Customer Reviews
Interesting but ultimately flawed. 
2008-07-08
"The Great And Secret Show" is a novel that is at turns fascinating, horrifying, and (unfortunately) disappointing.
The first part of the novel is great, with Randolph Jaffe slowly unravelling the mysteries of the secret society called the Shoal and the pathway to the Art, a type of magic that can allow one to enter the dreams of humanity.
After discovering the power of the Nuncio and being changed (along with Fletcher) we get some great scenes showing the scope of their battle through time and space, culminating in the Society of Virgins' fateful swim in the lake above the caverns.
After that point, however, things slow to a crawl. The final showdown between Jaffe (now "the Jaff") and Fletcher never materializes, and the terata and hallucigenia - their fevered creations - never really battle either.
The plot involving Howie, Tommy-Ray, and Jo-Beth fizzles without much resolution. In fact the whole last third of the novel is thrown into chaos by the arrival of new characters (Tesla, Grillo, Vance, Harry D'Amour) where none was necessary. Also, Barker inserts a twist which puts the Jaff on the side of "good" just as he was about to achieve his evil aims. This bizarre and unnecessary contortion of the story wrecks any suspense or momentum that had been building.
Barker introduces a new threat when his orginal baddie (Jaffe) would have been more than adequate. Tommy-Ray's plot also goes off the rails...it seems as though Barker completely lost control of the sub-plot and then just cobbled something together as best he could at the end.
The Art, when it does make its appearance, is quite anti-climatic. Quiddity is interesting, but Ephemeris turns out to be bland and unexciting, instead of the promised center of "the great and secret show". By that point, most readers will probably be daydreaming about other shows...network TV ones.
Brilliant premise, exciting start, but a last third which reminds one of a train running out of steam a long, long way from the station.
GSS 
2008-06-28
This book drones on for a while. But, it's not bad. And if I look back I suppose it was all needed to make the reader feel closer to the characters. A good read on a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG plane ride, and I mean long, like to China, then back to America.
Good Epic, but Loses It Towards End 2008-05-31
Randolf Jaffe works in the Dead Letter Office in Omaha, Nebraska where he stumbles across people talking about the Art, which is something that exists in another plane of existence. He learns about Quiddity, which is called a dream sea where people float in their minds when they are born, when they fall in love for the first time and when they die. He wants to find out about this Art, so he leaves to find out more about. This leads to a huge battle between good and evil in a tiny California town where the residents do not know what to make of bizarre creatures that impregnate virgins, feed off of people's fears and dreams, and the threat of huge creatures trying to break through the plane of existence to bring hell on Earth.
I tried to read this book many years ago, but didn't enjoy it back then. I think a lot of it had to do with that I loved when Clive Barker wrote about England in so many other stories. I was put off with almost all of it taking place in California since I did not view that as some exotic place and I became bored. I don't have that issue any longer, so I gave it another show in reading it.
I loved it this time. It is a very big book, but it is an epic story and it needs to be long. I love how when other authors write fantasy and they create an entire different world that does not take place in any sense of the real world, but Clive Barker created this world in the middle of the real world. There were extraordinary beings interacting with ordinary people, and I enjoyed reading their reactions.
My only complaint about it was after building up to what would be the final climax, there wasn't a great sense of urgency towards the end of the book. I didn't have my usual sense of trying to find out what was going to happen next, skimming over lines, forcing myself to go back and read slower so I wouldn't miss anything, but then going back to skimming so I could find out what happens next. Also, Barker has been very descriptive in other stories about horrors, but when he was trying to describe the huge, big baddies that were trying to break through, they didn't sound very gross or horrific.
Even with those complaints, it wasn't enough to destroy my overall enjoyment of the book. Also, the very ending gave hope to the sequel (Everville) and another epic adventure.
Why do I read this stuff? 2008-01-05
Like all his other books, Barker's stories stick with me and haunt my thoughts for a long time. He is a master storyteller! I always feel like I'm entering a strange dark world when I start one of his books and it takes me days after I've completed one to get back into the daylight. Fascinating. Can't take a steady diet of this author, but I do like enter his worlds every now and then.
