Featuring New Illustrations and an Appendix

Great book, Great Author and Great reading experience. This book is far more fantasy like than some of Barkers previous work so if you are looking for good ol' horror this probably isn't for you. That being said if you have read his more fantasy stuff like Abarat or the Great and Secret Show you will love this book.

Barker's imagination is amazing. Awesome scenery filled with fantastic creatures. Well-crafted story with interesting characters. Enjoyed it very much, but had to take away one star because it drags a little toward the end and there was some cringe-worthy graphic sex.

Felt compelled to write a review because this is one of my first and favorite novels ever.

I read Imajica when I was in high school at the age of 15. It was my first real adult novel (i.e. not something for teens) that I read. The cover for that originally hardcover was what drew me in and I recognized the name "Clive Barker" as the guy who made those scary movies. But this wasn't a scary book, it was a fantasy book, and it was the size of the Bible so I was intrigued to see what this was all about.

The first time through it took me eight months to read and I didn't fully get the story. It wasn't until I read it again in my 20s -- after more life experience -- that a lot of it clicked with me and since has become an almost yearly tradition for me to read this novel. Granted, this kind of spoiled me for anything that has followed with the exception of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series because there isn't anything in comics, movies, television, or literature that's quite like Imajica.

To summarize: this is a true epic journey for adults with great imaginations, a general knowledge of the Christian faith and the occult, and most of all open minds (there are quite a few sex scenes and unconventional sex scenes at that -- if you have a hang up with sex in any form this ain't for you). If you're into Disposable Fiction (regurgitated versions of known stories that are so common these days especially) this is probably not for you. There are age old concepts here presented in a delightfully decadent, twisted, creative, introspective, and ecentennial format. IF you get the big picture Barker is painting here then it will stick with you.

The negatives: I personally don't have any but as I mentioned before this isn't for everyone. It requires a constitution that some may not possess. I've read some of the negative reviews and they boil down to three common threads:
1. People who have hangups about sex, homosexuality (Barker is gay so he's writing about what attracts him the same as 1000 other authors write about Caucasian blonde females), weirdness, monsters, or different takes on Christian mythos - you probably shouldn't read anything from Clive Barker then
2. People who are impatient and by page 200 want things to be wrapped up (I suggest the 100,000 ebooks that are rewrites of Twilight, Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Divergent then, this is original and original doesn't sit well with some)
3. People who simply don't get it. I didn't get it at 15, I did at 23

Barker's way with words, although at times repetitive (coitus is now forever a part of my lexicon thanks to this book!), is fantastic. A common thing I get from every book of his I've read is how he makes you feel, taste, and smell everything he's describing, and by connecting those senses with the fantastic and magical in his fiction, the reader can get a sense that these insane concepts might be one step beyond the next door in their own life. That is powerful storytelling for a fantasy writer when you can make the magic feel real. Case in point: the pneuma that Gentle uses which is accomplished by blowing a breath into your hand which manifests as a bolt of energy. Another is the Nullianac which are monstrous creatures whose heads are formed like praying hands with arcs of electrical pulses passing back and forth between the "finger tips". A stunning, complex image but one he describes so that you completely can envision it.

Imajica is, for myself, up there with Lord of the Rings as one of the truly greatest epics ever told. Because of its very adult themes, sexuality, and confrontation of Christian mythos it will likely forever remain as a cult classic but a classic it is.

Imajica by Clive Barker is a novel that includes everything from mysterious creatures, romances, betrayal, out of body experiences, assassins and murderers to dimension travelling to parallel worlds. What's not to like? From what I can remember, this is my first Clive Barker novel! Although not too familiar with the author, I do know he specializes in horror stories but that wasn't really what I was looking for in my next novel. So, when I heard about Imajica, I thought it would be a great chance to experience this author's work for the first time. Was I disappointed? Yes, somewhat. Was it still a decent read though? I would say so but definitely not for readers with little patience.

Imajica has a lot going on for it but it starts off at a snail's pace in the beginning. Multiple characters will be introduced that plays a pivotal role in the overall story to come yet their importance wouldn't be realized until further on. This makes reading for some no doubt feel like a chore as the characters can seem a bit flat and uninspired from the get go. The concept of Imajica also isn't all that original but I wouldn't go as far as to say that the story is cliché. Yes, if you've read a lot of fantasy stories prior to Imajica, many concepts will be familiar to you no doubt but if you put that aside, there's still a interesting story to be read here. The concept around dominion hopping was something I looked forward to but was let down at the end at how this was implemented. Quite honestly and to be brutally honest, it wasn't all that exciting and I felt it was a missed opportunity. Without giving away spoilers, this letdown was a big reason why I wasn't rooting too much for the main protagonist in Gentle and the goal he was tasked with.

