The Great and Secret Show
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
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.
Reviews
Praise for Clive Barker:
‘An invocation of both magic and the imagination… A majestic maze of mythmaking’
WASHINGTON TIMES
‘Passionate and ingenious… A ride with remarkable views’
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
‘A fabulous, engrossing war of the worlds’
PEOPLE MAGAZINE
‘Barker dislocates your mind’
MAIL ON SUNDAY
About the author
Clive Barker was born in Liverpool in 1952. He is the worldwide bestselling author of the Books of Blood, and of numerous novels including Imajica, The Great and Secret Show, Sacrament and Galilee. In addition to his work as a novelist and short story writer, he also illustrates, writes, directs and produces for the stage and screen.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Early in his new epic novel, Barker describes the thoughts of one of his characters as ``barbaric and baroque''--and the words fairly sum up the book. Down-and-outer Randolph Jaffe works in the dead-letter office in Omaha. Reading through the mass of mail, he finds clues to an alternative reality, the laws of which are called ``the Art.'' Mastering these principles, he becomes powerful but evil, and presses into service a man named Fletcher, who synthesizes a transforming drug, the Nuncio. Later understanding the corrupting nature of his creation, Fletcher rebels against Jaffe, and the two, now demigods, engage in a cosmic struggle. To enlist allies, each sires offspring (using the seed of mortal men), and their spiritual children help to carry on the bizarre battle. Though diverting, the novel is something of a potboiler, and despite its pervasive horrific imagery, it fails even to frighten us--or invite us to suspend disbelief. This is the first book of a projected trilogy. 100,000 first printing; $125,000 ad/promo; Preferred Choice Book plan main selection; author tour.
