Imajica: The Reconciliation (1995) - Plot & Excerpts
I think dividing Imajica into two books was probably a really excellent idea, but it also has made the structural flaws in the book much more clear. In the first volume, I found myself buoyed along for the ride by the rich madness of the world and the characters, and the towering, lush ambition of the concept. This second volume pretty quickly became a hard slog--lots of meandery drivel, some of the best characters in the first bit killed off or otherwise incapacitated/withdrawn from the story and really not much put into what came to take their places. No more of the ambitiously weird sex of the first volume, and not actually much of the fascinating yet repellant horror either. I wish the author had...i dunno, sat on the book for a while, taken more time away from it, or put more ruthlessness into its revisions. You could probably excise half or more of the second volume, and greatly improve the entirety of Imajica. So, the final verdict on rereading it (since my first time through, ten years ago, i loved it to distraction, categorically, because there just weren't many other books i'd read at the time that had much space or time for complicated women, goddesses, people of nonbinary gender as more than freaky set-dressing, etc.) is that i did enjoy the overall experience of the reread, and where Imajica succeeds, it succeeds so, so fantastically. But i can see it with a more critical eye now, and it--like perhaps everything worthwhile and genuine--is nevertheless a flawed thing.
I finished reading "Imajica" for the third time recently, and regretted that there had been so many years between this and my last reading.The first time I picked it up I only got to read the first volume, through absolutely no fault of my own. The first actual, full reading was a couple years later, and by that time, Clive Barker was my favorite author. I was familiar with his horror stories and novels, and had read some of his more fantasy-oriented books, but "Imajica" truly stands on top of everything else he's done. His newest series, "Abarat," offers a scope and story that's perhaps as ambitious as "Imajica" (it's too early to tell; there are three out of five books remaining to be published in that series); "Everville" and "The Great and Secret Show," both excellent books, also concern other worlds being discovered by regular people on Earth. But this is his best. As Barker states in the foreword, "Imajica" is an attempt at exploring ideas of theology, psychology, geography, through storytelling--and this even is an understatement. The themes that Barker takes on in this book are each enough for their own novel, and yet, it never feels too long, never gets tedious, and is always exciting.
What do You think about Imajica: The Reconciliation (1995)?
I read Imajica as one book before it had been divided into two and fell in love with Clive's storytelling all over again. Clive Barker is by far my most favorite author. His writing style is eloquent and seductive, his words pulled me into the story. His characters are rich and come to life off the page. I recommend you read both books back to back in order to maintain the story structure and rhythm. This book is rich and bold and will have you in its grip. I was devoured as I read and it was beautiful and breathtaking. Imajica left me enchanted. Any book of Barker's is a MUST read.
—Michelle Rene Goodhew
Dorothy wrote: "Yes, all his work is very sensual and primal. Not that there's anything wrong with that..."haha I enjoy it because he has a way of working it in without it seeming over the top.
—Jenn