If you're not one to reading sexual scenes, be forewarned that there are two to three of such detailed scenes here in Imajica! Personally I've never had an interest in reading these types of sexual scenes in novels and Imajica is the first book I can remember in my entire history of reading novels that goes into such details! I felt it didn't really add anything to the story or more importantly, to the characters themselves. We as readers already know the history of Gentle and Judy as people that have the ability to attract their opposite gender with minimum effort needed so we as readers should only have to be reminded of their sexual prowess with hints, not page after page of the sexual act itself of this fact. It was something that came out of nowhere!

Imajica felt like another novel that should have been 100-200 pages shorter. There were times when a lot was being written but not a whole lot was being said. I would have loved for the author to have spent more of those pages developing the bond between the different dominions and for the characters to develop a more lasting relationship there to help build the foundation for the overall goal they are trying to achieve towards the end. major events obviously happen but for some reason, these just seem like a big blur to me when the final events was happening towards the end. This meant to me that those events just weren't memorable enough. The ending to the novel was at least satisfying in my opinion and closed things out quite nice for the most part.

Would I read another Clive Barker novel sometime in the future? Yes, I most likely would. However, I would probably stick to what he's best known for and that would be in the horror genre! Imajica gave me a decent brain stimulation with the whole dominion and alternate persona drama thing but save for certain parts, the execution was a bit underwhelming and lackluster. I'm sure others would disagree and say that this novel presented complex characters with a deep story-line and for some reason, I can even agree to that. It's just that I didn't felt the need or the urge to overthink this one too much.

When I decided to reread this mammoth novel after thirteen years this is the edition that I chose. I picked it for the illustrations, for the badly needed explanatory appendix, and because it has been tightened up into a single volume instead of two 500+ page halves. This will no doubt be the definative edition in the years to come.
This isn't a casual read. It represents a considerable investment in time. There are also so many characters, settings, plot lines, specialized vocabulary and underlying principles to keep straight.... Yet, it is worth the investment in time and effort.
The basic framework, like so many of Barker's other novels, is that of a hidden world behind the superficial façade of our mundane world. Barker is such a master at interweaving mundane, and profane, details into the greater fabric of his realities that you find yourself totally drawn in. I found myself totally immersed in this hidden reality. For this is a story of five worlds, or dimensions, or Dominions. These make up the whole of Imajica. That is, they should. Two hundred years ago there was an attempt to reconcile our own fifth Dominion with the other four. This ended in a metaphysical catastrophe so great that that nearly all of the Dominions great theurgists, shamans, and theologians were killed. The result was that almost all magical knowledge passed from our world and for two centuries science and materialism held grim sway.
Now, conditions are once again ripe for an attempt to reconcile the Dominions. The great magus', or Maestros, know that this may very well be the last attempt to heal the rift in creation. To fail this time will undoubtedly mean two more centuries of isolation- plenty of time for the Fifth Dominion to destroy itself in nuclear or ecological suicide.
Yet, to heal the rift will require a Master of such power and confidence that he will try to succeed where all those that have gone before him (even the Christos) have failed....

John Furie Zacharias, also known as Gentle, is a master forger. His life is nothing but a series of lies that go far beyond the paintings that he forges. But behind all the lies, Gentle unknowingly carries with him a secret of universal proportions. Once every two hundred years the universe, which some call the Imajica, enters a mystical moment at which it can be reconciled. Exactly at this moment the five Dominions can be reunited. Earth, being the fifth Dominion, is at the center of this process and Gentle is one of the few who can start the reconciliation. When Gentle learns that in a few weeks that unique moment will start again, he has to race against time to find out which role he has to play. But that is not all: also his friends get sucked into a spiral of magical events that bring all of them to worlds they could have never imagined.

