Take a photo of a barcode or cover
170 reviews for:
The Complete Clive Barker's The Great And Secret Show
Gabriel Rodríguez, Chris Ryall, Clive Barker
3.83 AVERAGE
170 reviews for:
The Complete Clive Barker's The Great And Secret Show
Gabriel Rodríguez, Chris Ryall, Clive Barker
3.83 AVERAGE
Clive Barker is a great story teller, this book blew my mind right open. The mixture between fantasy, horror, and reality is so thrilling that you can't stop reading this book. He tetter-totters on the borderline of insanely creepy and genius, his work isn't for the faint of heart if you love horror and want to try a different take on a normal reality twisted with a hidden world that is full of mystery, corruption, and a search that can make anyone go a little mad. This is a great story for such a adventure. It hits the mark of always be careful what you wish for.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The only other Barker I've read is WEAVEWORLD, which I read back in 1987 and found thoroughly enthralling. I reread that book a few years back and was disturbed by the racism that pervades the fantasy that I (a white person) didn't pick up on back in the day, and that did affect my enjoyment of a truly creative horror classic.
This book is neither as creative nor as fantastical as that earlier book. Rather than racism, it has baffling sizeism - a teenage girl who is a mere 20 lb heavier than her teenage friends is described as blobby and fat and ponderous over and over again, suggesting that Mr. Barker has no real sense of what 20 lb looks like, but knows he hates the idea of it. Anyway, that seemed weird.
Two enemies locked in an eternal battle are horrified when their offspring fall in love. The secrets beyond the secrets are being exposed and an unthinkable enemy approaches on a tide of dreams. It's all dramatic but I found it lacked inspiration and I didn't care about any of the characters except maybe poor Raul, who was blameless in all of this.
There's another book, which I feel sort of obligated to read, but maybe I won't be in a hurry to do that.
This book is neither as creative nor as fantastical as that earlier book. Rather than racism, it has baffling sizeism - a teenage girl who is a mere 20 lb heavier than her teenage friends is described as blobby and fat and ponderous over and over again, suggesting that Mr. Barker has no real sense of what 20 lb looks like, but knows he hates the idea of it. Anyway, that seemed weird.
Two enemies locked in an eternal battle are horrified when their offspring fall in love. The secrets beyond the secrets are being exposed and an unthinkable enemy approaches on a tide of dreams. It's all dramatic but I found it lacked inspiration and I didn't care about any of the characters except maybe poor Raul, who was blameless in all of this.
There's another book, which I feel sort of obligated to read, but maybe I won't be in a hurry to do that.
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Extremely disappointing. All of Clive Barker's usual themes are certainly present: nonjudgmental eroticism, visceral body-horror, religious revelation; but they are in service of a sloppily assembled and meandering storyline. His [b: Books of Blood|761023|Books of Blood Volume One (Books of Blood #1)|Clive Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429999423s/761023.jpg|1249260] delivered these themes with a breathtaking mastery, [b: The Hellbound Heart|52635|The Hellbound Heart|Clive Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327312426s/52635.jpg|1093522] and its movie adaptation can at least commit to a brutally Sadeian purpose. The are some excellent ideas and some genuinely demented images in The Great and Secret Show, but the way it flails around is frustrating. I spent all this time committing to a door-stopper epic, only to learn too late that maybe I should've tried [b: Imajica|567704|Imajica|Clive Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333844729s/567704.jpg|1371342] or [b: Weaveworld|52640|Weaveworld|Clive Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1329374451s/52640.jpg|942564] instead.
Imaginative, crass, long-winded story that tries too hard to be "edgy". Characters had no depth, every single one could've died and I wouldn't care at all. Halfway through I was curious about the resolution, but shortly after I just couldn't wait for it to end. It would've been a bad 300 page book, it was an awful 650 page book. Ugh.
Like every Barker book I've read, this starts off with such promise; intriguing characters and a fascinating premise, then starts to drag around the middle until by the last quarter I'm thoroughly bored. This went into the pile of "life's too short to finish reading" books.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I still can't decide if I actually liked the book. It is a very, VERY strange story, and I was intrigued and mystified by aspects of it. I recommend the book for those who want a strange journey into mystery and continuousness.