One of the best novels I've read 2007-11-03
I have always enjoyed Clive Barker's writing. His writing is not necessarily "horror" in the Lovecraft sense of things. He is more mythical in his writings, and the horror that does come comes subtle and sublime. The Great and Secret Show is just that, all the myths and whispers that underline the American facade. It, and its sequel, work together to present the ideas that would happen if Carl Jung's writings became physical and tied intuitively with the United States across the decades and the peoples. The characters are not so black and white that you know exactly how they will react in the next scene, though there are some that could be classified as good and evil. If you want horror, pure horror, go for Stephen King. He is as good as it gets, when he hits the right book (such as The Stand, Salem's Lot, and the Dark Tower series). Clive Barker is more dark fairytale, tied together with the mythos of the United States. That is really what the Art series is about, in my opinion. There is only one problem with the Clive Barker books I've read, especially those proposed to be series. He doesn't seem to know how to finish his series. The Art series has been around for more than a decade and a half, and he still hasn't written book three, the final book in the trilogy. Same thing with the Galilee series, book two hasn't even hit drawing board from what I can tell...then there are several other series that he's started that don't seem to be completed. I think that it isn't that Clive Barker doesn't know how to finish, I think that his problem is that he has too good of an intelligence and imagination and he has trouble fitting the puzzle pieces together. Still. I highly suggest that the bright person out there read most of Clive's books. They are well worth the time and effort. I have to say that if I had to nail five books that have influenced my thoughts and considerations over the years, Great and Secret Show will be one of them.
Super Reader 
2007-08-03
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.
Just Not For Me 2007-06-17
Public Reviews Written by You
Reviewer Rank: 35 Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11-20
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The Great and Secret Show: the First Book of Art by Clive Barker
Edition: Unknown Binding
Availability: This item is currently unavailable.
Not Really For Me, 17 Jun 2007
Clive Barker was born in 1952 and he is the best-selling author of a large number of books, including his first book for children, The Thief of Always. He is also an acclaimed artist, film producer, and director. For four years Mr, Barker has been working on a vast array of paintings to illuminate the text of The Books Of Abarat, over one hundred of which can be found within this first volume.
Mr. Barker lives in California with his partner, the photographer David Armstrong, and their daughter, Nicole. They share their house with four dogs, five goldfish, a parrot and a large number of other pets of all shapes and sizes.
This book is a fantasy novel and describes a race against time to try to find the secret of "The Art" - a state of being or consciousness which allows its owner to transcend their humanity and enter into a heightened spiritual state - between Fletcher and the evil-intentioned Jaffe.
I had heard such good things about this author that I felt I really ought to get round to reading one of his books. I can understand the attraction of the book, but it was not really my kind of thing. That is not to say that someone interested in this type of book would not find it a page turner and I am certainly not going to start to criticise the book until I have read other offerings from the author. Suffice to say it just did not do it for me.
Ooooookkkkkaaaaayyyy 2006-12-22
Without a doubt the weirdest book I have ever read. I loathed it and loved it. It entertained and revolted me. Full of originality yet swarming with cliche.
My dream-life has been somewhat more complicated since reading this book. The waters of Quiddity must be getting choppy.
Disappointed 2006-11-22
I actually bought this book because of the great reviews. I was hoping for a gem. I had to actually force myself to continue to read it. I just couldn't find myself attached to any of the characters. I had absolutely no bond with the characters. Clive Barker is an excellent, beautiful writer. He is definitely gifted. I loved the concept of the book, but I just wish that the story was more developed. Mostly about what EXACTLY is the Art. I needed to know more about Quiddity, it's history, the Shoal, Kissoon. What exactly did Jaffe read in those letters to drive his ambition. Why did he believe those letters? I tried to get attached to the characters. Even the Good Man Fletcher. But something was missing from the characters. They lacked depth. Death boy was overboard. It's as if Barker is writing specifically for a movie. A "B" horror flick at that.
The Triology - the rest of the books 2006-03-18
I love Clive Barker and I am getting ready to go pick up his second book Everville. However, I wanted everyone to know that this is a Trilogy but this book does stand on its own. If it had just ended without a second book I would have been a little bit unsatisfied because it leaves unanswered questions, but ones that you can wait on for the next book to answer - not a cliff hanger. Also, it does tend to resolve all of the big outstanding issues.
Luckily, I have been continuing to read all of his books just recently, so I won't have to wait for the second book (Everville). However it appears the third book is not out yet and will not neccessarily be out any time soon. Please see the following link for his reasoning for this http://www.clivebarker.dial.pipex.com/newbooksb.html
In a nutshell he says that the last book will be a monster and that it takes time to prepare to write this type of book. It also says that he has other series going on as well that take time. Too many ideas running through his head and that he needs to clone himself. Anyway - take a look at the link if you are interested but he says that he promises it will be out before the end of this century.....
Happy reading!
