexuals ; individuals from radically different species ; love for the destroyer and hate for the Saviour ; and yet love for the Saviour and hate for the destroyer. Love is hate and hate is love. This is achieved page after page. Any love is hate and any hate is love. Life is this constant contradiction and it is only spiritual forces inside and outside that can liberate alienated individuals and real human fate, destiny, providence and feelings. Some will say this vision of the universe is anti-christian or even anti-god. Yet this vision cannot stand and make sense if the concept of God, of a superior force, drive is not present from beginning to end in every event, development, being. This book is the most spiritual and religious book that can be found even if and even because it kills old conceptions of allmighty male gods. This book should be a must for want-to-be priests and preachers. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Hands Down, My favorite book of all time:
I had never read Clive Barker when I picked up this book at my local library. It made such an impact on me, that I have read nearly all his other novels and have reread Imagica twice in the last 5 years and I am sure that I will read it again. Barkers writing is like prose; poetic and beautiful to read. Something very different in a horror/science fiction novel. His story is absolutely stunning. Amazingly wonderful charectors, spectacular scenery, fabulous dialogue. I have never read a novel that I became so immersed in. As a whole in a one book set (rather then the seperate books) it is a big read and worth every minute. Impossible to put down. It is science fiction/fantasy/horror and will pull fans of all three under its spell. I highly reccomend it.