Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

39 used & new from CDN$ 3.00
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
The Great and Secret Show: The First Book of the Art
  
Search inside another edition of this book

The Great and Secret Show: The First Book of the Art (Hardcover)

by Clive Barker (Author) "Homer opened the door ..." (more)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


4 new from CDN$ 40.32 32 used from CDN$ 3.00 3 collectible from CDN$ 26.45

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Imajica

Imajica

by Clive Barker
4.5 out of 5 stars (115)  CDN$ 16.37
› Explore similar items

Product Details

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Early in his new epic novel, Barker describes the thoughts of one of his characters as "barbaric and baroque"--and the words fairly sum up the book. Down-and-outer Randolph Jaffe works in the dead-letter office in Omaha. Reading through the mass of mail, he finds clues to an alternative reality, the laws of which are called "the Art." Mastering these principles, he becomes powerful but evil, and presses into service a man named Fletcher, who synthesizes a transforming drug, the Nuncio. Later understanding the corrupting nature of his creation, Fletcher rebels against Jaffe, and the two, now demigods, engage in a cosmic struggle. To enlist allies, each sires offspring (using the seed of mortal men), and their spiritual children help to carry on the bizarre battle. Though diverting, the novel is something of a potboiler, and despite its pervasive horrific imagery, it fails even to frighten us--or invite us to suspend disbelief. This is the first book of a projected trilogy. 100,000 first printing; $125,000 ad/promo; Preferred Choice Book plan main selection; author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal

Englishman Barker's latest novel, the first part of a trilogy, is an ambitious fantasy/horror fusion of dazzling scope which stands alone as a complete story. Nebraska postal clerk Randolph Jaffe works in the Dead Letter Room, opening and inspecting loads of undeliverable U.S. mail. Soon, through a series of cryptic dead letters, he taps into an ethereal network of mysterious revelations which provides access to enormous power channels. The customary battle of light forces versus dark forces commences, with greedy Jaffe heading the latter, and mad yet philanthropic scientist Richard Fletcher representing the former. Despite occasional and convenient lapses into nonsensical elements of fantasy which characterize too much of the genre, this original, intelligent treatment of a complex idea by the author of The Damnation Game ( LJ 5/15/87) and Weaveworld ( LJ 10/15/87) is amazingly believable and compulsively readable. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/89.
- Mark Annichiarico, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Homer opened the door. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

Everville
50% buy
Everville 3.9 out of 5 stars (14)
CDN$ 13.87
Cabal
24% buy
Cabal 3.7 out of 5 stars (13)
CDN$ 11.54
The Great and Secret Show: The First Book of the Art
22% buy the item featured on this page:
The Great and Secret Show: The First Book of the Art 4.3 out of 5 stars (26)
Mister B. Gone
4% buy
Mister B. Gone 4.0 out of 5 stars (3)
CDN$ 10.91
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

26 Reviews
5 star:
 (18)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews

 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Unpredictable & Different, Jan 27 2004
By BigRig (Trout Creek (Salisbury), PA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Great And Secret Show (Paperback)
This is the first Clive Barker book I have ever read & I can say it won't be the last. This is a excellent & different story with great character & plot development. This book is unpredictable and moves smoothly making it difficult to put down. This is a must read book.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars It's no secret...., April 16 2009
By Jamieson Villeneuve "Author at Large" (Ottawa Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Great And Secret Show (Paperback)
the dead letter room in the middle of Omaha, Randolph Jaffe has stumbled upon a secret. At first, the secret isn't clear, just vague references to something called the Art. The Art begins to consume Jaffe, taking over his life. Its secrets continue to elude Jaffe until he cracks part of the code.

The Art are laws governing an alternate reality called Quididdty. Quididdty is the dream see, the dreamscape, the magic that runs through all our fantasies. Jaffe can think of nothing else except the Art and becoming a master of it. Quididdty is his for the taking.

Taking a scientist named Fletcher under his wing to further his growing evil, Jaffe hopes to get one step closer to mastering the Art. Fletcher creates a transforming drug they call Nuncio, which uses the principals of the Art. What they don't realize is that it will become their undoing.

Fletcher realizes that Jaffe is evil and attempts to stop his plans by destroying the Nuncio. He knows that the drug is capable of transforming anyone into what ever they are most on the inside. Good becomes great. Evil becomes more so. Except, the Nuncio has other plans. It transforms Fletcher and then Jaffe into Demigods. Not content to let the other live, (after all, good must always triumph over evil) Fletcher and Jaffe engage in a battle that brings them to Palamo Grove, a small town and an ideal place to hide and rest in the earth while regaining the energy to continue fighting.

Years pass. Then something unthinkable happens. Four girls, dubbed The League of Virgins, become pregnant after swimming in a river that appeared on the edge of town. When the girls start talking of being raped in the river, gossip in the small town grows to an all time high. No one knows the truth, however, no matter how crazy the rumors.

