A review by jedbird
The Great And Secret Show by Clive Barker
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The only other Barker I've read is WEAVEWORLD, which I read back in 1987 and found thoroughly enthralling. I reread that book a few years back and was disturbed by the racism that pervades the fantasy that I (a white person) didn't pick up on back in the day, and that did affect my enjoyment of a truly creative horror classic.
This book is neither as creative nor as fantastical as that earlier book. Rather than racism, it has baffling sizeism - a teenage girl who is a mere 20 lb heavier than her teenage friends is described as blobby and fat and ponderous over and over again, suggesting that Mr. Barker has no real sense of what 20 lb looks like, but knows he hates the idea of it. Anyway, that seemed weird.
Two enemies locked in an eternal battle are horrified when their offspring fall in love. The secrets beyond the secrets are being exposed and an unthinkable enemy approaches on a tide of dreams. It's all dramatic but I found it lacked inspiration and I didn't care about any of the characters except maybe poor Raul, who was blameless in all of this.
There's another book, which I feel sort of obligated to read, but maybe I won't be in a hurry to do that.
This book is neither as creative nor as fantastical as that earlier book. Rather than racism, it has baffling sizeism - a teenage girl who is a mere 20 lb heavier than her teenage friends is described as blobby and fat and ponderous over and over again, suggesting that Mr. Barker has no real sense of what 20 lb looks like, but knows he hates the idea of it. Anyway, that seemed weird.
Two enemies locked in an eternal battle are horrified when their offspring fall in love. The secrets beyond the secrets are being exposed and an unthinkable enemy approaches on a tide of dreams. It's all dramatic but I found it lacked inspiration and I didn't care about any of the characters except maybe poor Raul, who was blameless in all of this.
There's another book, which I feel sort of obligated to read, but maybe I won't be in a hurry to do that.