Imajica

Publisher's Summary

Imajica is an epic beyond compare: vast in conception, obsessively detailed in execution, and apocalyptic in its resolution. At its heart lies the sensualist and master art forger Gentle, whose life unravels when he encounters Judith Odell, whose power to influence the destinies of men is vaster than she knows, and Pie "oh" pah, an alien assassin who comes from a hidden dimension.

That dimension is one of five in the great system called Imajica. They are worlds that are utterly unlike our own but are ruled, peopled, and haunted by species whose lives are intricately connected with ours. As Gentle, Judith, and Pie "oh" pah travel the Imajica, they uncover a trail of crimes and intimate betrayals, leading them to a revelation so startling that it changes reality forever.

©1991, 2009 Clive Barker Ink (P)2015 David N. Wilson

The Full Imajica

After having read this book several times over, I nevertheless discovered new intricacies, finally hearing every word rather then scanning every line.

The epic story is difficult to summarize and that is not what I want to impart. Instead I want to praise the highly imaginative storyline that is enveloped in such beautiful details that it is not difficult for the reader to see all the new alien worlds, or dimensions clearly.

One of my favorite fantasy/magic stories since I first read it about 25 years ago!

45 of 46 people found this review helpful

Imajica is full of adventure, love, lust, power, g

Any additional comments?

This sweeping novel takes the reader on a fantastical ride through dimensions and the lives of intriguingly genuine characters.

Elegantly told, Barker's larger than life characters enchant and entertain.

Imajica is full of adventure, love, lust, power, greed and betrayal.

I listened to the audio-book and although getting through the book was an arduous task because of the length, the narrator did an excellent job conveying the characters, inflections, and keeping the story flowing.

I would recommend reading a physical copy just for the ease of referencing a previous chapter, reflecting and so on.

I did get distracted by the scope of this novel at times.

20 of 20 people found this review helpful

Beautiful Perfection

It was daunting at first, being over 37 hours of listening, but I quickly became immersed in the world and the lore. The tale is an epic - sans the poetical layout, the stars of the tale complex and yet well described, and the whole of the story comes full circle for an ending that coaxes out the good tears. The narrator was as wonderful; using as many diverse accents and tones as the narrative possessed. Before I was 15 hours in, I had already insisted that all of my friends read this, as I will now suggest to anyone who happens upon this review.

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Barker's Masterwork

Barker hit his high water mark with this text. In Imajica, you have a novel who's text and world and characters all create a circular telling of myth in imagery. If you give yourself over to the journey, you will be shown wonders and horrors and wonders again. As in all of Barker's fiction, the author doesn't shy away from the grotesque or the profane, but instead stands them right up next to the sacred and divine. He makes them part of the circle and hands it to the reader in a koan of an experience. Simon Vance does an excellent job of carrying the voices of the text. For the first time, Crossroad gives us an unabridged full telling of the tale. However, I will offer a word of warning. If you're looking for simple horror, look elsewhere. This is not a tale of monsters, though it contains them. It's a love story for imagination.

42 of 45 people found this review helpful

It had such promise.

Any additional comments?

If you like books in which are unlike anything you've ever read, this is for you. There is nothing "typical" about this book, which is part of the difficulty I had with it. There's plenty of "stuff happens" but there is no purpose behind any of it.

Clive Barker clearly has a wild imagination. I just wish he'd let us in on it. Things are described, but not in as much detail as you actually feel like you're there. For instance, strange creatures are given a cursory description, but then we are left on our own to fill in the rest. This is fine for a few descriptions, but, eventually, my mind got tired and filled in with "something weird" showed up. It's the same with EVERY place he describes. He uses generic terms like "majestic" but doesn't actually give a good description. Many times, it was like he felt the need to shock the reader with as far-out something-or-another as he could think of, but it really served no purpose to the overall story.

His characters are clearly defined except for the most important attribute: Motivation. We know that "the reconciler" wants to "reconcile the dominions" but we have no idea why. It's like the characters are driven more by whim than anything else. Ideas float into their heads and then they do stuff. I didn't realize this at first, but it struck me as, many hours into the book, that I just DIDN'T CARE what was going to happen next. In this respect, the book fails at a very basic level. I liked the characters, but just couldn't get behind any of their actions. It's not enough to tell me what they want to do, I need to know the "why."