That Clive Barker has an amazing imagination is maybe best proven by the magic of his early novel Imajica. More than eight hundred pages of wonderfully strange and outlandish images are bestowed upon the reader. It is not always easy to make any sense of the story itself, but after the exciting and utterly dark opening, many people will be forgiving about this shortcoming . True, Imajica is anything but a light read, but it succeeds where many fantasy novels fail: it sucks the reader into a completely new universe and really grows on you. Maybe this is mostly due to the strangely erotic suspense that seeps through the pages. The character of Pie'oh'pah is the best example of this tension. Not surprising if you know that Pie is an androgynous creature that shows itself to people as the object of lust they crave the most.

Although this book will not be everyone's cup of tea, it will be unforgettable for those who dare to take the jump into Clive's other Dominions.

This book reminded me, in mood and character, of Tad William's "Tailchaser's Song" and of Richard Adam's "Watership Down" -- no, nothing to do with animals, but to do with otherworldiness. 'Imajica' is populated with a variety of interesting people, all of whom are lovingly rendered with a level of detail and attention to history that makes them uniquely motivated and easy to relate to... and they move through episodes, evolutions, and worlds in ways which are vivid, captivating, suspenseful, and satisfying. I believe near the end the book loses some degree of focus and some of the characters I felt I knew intimately started behaving in ways I didn't find believable, and there was the unfortunate 'and then they disappeared' type ending... but, ending aside, the journey was fabulous. I couldn't put the book down. I read it voraciously. I highly suggest it, if you're in the mood for involving, highly detailed fantasy and world-building.

I have always enjoyed Clive Barker's work. Rather than populating his stories with vampires and werewolves, Barker has the monsters take the form of the characters' fears and desires. This has been a trademark in much of his best writing. Although Imajica is a more fantastic and romantic story, Barker still manages to incorporate these dark monsters into his story, making a great dark fantasy in the same mini genre as Stephen King's Dark Tower series The story starts with the three primary characters (as Barker explains in the first few pages, every story has only three characters). John Furie Zacharias, known as Gentle by his friends, who is a master forger, copying the grand masters of art. Judith, Gentle's former flame, who becomes the target of her husbands jealous anger. Pie ` O ` Pa, an assassin hired to murder Judith by her husband after their marriage begins to fall apart. There are numerous other note-worthy characters who work their way into the 850-page narrative, but it would take much to long to describe them all. After a few incidents between the three primary characters, the plot is set. The story takes place over the period of several months and several worlds (including earth and Heaven). The most enjoyable part of the book is the numerous plot-twists, which are abundant to say the least. Characters are far from what they seem and several make a return appearance just as you start to think they might just be dead. All the main elements of Barker's writing are present: good characters, evil characters, gore, monsters, dark atmosphere and eroticism. My only complaint is that the story is over-long in a few spots (mostly in the beginning and the end) but it hardly detracts from this immensely enjoyable book. Highly recommended to those seeking fantastic adventure.

Barker shows a protean imagination and a hypnotic command of Anglo-Saxon word-craft.

While his descriptions read at times as more curatorial than novelistic and his sex scenes border on the affected,
the tone is generally perfect for the material. Some of the exposition would be better handled as dialogue or tale telling rather than third-person rumination. Nonetheless, the story is voluminous, unpredictable and mesmerizing, the characters rich and fully dimensional, and the world building and naming inventiveness are among the greatest in the fantasy class. 

Barker takes readers on a fulfilling journey into a series of antique Earth-inspired realms that beautifully anticipate the steampunk and dystopian galaxies prevalent in the current avalanche of high fantasy works.  But his old school devotion to scholarliness and plotting, the absence of insipid and cloying secondary characters, and his ability to dole out horror and cruelty with an iron ironic grip make this novel an authentic masterpiece.

This is a very optimistic work.

Those who hold extreme religious views and couldn't read a book expressing views other than your own, read no further. This book goes deep into the heart of human spirituality and the human experience, tearing your soul apart and then leaving it brighter and better than before. I know it's been said before but, if you read one book in your life, read this.

This book is truely biblical, without all the annoying begats and laws. Featuring a functioning universe, a large amount of philosophy, and about as many pages as the bible, this is, for many people disillusioned by the huge length and the multitude of boring books contained within, a spiritual companion for the open minded. It does, however, contain some very... anti-God views, and a few anti-male remarks (although in the end it is more against human nature).

Imajica tells the story of John Furie Zacharias, called Gentle (for reasons of symbolism made clear near the end of the book), Judith (An image of pure desire), Pie 'Oh' Pah, the mysterious creature who offers to take Gentle beyond the world we know, and the Autarch, the power hungry embodiment of lust. As these three characters cross paths, fall in love, lose those they love, and lose each other, they display the full spectrum of human emotion, almost transending the media of the written page and entering the realm of life.

