โ Scribed by Clive Barker
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Dazzling metaphysical epic-adventure as Barker surpasses his previous ground-breaking work (The Great and Secret Show, 1989, etc.) to reconfigure the Fall and to imagine a modern-day attempt to reverse it. A complex cosmology underpins the vigorous, at times horrific, action here: Imajica'' is the known universe of fiveDominions,'' or parallel worlds, four reconciled'' but the fifth, Earth,unreconciled''--unaware of the other four, of the tyrannical Autarch'' who rules them, and of theGod Hapeximendios,'' who oversees all five (and who wrested His'' power from theGoddesses'' of old). Periodically, Hapeximendios has sent His sons''--including Christ--to attempt to unite, by magical rites, the Fifth Dominion to the others. The last attemptedReconciliation'' ended in catastrophe--an invasion of Earth by hellish powers--and today magic has been nearly eradicated from Earth by a Society'' that alone knows of the Imajica and of the catastrophe. The densely woven story here opens with a jealous man venturing into London's dankest slum to hire an assassin to kill his estranged wife, Judith; the assassin turns out to be amystif,'' a fabulous creature from the Second Dominion, capable of appearing as the erotic ideal of any who behold it. As the mystif hunts Judith, it in turn is hunted by Judith's former lover, Gentle,'' who in time learns that he is the newReconciler''- -and the mystif his long-forgotten servant. Undertaking dangerous, splendor-filled journeys through the other Dominions, Gentle and the mystif fall in love, marry, and encounter numerous fantastic creatures and, finally, death; later, Gentle helps dethrone the Autarch, learns the chilling secret of his and Judith's origin, helps free the Goddesses and slay God, and, back on Earth, inspires the destruction of the Society and undertakes Reconciliation--with hell-borne, then heaven-sent, results. An astonishing feat of the imagination, immensely engrossing despite its demanding--at times indulgent--length, running riot with ideas, fantastical inventions, graphic sex and violence, soul- terrors, and emotional and intellectual resonances. Barker's best yet. -- Copyright 1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
'Moves with tidal force and power' - William S Burroughs 'The tears of blood and nightmare imagery are passionate and ingenious! Imajica is a ride with remarkable views' - Times Literary Supplement 'Barker's fecundity of invention is beyond praise. In a world of hard-bitten horror and originality, Clive Barker dislocates your mind' - Mail on Sunday 'A powerful and fascinating writer with a brilliant imagination! Clive Barker is an outstanding storyteller' - J G Ballard
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