Jaffe and Fletcher have impregnated four women in hopes of producing offspring to continue the battle they began so many years ago. Fletcher knows that he cannot allow Jaffe to gain access to the Art, to Quididdty; otherwise, it could mean the end of the world, and dreams, as we know it...

What Barker does here is create myth and he does so beautifully. It's a difficult thing to create an epic myth from the ground up, but Barker does so in "The Great and Secret Show" with such skill and mastery that you know he has a gift. The plot mentioned above doesn't even begin to describe the plot for this book. It is a big, wonderfully sprawling dive into wonderland.

What I love about books by Clive Barker is that they are usually character driven. This is also the case here. While there is a lot of focus on myth and legend here, Barker also focuses on the people filling his tale. It's a good thing he does - there is a cast of hundreds here and we get to know almost all of them through out "The Great and Secret Show". What's wonderful is that this is actually the first novel in a trilogy, The Books of Art.

I devoured this book. Quididdty now floats through my dreams and haunts my waking hours. This is an amazing book. It's a big one, but it's worth it. An amazing piece of literature, a great beginning to an epic fantasy, any way you look at it, this is an amazing read.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3.0 out of 5 stars In the Middle, Nov 11 2003
By Tyler Tanner (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Great And Secret Show (Paperback)
This is the third book I've read by Barker. The last one, Damanation game I really did not care for, But the Thief of Always I loved. This falls somewhwere in the middle. The imagery and fable like quality of storytelling work well here. Just like almost every other Barker book, it has a healthy dose of sexuality mixed in with gore. Barker fans know what I'm talking about. First timers may find it a bit much.

Creating your own mythology is hard to pull off. Barker manages better than most who have attempted it. He slowly explains his concepts letting the reader digest what he is trying to get across one small portion at a time.
However, the characterization is hit and miss. Jaffe, the antagonist is fully developed and Barker really makes the ambiguity of the character tangible and you feel for him. But you don't realize the "true" protagonist until a good third into the book because they do not show up until then. When it does happen, the revelation seems whimsical and I found it difficult to accept. Especially when he does such a great job with Jaffe.

There is a Shakespearian element to this book that works very well and should have been the dominating element to this story. I think readers would have been satisfied with that. The love triangle and the events that led up to it are fully realized. He had enough to propel his grand scheme with just that. But the additional characters, such as the reporter and his friend were gratuitous. Maybe they play a bigger part in the sequel called "Everville."

I can see why people love this book and I can see why people hate it. Some great stuff but it's unbalanced.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 		 Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow.
I consider myself a fairly slow reader, but I finished this book in about a week. It was not at all hard to read or understand. I could not put it down!! Read more
Published on Oct 22 2003 by Kina M Heather

5.0 out of 5 stars Thinking Man's (or Woman's) Horror
GSS is a compelling mixture of stories that only a master like Clive Barker could pull together.

Among the many stories a lucky ready will find in this book are star-crossed... Read more

Published on May 2 2003 by Steve M

3.0 out of 5 stars The Good and secret Show
This is the fourth book I've read by barker and I think I've figured out why I haven't turned into a fan. Read more
Published on April 1 2003 by Ja'Maul Redmond

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable read of a fantastic landscape of the mind
This is definitely an interesting book but, then again, that probably depends on what interests you. Read more
Published on Mar 20 2003 by Jeff Nyman

5.0 out of 5 stars The past, the future, and the dreaming moment between
When Randolph Jaffe applies for a job in the "Dead Letter Office" in Omaha, Nebraska he has no clue of what kind of world he is about to enter. Read more
Published on Feb 10 2003 by Geert Daelemans

1.0 out of 5 stars Not A Fan
This was the first Clive Barker book I've read. I was not impressed by anything - characters, plot, or writing style. Read more
Published on Nov 10 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars, of course, but...
Considering I love Barkers style, imagination, ability... (hmmm, obsessed fan I am not, I promise) and The Great and Secret Show definately showcased his talents (and fairly... Read more
Published on Oct 28 2002 by A. Ball

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of Dark Fantasy
"The Great and Secret Show" is one of the best books I have ever read. I've read many Barker books and while all of them are fantastic, this one is unbelievable. Read more
Published on Oct 27 2002 by Caris O'Malley

5.0 out of 5 stars mesmerization
a powerful, eloquent work that coalesces mysterious events in the lives of strange, alluring characters. Read more
Published on Sep 26 2002 by Author Brian Wallace (Mind Tra...

3.0 out of 5 stars No Place For Taste
This is a very good plot: twisted, dramatic, and memorable. Be forewarned, though: this book is riddled with gratuitous sex, gratuitous sex, and more gratuitous sex. Read more
Published on Jun 30 2002 by spyder

Only search this product's reviews


Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject









i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.