Imaginative Premise, Ruined By Obscenity

Imajica by Clive Barker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Imaginative Premise, Ruined By Obscenity

Imajica, by Clive Barker, is an interesting story about inter-dimensional power, social, financial, and sexual power. Though Barker is adept at keeping a narrative on track and somewhat interesting (I like his allusions to esotrica, magic, and his integration of the preternatural), but he loses my interest in his explicit excursions into obscenity and deviance. For some, explorations of chopped meat or explicit sex may be cathartic, but for others they tend to disgust. I wanted to enjoy the world of Imajica, because the story premise seems promising and imaginative, but Barker's seeming inability or at least unwillingness to rein in his own penchant for the "gross-out" ruins the atmosphere of the novel and seems to hinder the development of the characters. I'll give Barker another chance with The Great and Secret Show and Weaveworld.

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