Chiliad

A Meditation

By: Clive Barker

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 1 hr and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

Welcome to the world of Chiliad, an astonishing two-part novella by the incomparable Clive Barker. A brilliantly composed narrative filled with unforgettable images, this visionary meditation on time, history, and human suffering is surely one of Barker's most distinctive - and distinguished - creations.

Chiliad consists of two interrelated stories, stories filtered through the melancholy imagination of a narrator perched on the banks of a river that flows backward and forward through time. The first movement, "Men and Sin", takes place in the millennial year of 1000 AD. The second, "A Moment at the River's Heart", occurs exactly 1000 years - the length of a "chiliad" - later, as the new millennium approaches.

At the heart of these stories are two savage, seemingly inexplicable atrocities, each of which reaches across the centuries to reflect and connect with the other. As the narratives unfold and time becomes increasingly permeable, Barker creates a dark, sorrowful portrait of the ancient human capacity for cruelty and destruction. Writing always with lucidity and grace, he addresses a host of universal concerns, among them the power of guilt and grief, and the need to find signs of meaning in the chaos that surrounds us. In the process, he examines the endless chain of consequences that inevitably proceed from a single act of violence.

At once hugely expansive and deeply personal, Chiliad is a compact masterpiece, a resonant reminder of Barker's ability to create fictional worlds that enrich and illuminate our own.

©2014 Clive Barker Inc. (P)2014 David N. Wilson

Love Clive barkers unqiue perspectives

First I love any book that introduces me to a new vocabulary word Chiliad means a group of a thousand units or a millennium (1000years). This story tells the tale of time and tragedy of
A single incident and its ripples in the duel flowing river of time. Wonderfully insightful.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

I am in awe. I am shaken.

I’ve read many of Clive Barker’s novels, brilliant as they are long. This short piece may be the greatest piece I’ve ever read, or heard, period. There is so much wisdom to be gleaned from this seamless story the spans one thousand years. It left me so satisfied. The river does indeed flow both ways.

Surprisingly Epic Clive Barker Short Story

A strange, haunting short story set in two different time periods. It's written in Clive Barker's typically luscious style.
John Lee's narration is slightly dramatic, but I think it actually works in his favour for this story.
Another quality presentation from Crossroad Press.
Recommended.

Disjointed

The thread through the two parts was so loosely connected it could barely be identified as a single entity. More like a couple of stories the publisher said "connect it and we'll publish". The first part was interesting, but I lost interest about half way through the second part. It was like a tip of the hat to Dante's Inferno but without depth.

Self Indulgent CB

Generally a big fan of CB and his ties to religious hypocrisy but this one colapses under its own weight. Confusing and self indulgent.

A fine story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, as it was enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

Worth it for fans of Barker. Otherwise, perhaps not.