This book is worth much more than it's small cost, and should be read by anyone looking for a home religious experience.

Imajica has echoes of the Dark Materials trilogy. At its heart is the exploration of the masculine tropes of Christianity and its appropriation of mother goddesses across the world. But the fantasy itself as well as its insight into human nature and relationships combine to offer a brilliant, sometimes disturbing, but always thought provoking read.

Just finished reading this weighty tome for the second time. Found a copy at a second hand book store, and wanted to remember what a fantastic journey it was from the first time I read it. One of my personal faves by Clive Barker. Hard to describe, or categorize. At times I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters in the book, and trying to remember who everyone one was and how it all fit together. This book has always tapped my imagination and I had my own dynamic full color idea of what the characters looked like. Pie was the most surreal and charismatic of the characters in the book. Will be sure to hang on to this copy of the book now, cause I am certain I will revisit and read it again a few more times.

I went into this story expecting a fantasy tale with Barker's usual dark twist, boy was I stunned when I started reading this. I didn't know how much religion (both Pagan and Christian) that he would throw in there for us to deveour.

The book is about five Dominions which for the Imajica. Earth is the fifth, the other four seem to be other parallel dimensions that were all created by the hand of the Unbeheld (God). We learn about failed reconciliations, the bringing together of Earth and the other dominions with the City of God. We learn that many have tried and failed at this, including Jesus the Christ.

We are introduced to John Furie Zacharias, a very snesual man in search of feeling all the pleasures his body can receive, he is also a painting forger. Judith, a strong woman who is loved by two men to the point of obsession and is hunted by a hit man. Her ex-husband who loves Judith to the point of obsession, and Pie 'oh' Pah, an assassin as well as a whore. He is a mystif, a being who appears as whatever the seer wishes in their mind. These and other characters become important as they explore realms outside their own as they search for the Goddesses who survived the deicide of God as well as an imprisoned Goddess who was raped by God and continued on the bloodline of god among humans. She is held prisoner by the Tabula Rasa (a sort of religious Illuminati).

And that's just beginning. This tale weaves around everything you ever thought you new and tells the tale of what could have been in the Biblical Apocrypha and what the New Testament through Revelations would have truly been if that were the case. By far Clive Barker's best and most ambitious novel to date. He is the master of imagination.

I started reading Barker's books approximately two years ago (Books of Blood series) and have bought everybook since then. Imajica is by far one of the best. Its plot is superb. For the religious or those who are spiritual it can be offensive or even challenging to the possibitlities that really exists in this world as we know it. Each character can be identified with. From Gentle with his confusion as to who he really is to the mystiff to which a person sees the beauty in someone differently than others. This book is tastefully done - to the horror enthusiast, of course. Even the sex scenes makes one wonder what it would be like if such acts were possible or what one must do to achieve such pleasures. Barker, once again, have not disappointed his fans.

I read this book about two years ago. The characters that Clive Barker creates for this story still haunt my mind to this day. The story is fantastic, the worlds he walks us through are immense and utterly fascinating. I have read many books of the same or similar genre, and in my opinion, Mr. Barker is the best there is.
He must surely understand human nature better than most authors, because his character development is flawless. He understands the depth of the human spirit, the problems people face, the imperfections and addictions that many normal people struggle with. I grow so weary of reading other people's work and seeing the flawless hero or heroin, who make few if any mistakes along there journey. Trying to relate to such an artificial character is difficult, at best. Clive Barkers writes about people... REAL people.
The author also understands that people change over time. He understands that by the end of any story worth telling, the characters have most likely changed extensively. Their views, behavior, mannerisms, and maybe even physical appearance have changed. Just as I am not the same person that I was only a year ago, interesting characters are not static either.
Clive Barker possesses an amazing imagination, but he also has the ability to communicate his ideas to others..... and THAT truly makes him a master of the art.

Every now and then you discover a book which changes your life. For some people, it's a self-help book, an autobiography, or a moving dramatic tale. For me, it was Clive Barker's "Imajica."

Prior to reading Clive Barker, I was on a steady diet of quick reads, mostly forgettable horror novels and thrillers, many of which seemed way too similar to prior books by the same authors. In short, I was bored.

