Reviews

Imajica by Clive Barker

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Got 300 pages into it and had to put it down. Too much going on, with not enough going on, if that makes any sense. Just didn’t have my attention, and kind of felt like a chore to read. Will try another Clive Barker book soon, as I’ve heard from a few Imajica is not his best.

pedanticpenchant's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

stianstandnesgronlund's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

drnik's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

fredslug's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a perfect book. I am sad to have finished it. I love it more than myself.

queenrat's review

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1.0

It seems to be fashionable for modern horror writers to assume that, in order for a book to be edgy/scary, every detail must be depressing, disgusting, or some combination thereof, even when such detail borders on crass and does nothing for the plot. There is no need, for example, to include a scene where the main character watches television naked and picks the crumbs of his late-night snack out of his nether regions. No need. But "Imajica" is one long extraneous detail, an 800+ page behemoth that could have easily been accomplished in 200 pages with the amount of actual material here. The motivations for the characters make no sense and are in fact often counter-intuitive. And thank God this version came with a glossary; otherwise, I'd have given up about a fourth of the way through.

It's not godawful-- Clive Barker's prose is well-constructed, and I did manage to get through it. During the parts where things actually happen, you might even have a hard time putting it down. But those parts, sadly, are few and far between.

michael_benavidez's review

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5.0

Reality: 4.8

This is a book with such a large scope, that it's a surprise that Clive Barker was able to go follow it through to the very end. It does show in places that it is a very hard journey to have maintained throughout.
If there was a flaw in this book, it would be the fact that Clive Barker has such a picturesque vision of the Imajica that he tries to put down every bit of detail that he can. This not only slows down the narrative, but makes the characters seem as though they aren't what's important. They are being used as an excuse to help layout the scenery. It truly shows in the beginning, where the story takes place in the boring (compared to the Imajica) reality of London, as well as the beginning sights of Imajica.
The story doesn't really pick up it's pace until the second book (the Reconciliation) where all the puzzle pieces of the last were being played out. It is here that every twist and turn (some expected but put in such a way that the reader is still surprised) is given it's pay off.
The ideas within this book are easy to grasp, and at times you wonder if he could have been a bit more subtle with things.
I know i'm being pretty rough with the book, despite giving it a 4.8. It's that when you have such an incredible book and a long journey that finally ends, and you look back on it, these are the parts that come to mind because as much as I loved them, it felt flawed. It is still worth the time to pick up and read, no matter how slow it may feel at first.