So, if you like reading things that happen moment-to-moment without any connection to each other, if you want to be taken to a world in which you have never visited before, by all means read this. But, once you get there, you'll find everything is two-dimensional and, by the end, you won't feel like you've been anywhere at all.

Also, the whole thing was just damned depressing start-to-finish.

16 of 18 people found this review helpful

Better Than I Remembered

I read this book about 20 years ago and loved it. I was hoping it would hold up and it did. Clive Barker has always been one of my favorite writers and Imajica could possibly be his best work. It's description of the fantastic is so floral and vibrant. I really fell for the characters all over again and his deft ability to describe the differences between men and women is subtle and nuanced. There's fantasy, horror, love and adventure here mixed with magic and religion- I love this book and Simon Vance's narration was excellent.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Not just a book but a ticket to another world

Some books are more than the sum of the words that create them, its the dimension created without words that set your imagination soaring beyond those limits and leave you feeling bereft when it is done. The characters can be slightly predictable but the substance of the worlds and tale could not leave room for much more complexity or you'd be wandering the Imagica for the rest of time...

13 of 15 people found this review helpful

Creation!

Author Clive Barker has this talent for writing and creating a story that will absolutely blow your mind. He has created worlds, characters that will blow your mind, adventure, philosophy, and intrigue from start to finish. It took me quite awhile to get through this story but I'm thrilled I did, after all it is a Clive Barker story. I think it was over 37 hours long but I could be off by an hour or two. The story was filled with plot twists and the majority of the characters are far from what you think.

Simon Vance did an outstanding job with bringing this story to life. He breathed life into it from start to finish. I was amazed at his vocalization and his ease for distinguishing accents and voices of each character. He did a great job! Overall, a perfect 5 🌟 rating. I received this audio from the author/narrator in exchange for an unbiased review through Audiobook Blast.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

entertaining

An epic adventure. The narrator did an excellent job reading the story. I felt as if I was in the story along with all the characters. Did not want to stop listening.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Excellent reader, ok story.

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

It turns out, I'm not a Clive Barker fan. I don't think he describes anything well, and this story has a ton of unanswered questions. Like, if Sartori is the greatest magician ever, why doesn't he ever use magic, aside from blowing spit from his hand a few times? How did the fire ball kill Celestine, but didn't burn up the house; then continue on it's way back to Hapexamendios and destroys him? That's stupid.

Would you be willing to try another book from Clive Barker? Why or why not?

No

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

Super good performance.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Amazing

This is a great book that will live with me forever
Very well written timeless classic
Great narration which is perfectly suited to the book
Loved it

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Not Clive’s best

Took some getting into by which time you’re committed to listening to the rest of it but I nearly gave up a couple of times.
My main issue was with the narrator’s characterisations which just made me laugh or throw up my hands in despair. It’ll put me off any other book Mr Vance does.
As for the story, I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as Weaveworld or Great and Secret Show which I’ve read a few times. Maybe Imajica would be a better read then a listen.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Huge

Loved it, a magical listen, could do with female narration for the female parts as vance impressions made me laugh! But nothing spoilt still fantastic

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

once will never be enough,

An amazing story over the years I have loved to read and aways found something new .

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazing story

This is one of my favourite stories and this adaptation does not disappoint. Loved it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wonderful first act, then directionless

I tried reading this 20 years ago, and struggled. Having laboured through all 37 hours of it, I remember why. Like most of Mr. Barker's work, the first act is wonderful. Sadly, IMAGICA quickly becomes directionless and muddled. It's world's better than GALILEE, but weak and bloated beside THE GREAT AND SECRET SHOW.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

amazing..aside for ainor thing

it's a beautiful book and nicely read. only note, I personally find the act of changing the to e of the voice depending g on the gender of the character not pleasant.

Not what I'd hoped for.

I was hoping for an exciting tale of magic, evil and Barkers traditional gore.and sex based violence.

What I got was an erotic thriller. Not my thing.

Imajica

I bought the book over 10 years ago but could not get myself to start reading it due how enormous it was. Finally I bought the audio version and it was an absolute joy to listen to. It brought tears to my eyes at the end. This certainly ranks as one of the best books I have ever read. I must also give respect to Simon Vance for narrating the book.

A great performance of my favourite book

I have read this book countless times and each time I do I fall in love with it all over again. Unfortunately, time does not allow me to read as much as I once did. Listening to this book has brought an added dimension to my favourite Barker characters.
As always, it is sad to say goodbye to them all - until we meet again on my next visit to the Imajica.