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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
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
love u Clive but I rly limped to the finish line on this one. my man obviously kills it when it comes to sex and grotesquerie but when he reaches for the cosmic he often lands at vague dull nonsense. so much of this feels like he has no idea what to write and is squeezing this beast out one word at a time. imajica also has a degree of randomness in the plotting but it's saved by a genuine psychedelic dream-state flow. this thing gets real clunky at times. speaking of I'm finally admitting to myself that Clive's syntax is repetitive af, and he can't stop using the word "din." seriously it's like every three pages. totally normal noises are rendered in noun form as "din." whatever. his short stories and novellas have that wicked imaginative simplicity, but at epic length he unspools. I'll probably read the rest of everything he's ever written anyway.
One thing I love about Clive Barker is the way he successfully fuses multiple tangles of storyline’s into a cohesive page turner. There are no characters you feel nothing for, everyone is as important as each other and the grief is tangible.
I feel as though he is an underrated master of the New American Gothic - successfully conjuring horror from liminal spaces in tiny towns and their sheltered inhabitants and the abject horror of flipping that and exposing it to untold, indescribable, uncanny experiences.
He manages to sprinkle in filth, despair and fear so skilfully it’s almost pleasant to read knowing it’s essential to the unfolding tapestry. The Lix? I could have gone my whole life without knowing how they were created but they are so essential to the unending dread and horror I’m almost glad their creation is a part of the story. The Omaha plot line almost feels House of Leaves-esque, the god fearing agoraphobic Mama is essential horror, and the squeamishness of the Loop is enough to keep the pages turning. A must read.
I feel as though he is an underrated master of the New American Gothic - successfully conjuring horror from liminal spaces in tiny towns and their sheltered inhabitants and the abject horror of flipping that and exposing it to untold, indescribable, uncanny experiences.
He manages to sprinkle in filth, despair and fear so skilfully it’s almost pleasant to read knowing it’s essential to the unfolding tapestry. The Lix? I could have gone my whole life without knowing how they were created but they are so essential to the unending dread and horror I’m almost glad their creation is a part of the story. The Omaha plot line almost feels House of Leaves-esque, the god fearing agoraphobic Mama is essential horror, and the squeamishness of the Loop is enough to keep the pages turning. A must read.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Man, I like Barker, but he's tedious when he's this indulgent. The book could've been a third of the length and lose nothing meaningful; we spend hundreds of pages with people who simply aren't very interesting, and the middle 300 is a rambling, tenuous bridge between the story's otherwise inventive beginning and end.
The finale's a satisfying spectacle, though, even if it doesn't quite excuse the hike.
The finale's a satisfying spectacle, though, even if it doesn't quite excuse the hike.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Clive Barker does a masterful job of blending a myriad of concepts together that in the hands of lesser authors would feel too jarring to coexist. Nonetheless, The Great and Secret Show impressively holds together fantasy, science fiction, and horror elements side by side to great effect.
Though it is unfortunately held up by padded portions of the book that often teeter on the verge of redundancy, especially during the book's much too dragged out climax.
Regardless, Barker's writing never failed to hold my attention and his prose creates a vivid picture of events that kept me coming back for more. More of a three-and-a-half star book if I'm being honest.
Though it is unfortunately held up by padded portions of the book that often teeter on the verge of redundancy, especially during the book's much too dragged out climax.
Regardless, Barker's writing never failed to hold my attention and his prose creates a vivid picture of events that kept me coming back for more. More of a three-and-a-half star book if I'm being honest.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Critical Score: B-
Personal Score: B
Barker fits a lot in here. My head was spinning at multiple points from the sheer amount of stuff going on.
That’s part of the excitement, part of the messiness. Well, the messiness mostly lies in the often convoluted and contrived fantasy elements. Sometimes it feels like he’s making it up as he’s going along, or establishing to some vague and overly abstract magical element to make the plot work the way he wants it to. And that became draining.
But I pushed through and was rewarded by the epic stakes and impressively persistent pace.
Barker’s writing style can get a little out of hand when he’s talking philosophy. Cue the headaches. Cue the reading fatigue. But again, I pushed through because the plot made the sticky parts worth it.
My main issue with the plot is how much setup was needed to get things going. Providing so much prologue sorta proactively killed the suspense and took away any scariness in the villain. We didn’t need to know quite so much up front—I’d have been fine with some flashbacks if it meant opening up on the small town setting from the start.
Now about the small town setting…
My main issue with the thematic structure is Barker’s clear lack of experience with the American small town. Compare this to a Stephen King book and The Great and Secret Show looks like child’s play. Barker simply hadn’t had enough knowledge of his setting at the time of writing to convince me or illuminate me on the secret lives in suburbia. After all, this book thinks it’s deep when it comes to small town secrets. But Barker doesn’t ever actually give us that much to chew on in the intimate moments. His characters aren’t developed enough, and their secrets aren’t wrought—which is odd when the fantasy elements are so poetically wrought.
What kept me invested was the adventurous and thrilling plot. Barker engages us the whole time, even when the flaws are on display. I read this giant book in a few days. That’s a testament to its entertainment factor.
I’m excited to read the sequel Everville, though it might be a while before I get around to it. I wonder if Barker’s gotten around to writing the long-awaited third book. I hope his health is holding up.
Critical Score: B-
Personal Score: B
Barker fits a lot in here. My head was spinning at multiple points from the sheer amount of stuff going on.
That’s part of the excitement, part of the messiness. Well, the messiness mostly lies in the often convoluted and contrived fantasy elements. Sometimes it feels like he’s making it up as he’s going along, or establishing to some vague and overly abstract magical element to make the plot work the way he wants it to. And that became draining.
But I pushed through and was rewarded by the epic stakes and impressively persistent pace.
Barker’s writing style can get a little out of hand when he’s talking philosophy. Cue the headaches. Cue the reading fatigue. But again, I pushed through because the plot made the sticky parts worth it.
My main issue with the plot is how much setup was needed to get things going. Providing so much prologue sorta proactively killed the suspense and took away any scariness in the villain. We didn’t need to know quite so much up front—I’d have been fine with some flashbacks if it meant opening up on the small town setting from the start.
Now about the small town setting…
My main issue with the thematic structure is Barker’s clear lack of experience with the American small town. Compare this to a Stephen King book and The Great and Secret Show looks like child’s play. Barker simply hadn’t had enough knowledge of his setting at the time of writing to convince me or illuminate me on the secret lives in suburbia. After all, this book thinks it’s deep when it comes to small town secrets. But Barker doesn’t ever actually give us that much to chew on in the intimate moments. His characters aren’t developed enough, and their secrets aren’t wrought—which is odd when the fantasy elements are so poetically wrought.
What kept me invested was the adventurous and thrilling plot. Barker engages us the whole time, even when the flaws are on display. I read this giant book in a few days. That’s a testament to its entertainment factor.
I’m excited to read the sequel Everville, though it might be a while before I get around to it. I wonder if Barker’s gotten around to writing the long-awaited third book. I hope his health is holding up.