Then I began reading "Imajica." A few chapters in, I knew I was in the hands of a master storyteller like I'd never read before. By the end of the book, I was sad that as a writer, I may never write anything nearly this magical.

"Imajica" isn't Barker's easiest book to get into, but it IS the most rewarding, inspiring, and thrilling. I anxiously await a sequel and envy any of you who are about to read it for the first time.

The level of adoration given to womanhood in this book is the most surpising aspect of "Imagica". Barker explores controversial subjects such as womanzing and worship of a male God in a way that gripped me for good. These are the basis for the wonderful tale of the "Imagica".
Surprising at every turn, "Imagica"'s characters are true to life no matter how strange and foreign. And, one's ideas of our everyday religions will change for good upon reading his rendition of an 'Almighty God'. Hate them or love them, his characters feel like the real thing.
Not for the prudent or sexually uptight. Be prepared to be stimulated or disgusted at turns, inspired or outright offended. One will never think the same again.
"Imagica" is full of mysteries I hope to find resolved in the sequel (if there will be one). A long thorough read, the way I like them!

I HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO READ THIS BOOK THREE TIMES.REASONING FOR THE INTENSE RESEARCH OF THIS WORK,HAS ALOT TO DO WITH THE THREE ELEMENTS(GENTLE, PIE-OH-PAH, AND JUDE)! I'VE READ THIS BOOK TO LOOK THROUGH THERE EYES, SEPERATELY AND INDEPENDANTLY.EVERY TIME YOU EMBARK ON THIS JOURNEY YOU'LL FIND(AS HAVE I) A NEW TURN OR TWIST THAT YOU DIDN'T NOTICE BEFORE. THE SCENES IN THIS WORK ARE SO VIVID THAT YOU CAN SEE THE WATERS THAT ARE ALIVE. YOU CAN IMAGINE THE SIGHTS AND YOU CAN SEE THE DANGER! MOST OF ALL, YOU BECOME ONE OF THE PASSENGERS ON THIS WONDERFULLY WRITTEN VOYAGE.I SAY THAT CLIVE BARKER IS A GENIUS IN A SENSE THAT I'M MORE AWARE THAN AFRAID.THANK YOU DEAR, FOR INSPIRING YOUNG WRITERS AS MYSELF TO DARE TO DREAM TO BE AS IMAGINATIVE.I HOPE YOU START PRINTING THE ONE HARDBACK VOLUME AGAIN, IT'S SO HARD TO FIND NOW!

The Imajica collection is an excellent read. Clive Barker has done a superb job of creating a story and universe of incredibly epic proportions. What really amazes me about this story, is how Barker wraps up such an epic adventure with an equally epic finish. The writing throughout is very balanced and nothing really seems misplaced in terms of the plotting. That's no mean feat... as I'm sure most of us have all too often read the book with the great start and anti-climactic end. Not so here...Imajica thoroughly delivers the goods.

After finishing this series (reading them all in one volume can be arduous at times...but, it's worth it), I felt that aching void in my book-world... that feeling where there is no other book out there that can fulfill your fantasy cravings... no other book that can take you to the Imajica world(s). Barker's imagination is some really powerful stuff. I guess that's why I ended up reading Imajica a second time...and I'm sure I'll return to it again sometime down the road.

I cannot recommend this book enough to sci-fi / fantasy fans... although, remember that the compilation volume is literally several different books.... so, don't feel that you need to plow through it at the pace of one book. Take your time, and let it really soak in. There's an amazing amount of content, style, imagination, etc. here that is well worth marinating on.

In this fantasy, Clive Barker looks at several intriguing themes such as religion, the roles of the sexes and the journey of self discovery. He gives us a fresh spin on these ideas by taking us into the uniquely original world of Imajica's Five Dominions. I have to admit, at first it was hard for me to put this books down. But Barker's writing style became tiresome during the last few hundred pages. If you're not a fan of the over-inflated "epic", you may want to skip this book. I think if Barker could have condensed the prose and stayed focused on his major themes he could have really driven his point home. To me, that would have made it a "great" book. So while it's not a terrible book, it's hardly the greatest literary masterpiece of our time either.
It's just a good story.

As an avid reader of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, I have never had a book get me "high" to the point where I felt I could leap from a mountain and soar forever. Mr. Barker attains a level of imagination King wishes he had; fleshing out rich, complex characters that remain with you long after you read the last sentence. The story, at its core, deals with love, war, lost identities, and a quest for harmony. I much prefer the complete edition rather than the two-volume edition. Tolkien and Donaldson readers would be missing the reading experience of their life were they not to eneter Barker's world.

