The Great and Secret Show: The First Book of the Art

Name: The Great and Secret Show: The First Book of the Art
Rating: 4.695652008056641 (115 reviews)

Clive Barker

Mar 2009 · Harper Collins

4.7

115 reviews

Ebook

672

Pages

Eligible

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About this ebook

"Clive Barker's career has been building up to The Great and Secret Show. . . . A cross between Gravity's Rainbow and J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, allusive and mythic, complex and entertaining. Extravagantly metaphorical, wildly symbolic." — New York Times

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, master storyteller Clive Barker unveils one of the most ambitious imaginative landscapes in modern fiction and an intricately woven and meticulously constructed epic where past and future meet.

The Art, the greatest power known to humankind, is the focus of struggle between the evil spirit, Jaff, and a force for light, Fletcher. Jaffe hopes to tap into The Art's power while Fletcher wants to prevent it from being tainted. The conflict between the two men spills into the real world in a decades-long feud, distorting reality and affecting the entire human race.

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.

Ratings and reviews

4.7

115 reviews

Mildred Mcpeck

February 28, 2016

I'm half way along this book and already I feel as though part of the characters lives totally consuming, Clive has such an art towards his work that is so unending that one has to overturn each rock to totally behold each detailing... I love finding wisdoms along with his stories, the all of it is awesome in all its form...as a quote comes to mind...of how one does not live by bread alone but by words...and to me this is very true...words are bread and life...bless you Clive, thank you for your works

10 people found this review helpful

A Google user

July 24, 2010

This is the first book of Clive Barker's that I have read, and it did not disappoint me. Clive Barker starts with a commonplace average man named Jaffe doing the rather boring job of sorting letters and takes him on an unbelievable journey on the path to power. This is a sweeping novel that quickly draws the reader into the world beyond our own, hidden under the facade of everything we hold to be real. Clive Barker's prose is excellent and his character development is deep.... you feel very connected with most of the people that inhabit the pages. Recommended for anyone that enjoys sci-fi/fantasy or adventure.

Deanna Hoyer

July 5, 2013

I'm a huge CB fan. Just when you thought where can he go from here you look your not even half way thru. Then he just blows your mind away. After you finished your brain doesn't know how to process what it read. Everville is the sequel to this book. Another must read.

1 person found this review helpful

About the author

Clive Barker is the bestselling author of twenty-two books, including the New York Times bestsellers Abarat; Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War; the Hellraiser and Candyman series, and The Thief of Always. He is also an acclaimed painter, film producer, and director. He lives in Southern California.

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