A review by ethorwitz
The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker

2.0

Extremely disappointing. All of Clive Barker's usual themes are certainly present: nonjudgmental eroticism, visceral body-horror, religious revelation; but they are in service of a sloppily assembled and meandering storyline. His [b: Books of Blood|761023|Books of Blood Volume One (Books of Blood #1)|Clive Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429999423s/761023.jpg|1249260] delivered these themes with a breathtaking mastery, [b: The Hellbound Heart|52635|The Hellbound Heart|Clive Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327312426s/52635.jpg|1093522] and its movie adaptation can at least commit to a brutally Sadeian purpose. The are some excellent ideas and some genuinely demented images in The Great and Secret Show, but the way it flails around is frustrating. I spent all this time committing to a door-stopper epic, only to learn too late that maybe I should've tried [b: Imajica|567704|Imajica|Clive Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333844729s/567704.jpg|1371342] or [b: Weaveworld|52640|Weaveworld|Clive Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1329374451s/52640.jpg|942564] instead.