Imajica

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Barker relies too heavily on his world-building to sell the novel, but quite frankly, Imajica is much less interesting than he thinks it is. They also reveal to her that when reconciled, the Imajica is a circle and that Judith may one day be among the Goddesses. Judith meanwhile has another out of body experience where she witnesses Quaisoir after a fight with the Autarch, who is upset with her becoming enamored with religion, and Father Athanasius, the leader of the 'Dearther' group of rebels (and the man who wed Gentle and Pie at the Cradle). For the first time in recent memory I was unable to predict where a narrative would take me and I enjoyed the ride thoroughly.

Imajica is a fantasy novel of make believe worlds, containing magic and societies on planets away from earth.It's as though Barker possesses some ancient and undefined ability, which he sprinkled his masterpiece liberally with. Also remembered is the moments after the reconciliation failed and the horror brought upon everyone when Sartori tampered with the ceremony and creatures from the In Ovo were released. As I got deeper into the novel, the shocking twists and turns occurred frequently, thus amplifying the plot and scope and complexity in ways which did not feel orchestrated in any way whatsoever. This book is like an unresponsive engine on a cold day--it takes an aggrevatingly long time to kick into gear, and by the time it does, the journey doesn't seem nearly as appealing. I feel like this book kind of ruined my life, in that I know that nothing I ever read from here on out will ever be as good.

It is one of those books, I will never forget and whose characters will always have a place in my heart. Imajica follows beat-by-beat the hero's journey after its gloriously winding introduction and it disappointed me. The design is loosely based on the Euclidian shapes depicting colored geometric figures which appear throughout the book.Judith decides to head to Yzordderrex to see the Goddesses and find out from them whether or not the reconciliation should go forward. He now seems a changed man, saying that once the dominions are reconciled Hapexamendios will turn them to a wasteland. It is, after all, a book in which Barker creates a religion with a rich and full history, then ties that religion with the views and beliefs of “common men” of the Fifth Dominion (Earth) who have no idea that the Imajica even exists.

Barker's prose is dense, verbose and concerned with many details, some of which are minute, but there are many more which inform the reader of character development and plot, subplot, themes, et al. I was expecting something on the scale of mass genocide, not a handful of people dead in a small house in London. Clive Barker has lots of fans but his novel left me cold and I do not think Imajica is a classic book.There is so much here, such a rich universe painted by Barker with incredibly developed characters engaged in the most remarkable mythos, you won't be disappointed.