I had never read anything by Cliver Barker and usually am not a fan of horror or fantasy, but I picked up Imajica on a whim, for a change of pace. I just finished reading it-an endeavor that has taken me about 2 years all together, not because it's a slow read, but because I have a short attention span. Because I'm an editor of academic books by day, my "fun reading" tends to be much less involved. Imajica, however, requires some serious attention, a great deal of imagination, and some brain retention space.
It's over 1000 pages long, but the story, settings, and characters make you want to keep reading. I found it frustrating at times because when you think you're getting to a climax scene, or a point of intense action, the plot twists again onto a different path. HOWEVER, despite the number of times I put this book down, I always returned. I even found myself driving home from work, after not reading the book for a couple months, and thinking "wonder what ever happened with Gentle and Judith?" That's the greatest endorsement I can give any book, and I've recommended it to many friends for that reason: It haunted me, and I had to finish. I'm so glad that I did, and I will probably read Imajica again someday. There are so many wonderful pieces to this work, I'm sure you could read it 200 times and still pick up new things each time. I would also like to meet Clive Barker someday, just to talk to a person whose mind creates like this.

My girlfriend recommended Barker to me, and I decided to start with this book, despite her warnings that it was quite possibly his most difficult to understand. Well, I loved it. It was a mind bender beyond any of my expectations.
The way I see it, every time an idea comes into a writer's mind, he or she has to measure it against certain criteria: is this a creative idea? does it advance the plot? is it too bizarre? etc. However, Barker seems to disregard that third question, letting his books go free to the world of absolute lunacy and bizarre images and, as confusing as they can get sometimes, they're all the better for it.
The only flaw I saw in the book was that his characters are not very likable at the beginning of the story, so I had to push myself to get past the first few chapters, but once the story gets rolling the characters' vulnerabilities start to come to the surface and they stop being high and mighty snobs, womanizers and [morally loose], and start becoming people we can learn to love and root for.
So, the book is amazing, absolutely phenomenal, but I would suggest maybe starting out with another one of Barker's works, just in case you're not as lucky enough to have a die hard Barker fan as a girlfriend to explain to you the things you don't get. Maybe start out with some of his short stories like in the Books of Blood, and start to get a feel for his bizarre imagery and outlandish ideas before you delve into something as complex as the Imajica.

I read Weaveworld, and wanted more. Imajica gave me that as well as unlocking my imajination and mind to thoughts and ideas that I had never tried to expolore before. I was so impressed by this book that I have read almost every word Clive Barker has published. This book made me want to read more, not just of his work but of many works. It removes your hesitation towards other worlds and topics you may have considered taboo before. I have become a better person (inside) than I was before I read this book. I highly recommend reading it.

This book is incredibly vivid, making for worlds which materialize in your imagination like no other author can do. The descriptions are bright and detailed, making it so that any mental image you might have seems as though it was brought out of the real world. The story is amazing, truly a masterpiece of the mind and the talents of Mr. Barker shine through on every page.
The downsides to this book are more numerous than the advantages I listed above, but do not make this book any less of a thrill ride. Firstly, this is Erotic Horror Fantasy, meaning that sex is prevalent throughout the story. Secondly, it is a vast book; while this allows for amazing plot development and incredibly extensive details, there are some spots where the book seems to drag a little. Also, the characters, aside from the integral ones, seem much less developed than characters in his other books. These do not, however, make this less of a book. I can honestly say that this is one of the top 5 books I have ever read.

Perhaps the greatest novel that isn't horror that Barker has penned. This story takes the reader on a truly great adventure into different dimensions. In a vast spectrum of
imagination Barker has captured the true essence of a search for love. Descriptive beyond expectations - Imajica
takes the reader far beyond the page and puts you in search too. An epic tale that spans realms that may exist - this
book is a departure from traditional Barker fare - yet remains a rewarding read for those who can still dream.

This book made me want to start reading again. Don't be turned off by the length of this book, it is so epically beautiful and magical that it is a true page turner. I fell in love with the main characters Gentle and Pie-oh-pah. I didn't want the book to end. The only exposure I had to Clive Barker before this book was watching Hellraiser. After reading this book I am now hooked and I'm going to check out Thief of Always next.

