Galilee

By: Clive Barker

Narrated by: Paul Hecht

Length: 23 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

A successful film maker, painter, playwright, and best-selling author, Clive Barker commands an astonishing range of creative talent. Drawing upon the literary genius that produced Sacrament, he returns to the realm of the supernatural with this intriguing saga of two families, one human and the other divine. One of America’s wealthiest and most influential families since the Civil War, the Gearys harbor terrible secrets.

The Barbarossa family’s roots are far more ancient and ethereal, but they are bound to the Gearys by a shared history of murder, insanity, and adultery. When Rachel Geary and Galilee, the seductive prince of the Barbarossa clan, fall in love, they unleash powerful enmities that could destroy both dynasties. Shorter and more conventional than some of Barker’s other work, this novel is especially rich with complex, passionate, three-dimensional characters, lush settings, and elegant language. Paul Hecht’s powerful narration gives added depth to this dark, sumptuous novel.

©1998 Clive Barker (P)1999 Recorded Books, LLC

An Audiophile's Dream

I find myself at a true loss for words in trying to describe the pleasure this listen has given me. Clive Barker is a most remarkable and gifted storyteller. Galilee, is superb.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

A masterpiece of story telling

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have already recommended this book to three of my friends and will continue to give it glowing recommendations. Galilee is a work of tremendous breadth and scope of both characterlines and storylines that are interwoven flawlessly. Clive Barker is a true master story teller.

Have you listened to any of Paul Hecht’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not familiar with Paul Hecht's other work, but he is perfect for this book's narration.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Fantastic, sweeping mythology

What made the experience of listening to Galilee the most enjoyable?

Galilee was a dream for lovers of darker fantasy, sweeping epic storytelling, and does its myth building even better than American Gods. Spellbound, you will see the story unfold in front of you masterfully. The characters are multi-dimensional and relatable (even the antagonistic ones), and the plot manages to be both epic and completely individual. The characters are so real that it almost feel like the author had a different ultimate destiny for the plot, but the voices and actions of the characters became too much for him and he bent his narrative will to their agency. I would have once told you that Clive could do no better than The Great and Secret Show, but this one is right up there.

So why the four stars? The performance was magnificent. The story, breathtaking. The production? Occasionally atrocious. Extremely long pauses are artificially created, yet for some reason the narrator's breath or gulping sounds are not edited out. I have no idea why this is, but it's made all the more terrible inside of such a great story with such a great narrator. Please, do get this audiobook, but be warned that sometimes it's going to sound like the microphone is inside the narrator's throat.

I mentioned American Gods above. I loved that book. I love mythology immensely. If you like those things, you will love this book.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

A modern day Odyssey

This book is a delight and so far from formula, I cannot begin to describe it. It's a story that starts with the beginning of time and ends in modern day America. The interesting thing is that every little piece ties together. This book is a true delight and one that I have read before and will listen to again. It's one of those rare books that stays with you forever.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

One of those books you will want to relisten to

If you could sum up Galilee in three words, what would they be?

twisted, deep, sexy

Who was your favorite character and why?

Galilee, because you just fall in love with him, its actually impossible not to.

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't think its a

Any additional comments?

This book has not gotten it's proper due. I feel it should have the popularity of Anne Rice's The Withing Hour.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great Book

This is a great book. It has a great story and you will not want to stop listening.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not very good.

Any additional comments?

The story of two families connected by money and marriage, wierd demon multi generationnal lovers, and something like a demigod with an inferiority complex. It might have been better as two separate books, one about a rich family tearing itself apart, and another about a family of nearly immortal crazy people with pet ghosts. But combine the two and you get a turkey. All due respect to Mr. Barker, This was not one of his best efforts.

7 of 11 people found this review helpful

Great story. Bad narration

The narrator has a phlegmy, .self-satisfied voice. Slimy and sinusy. Totally off-putting. Read it instead.

GALILEE

What an interesting idea. I have to say I really enjoyed this book (even more than IMAGICA). It really held my interest.

a good time

Clive Barker does it again.
Delivers what he promises.
can't wait to start his next work on The Art.

GREAT BOOK!!!

I love this book!!! I have just finish listening to it and started again. A bit slow to develop at first, but definitely worth at listen.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Convoluted and typically Barker

Clive Barker's earlier work was pretty satisfying as it reached some kind of conclusion. In the intervening years, his style has improved somewhat and there are some beautiflly observed scenes throughout this weighty tome, but in the end it fails To fulfil its potential. Does every book need to be set up for a sequel? That wouldn't matter so much if the sequels materialised but Mr Barker appears to lose interest in his franchises the way cats lose interest in dead mice.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful