The Great and Secret Show - by Clive Barker (Paperback)

About the Book

For the first time in trade paperback, this superb novel is being released tocoincide with the December 1999 hardcover publication of "The Essential CliveBarker: Selected Fiction." Includes a new Introduction by the author.

Book Synopsis

"Clive Barker's career has been building up to The Great and Secret Show. . . . A cross between Gravity's Rainbow and J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, allusive and mythic, complex and entertaining. Extravagantly metaphorical, wildly symbolic." -- New York Times

In the little town of Palomo Grove, two great armies are amassing; forces shaped from the hearts and souls of America. In this New York Times bestseller, master storyteller Clive Barker unveils one of the most ambitious imaginative landscapes in modern fiction and an intricately woven and meticulously constructed epic where past and future meet.

The Art, the greatest power known to humankind, is the focus of struggle between the evil spirit, Jaff, and a force for light, Fletcher. Jaffe hopes to tap into The Art's power while Fletcher wants to prevent it from being tainted. The conflict between the two men spills into the real world in a decades-long feud, distorting reality and affecting the entire human race.

Carrying its readers from the first stirring of consciousness to a vision of the end of the world, The Great and Secret Show is a breathtaking journey in the company of a master storyteller.

From the Back Cover

In the little town of Palomo Grove, two great armies are amassing; forces shaped from the hearts and souls of America. In this New York Times bestseller, Barker unveils one of the most ambitious imaginative landscapes in modern fiction, creating a new vocabulary for the age-old battle between good and evil. Carrying its readers from the first stirring of consciousness to a vision of the end of the world, The Great and Secret Show is a breathtaking journey in the company of a master storyteller.

Review Quotes

"Clive Barker's career has been building up to The Great and Secret Show...A cross between Gravity's Rainbow and J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, allusive and mythic, complex and entertaining. Extravagantly metaphorical, wildly symbolic." -- New York Times

"[A] dazzling metaphysical epic-adventure...an astonishing feat of imagination...Barker's best yet." -- Kirkus Reviews

"[Clive Barker] is a mapmaker of the mind, charting the farthest reaches of the imagination...His ambition and audacity are unparalleled; we know that we are in the presence of a vision that is genuine, unique and lasting." -- The Washington Times

"A cross between Gravity's Rainbow and J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, allusive and mythic, complex and entertaining. Extravagantly metaphorical, wildly symbolic." -- New York Times

"A hefty and ambitious epic that emphasizes the ideas over gore with provocative and apocalyptic vision. [A] boundless and detailed imagination...dazzling skill." -- Seattle Post Intelligencer

"A massive and brilliant Platonic dark fantasy that details an eruption of wonders and terrors--as the veil between the world of the senses and the world of the imagination is rent in a small California town." -- Kirkus Reviews

"A powerful and fascinating write with a brilliant imagination." -- J.G. Ballard

"Allusive and mythic, complex and entertaining." -- The New York Times

"At his best, he is a mapmaker of the mind, charting the farthest reaches of the imagination. His Great and Secret Show is, in fact, the world inside our heads: the place of possibilities., some dark and dangerous, others bright and beautiful, and some of them liberating." -- The Washington Times

"Barker has an unparalleled talent for envisioning other worlds." -- Washington Post Book World

"Barker has constructed an entire new mythology here...and in the language of fear, he has no equals." -- Time out (London)

"Barker's most ambitious work to date...Rapturously full of emotions." -- L.A. Life

"Mesmerizing invention." -- Publishers Weekly

"Mixing elements of horror, science fiction and surrealist literature, Barker's work reads like a cross between Stephen King and South American novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He creates a world where our biggest fears appear to be our own dreams." -- The Boston Herald