The writing style is definitely British, but not pretentious. The fantasy aspect is dark and twisted and I really bought in to the five dominion premise. I really love books that create their own mythology like this one. I can't recommend this book enough, I can't believe how long it took me to discover this treasure!

Clive Barker has written several wonderful works in the horror and fantasy genres and this is the crowning achievement. An excelent blend of twisted shadows and fantastic voyages, Imajica is a work of modern literature not to be taken too lightly for its "horror" aspects attributed to its author. Barker has truly grasped whatever magic that makes us all children in parent's laps and spins tales that take our breath away. More than a story, Imajica is characters and places and moods that come alive through Barker's amazing talent for imagination. I also recommend The Great And Secret Show, Everville--those two to be read in that order--Sacrament and Galilee.

I remember reading this book when if first came out and I loved it. Of course that was twelve years ago.
For some reason I decided to read it again and didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I was going too. Perhaps it was the length of the novel or the fact that everything is sexual for Barker that threw me off this time around. Maybe I've matured in life.
The characters are well developed, the detail is well done, but the story does drag at times. Frankly I was anxious to get to the end so I could start something else.
The idea of five independent world waiting to be reconciled is interesting though. I read King's "The Talisman" and liked it much better

Rarely, does one find a good story. Far more rarely, does one find a good writer. In Imajica, the reader finds both. Most readers compare Clive Barker's earlier work to that of Stephen King. In fact, Mr. King has been quoted as saying that Clive Barker is the future of Horror, an impressive statement, but comparing Barker to King is like comparing an orange to a lemon. Yes, they are both citrus fruits, but they could not be more different. As a lemon, King conceives a good story, but the writing style is not always pleasing to the palette. While Barker, the orange, conjures an equally good story, his true essence is in the sweetness of the artful use of words. Nowhere is that more evident than in this book. There are to date only two books that I recommend without qualms as the best books ever written. Imajica is the first. The second is The Liar's Club by Mary Karr. If I were stranded on a desert isle, I could live with but these two books and be content.

Clive Barker sure knows how to give his stories life: with breath and pulse, and with each page, he draws you deeper and deeper into their embrace (it's really hard to pull away). Although, I'm happy to say, Imajica is one I'd never pull away from. From beginning to end I was absolutely consumed by Barker's story telling. My unwillingness to put the book down left me a little sleep deprived, but it was well worth it. And I'd be willing to do it again and again and again. Kudos Mr. Barker! I think this book is down right perfection.

I received a free copy of the audiobook of Imajica in exchange for an honest review.

Imajica is a huge, sprawling fantasy novel written when Clive Barker was at the top of his game. His other big novels of this writing period - Weaveworld, and the Books of the Art - share similar themes, but Imajica rises above them in scope and focus. It is both the quintessential Barker novel and, in my opinion, the best of them. At least, so far.

The basic idea is simple: Earth is one of five Dominions of the Imajica, and was, long ago, separated in some way from the other four. Agents of the other four Dominions are engineering the Reconciliation of Earth, which must occur at a specific time; some of them walk disguised among us. Some residents of Earth are aware of all this and are trying to prevent the Reconciliation.

Barker sets up this framework in the first fifty pages or so, and introduces our three main characters: Judith, Gentle and Pie-oh-Pah. The novel unfolds as a mix of magic, sex and horror over multiple dimensions, as the three characters gradually learn (and reveal to us) the nature of the conflict and their role in it. It's an ambitious novel, and Barker's simple yet effective prose and mysterious characters keep us enthralled.

If I were to give a criticism, it would be that although the characters travel to the other Dominions, we don't really get a feel for what those other worlds are like. They are really just settings for a human (or not-human) drama. So if you're expecting world-building, with maps, battles and exotic detailed settings, this isn't that kind of book.

The narration is pretty much perfect. Vance's effectiveness as a narrator very much depends on the material, and it's not always easy to anticipate whether he'll hit or miss. This novel seem to suit him well, and I was riveted by his understated performance.

Highly recommended, in print, ebook or audiobook.

Clive Barker novel "Imajica" was like a love affair, and I didn't want it to end. I think the great horror writers of yesterday would be quite please with this work. The development of characters was fantastic, some I liked and then hated and some I hated and then came to like(somewhat). If you like big characters and interwoven plots this book is for you, and if you love hardcore horror this is a must read.