Weaveworld

By: Clive Barker

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 21 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

Clive Barker has made his mark on modern fiction by exposing all that is surreal and magical in the ordinary world - and exploring the profound and overwhelming terror that results. With its volatile mix of the fantastical and the contemporary, the everyday and the otherworldly, Weaveworld is an epic work of dark fantasy and horror - a tour de force from one of today's most forceful and imaginative artists.

©1987 Clive Barker, Ink (P)2014 David N. Wilson

it was so good I cried

this is probably my favorite narrator and I got this book because of imajica, by the same author which he also narrated. both stories are so enthralling and emotional and adventurous and unique, and with both I cried both tears of sadness and tears of joy. I am not usually prone to tears, but these have been the best books I think I've ever read.

A Chore I Gave Up On

This book was recommended to me by a fan of Clive Barker as a great first book to experience and I honestly struggled to finish it.

The set up was simple, fairies hid from the world to escape mankind and the fairy killer, an unlucky couple frees them from their hiding place, and a bunch of people interact while failing to make you care about any of them.

From the main villain, who isn't really a main villain because she is too weak to control her lackeys, to a secret back up villain who takes far too long to appear, and finally a lackey who hired his own lackeys that lack as much as him.

I never once felt the motivation for any of the characters, from a detective who is bad because... well I am not sure, too a jaded fairy who wants to watch the world burn simply because she wasn't allowed to be part of the rug, and finally a crazy nothingness that is just sad and angry it lost its charge.

I had a hard time finishing Weaveworld and found myself paying more attention to house chores hoping to hear the ending credits so I could move on to a better read. I am not feeling the urge to try anything else from Clive Barker which is rather unfortunate.

great reading, great story!

I'm bias, Clive Barker is my favorite author, but this story is such an amazing piece of fantasy! the world building and richness of the characters is astounding, and the reading is equally as great! I loved the character voices and personality in each. if you like epic style fantasy in a modern setting, this book is just for you!

Slow, with too many climaxes

Maybe I met this book at the wrong time in my life, or maybe it holds some subtle observations about the human condition I wasn't able to appreciate, but I had to force myself to finish it.

The book-part-chapter-subchapter structure is needlessly confusing—like picking up a fresh cucumber only to find some dude with a really sharp knife has turned it into a net. Every time I reached a portion of the story that felt like the end, I'd look to see five hours of remaining play time. Characters went through so many changes that I didn't feel like I could relate to them anymore: they might as well have been replaced with new actors or clones.

In retrospect, I ought to have expected this kind of treatment, because any book that comes with an introduction or forward by the author is usually just an apology before an insult.

Certain portions of the book have a kind of lyrical quality to them, which is entertaining, but they're overshadowed by bouts of disgusting violence and corruption. I don't mind people getting killed or dismembered or dominated, but every time it happens in Weaveworld, it's like the author went out of his way to make it (a) a casual murder to highlight the futility of life, or (b) a horrendous slaughter he hoped would evoke an emotion. It's difficult to become attached to any of the characters except for Cal and Suzanna because they're constantly being killed off, even the ones who have significant portions of the text dedicated to their introductions. When the first five seers were liberated from the carpet, I thought, "Yeah! Those are some interesting people! Let's see how they'll affect the story…" …only for them to die or disappear.

I cannot fault Simon Vance's performance. He has good characterizations and can deliver every word from the most mundane article to the vilest swear-word with aplomb. You feel like he's sitting across a dark room from you, under the only light, while you lounge on a sofa with a glass of brandy and listen to him read.

Ah, but what price Wonderland?

One of my favorites! Raw and dark fantasy from Clive Barker. A great story and wonderful narration by Mr. Simon Vance. Maybe not as polished as some of Barker's other works, but a grand modern fairytale nonetheless. Epic in scale and weight.

Enchanting

Would you listen to Weaveworld again? Why?

Yes
This read has a lot of story and sometimes I felt as if I missed something.
Definitely have it on the list to read again.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Weaveworld?

In the end when there was a unexpected twist I was hoping to see

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

The steady ness of his voice. When he is speaking as a woman you dont think about the person trying to be a woman. Just the person in the story.
His voice has tempo and seems to sing at just the right time. Its as if he wrote the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I very rarely stop and think about a book long after I have read it and its been months and I'm still thinking about this one

Great story perfectly narrated

Unique and imaginative story, a true work of art. The narrator was wonderful, great characterizations and even did women's voices believably.

I love it!

So much so that im sad it ended. The narrator did a wonderful job. The story is superb. I recommend to anyone who is into fantasy and magical worlds.

Captivating

For a non-reader with adhd, this book kept me hooked. it became mental escape. bravo

Worth it, but not amazing.

