Imajica

Imajica is a 1991 dark fantasy horror novel by English author Clive Barker. Set within a multiverse of parallel dimensions, the narrative weaves together themes of reality, magic, and the cosmic forces that shape existence.<ref name="Washingtin">Template:Cite news</ref>

The story follows John Furie Zacharias, also known as Gentle, as he becomes embroiled in a multidimensional conflict involving parallel universes, powerful beings, and the mysteries of creation.<ref name="Washingtin" />

Background

Barker has stated in interview that he wrote the first draft of Imajica as a manuscript of "14,000 hand written pages."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He says in an interview with David Howe: "Imajica started with my thinking about the images which appear in the great paintings of Christian mythology. Whether or not they're true, they seemed to me to be a potent, powerful and important cyphers of image and meaning."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Reception

The novel received critical acclaim.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Kirkus">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Critics praised Imajica for its ambition, world-building, and blend of dark fantasy, horror, and metaphysical themes.<ref name="Washingtin" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name="Kirkus" /><ref name=":1" /> It was often seen as Barker's finest work,<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Kirkus" /><ref name=":1" /> although some criticism was aimed towards the book's length and complexity.<ref name="Washingtin" />

Writing in Fangoria, W. C. Stroby lauded Barker's boldness in tackling "the Big Questions" of love, death, God, and oblivion. He described Imajica as "audacious, arrogant and subversive in the most imaginative and visionary of ways," declaring it to be Barker's best book.<ref name=":0" /> Kirkus Reviews deemed the novel as "an astonishing feat of the imagination" that runs "riot with ideas, fantastical inventions, graphic sex and violence, soul-terrors, and emotional and intellectual resonances," and commended Barker for surpassing his previous achievements.<ref name="Kirkus" />

British film editor Jon Gregory acknowledged Barker's ongoing obsession with religious imagery and the role of women in his narratives, often portraying them as possessing transformative powers. He highlighted the novel's scope, suggesting that Imajica is a reworking of the Christ myth, filled with monsters and mayhem, and concluded that the book represented a "step upwards" for Barker, offering a story with greater thematic range than his previous works.<ref name=":1" />

In his review for The Washington Post, Stefan Dziemianowicz revered Barker as a "latter-day Lewis Carroll," adept at transforming contemporary issues – such as AIDS, racial and sexual politics, and censorship – into mythological material. However, he opined that the novel tends to digress, describing it as a "Chinese puzzle box constructed on a universal scale," and pointing out that, while Imajica dazzles with its inventiveness, it sometimes suffers from an overindulgence in detail that detracts from the overall plot.<ref name="Washingtin" />

Additionally, Publishers Weekly celebrated Barker's "prodigious imagination," noting his ability to conjure vivid characters, gods, and creatures, while acknowledging the book's complexity. The review highlighted Imajica's "mesmerizing invention" and its blend of violence, eroticism, and myth.<ref name=":1" />

Imajica was a finalist for the 1992 Locus Award for Best Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel.<ref name=":2" />

External links

• Clive on Imajica - Clive Barker's opinions on Imajica