The story meandered and that might seem good because the book is called Weaveworld, but it wasn't in a meta way. It was more the kind of meandering like when you take a winding path through not so impressive scenery that seems like it will blow your mind around the next corner and never does. Ecerything about this bookmwas almost there. The characters were fleshed out just enough so that you almost cared about them, but not quite. Barker doesn't succeed in connecting the rrader to the fugue to make it a place worth saving, which is the entire goal of the book, so everything on the way to that goal falls flat. It is very imaginative and there are patches where Barker writes this beautiful, poetic prose, the kind of which everlasting platitudes are born because they feel so true to deeper truths of existence. For that reason, I think the novel is worth the read, but don't go into thinking it's going to be as good as Imajica.

Fresh and vibrant after all this time

25 years. Or more, and after all that time I still had vivid memories of it such is the impact it had on me then.
I was slightly scared going back in after all this time, I've ruined some of my fondest old memories by re-watching old tv shows but in the end I could not resist one more look at the old carpet and I was not disappointed.
Some of the accents were mildly annoying when I first started but I soon settled in and actually enjoyed the characterisation by the time I got to the end. Anyway, decent though the performance was it is irrelevant really, this is all about the story. A beautifull woven fairytale with allegory both subtle and bold and wonderfully written snippets describing a wondrousl world.
I have almost literally been somewhere else for the last 20 or so hours, laughing inside at the other commuters who have no idea I have another world in my headphones.
Bravo.

More please!

Superb story read by excellent narrator. Weaveworld has always been a favourite story of mine, I got my hardback signed by Clive Barker at the Forbidden Planet bookshop in London years ago, The audio version is amazing and highly recommended.

Now Audible, can we please have The Damnation Game, The Great and Secret show, Everville, and Imajica as soon as possible please!

One of my fave Clive Barker novels

Great story and narration only let down slightly by the poor Liverpudlian accents. Simon Vance is usually great and he is throughout the rest - but in places where Cal and Brendan's accents were wavering between Yorkshire, Birmingham and Liverpool it was pretty jarring.

An Unending Tale, That Goes Nowhere and Back

Clive Barker has a knack of telling tales that would otherwise not work under another less capable author. Unfortunately Weaveworld is so bloated with the unnecessary, that the story gets lost in the detail and detracts from what otherwise might be a fun ride through a strange magic world.

The story follows a number of characters that are caught in the majesty of the Weaveworld, a hiding place for magic. Created to hold the people of this magic world and hide them from an evil, the scourge.

Following a number of twists and turns, in which the book could have quite happily concluded several times, the people of magic and humanity must work together to hide from and maybe even kill the evil that hunts them.

Weaveworld is well written and Barker is clearly accomplished, but that comes with certain responsibilities to oneself. Not unlike Stephen King's recent efforts, the inability to reign in the imagination has turned this creative story into a dull and tiring affair that I couldn't wait to finish.

The adventure is contained in only a few chapters, which are exciting and enthralling. The rest is a mixture of unneeded character development and travel. The anticipation and world building isn't enough to keep the reader entertained and the detail covers any real pace the book could have had.

If you like to get lost in a story, then there is plenty to get lost in. If you however want an interesting read/listen from start to finish then this is not for you, and wasn't for me.

Simon Vance is his effervescent self and does a wonderful job. Bar one character, an ill advised, stereotypically offensive Chinese accent. Why the producer let that slip, who knows. The rest of the performance however was perfect.

It's a lot for a Cuckoo to understand

I was happy having the audiobook assessable on this app as reading it was going to be troublesome. Brilliantly read, I foud this very captivating. Clive Barker's opening was a real treat.

Tom

Would you try another book written by Clive Barker or narrated by Simon Vance?

I bought Imajica and found it superb so I had hoped for something as good or better. However, Weaveworld is gory tedium and Mr Vance struggles to enliven the inane characters, which even his talent cannot.

What could Clive Barker have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Cut out the gore and developed the characters.

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Mr Vance is an excellent reader

What character would you cut from Weaveworld?

Rewrite the whole lot of them .

Any additional comments?

A disappointment.

life is too short to listen to Weavworld

why say it in 6 words when you can say it in 76?
Having read this book back in the early 90's I remembered it fondly and have been threatening to re read it for years. I have just finished the audio book and and wish i hadnt. Maybe it's me? Maybe reading it gave me the luxury of skipping through the endless, unnecessary waffle that just goes on and on and on and on...
unfortunately you can't do that when it's being read to you.
If my opinion is worth anything to you, there are much better books out there, I wouldn't bother... Sorry Clive,

Great story, mediocre performance

Great story but badly let down by the poor performance. The narrator's stylings of the two main characters; Cal and Susannah was abysmal. I struggled to finish it, the story was the only saving grace

How many endings is too many?

An interesting story that suffers from too many endings. There are so many logical conclusion points throughout, but it feels like the author doesn't know when to stop.

excellent story

narator didn't do accent well and mispronounced words butt over all as excellent as i remember it