Most helpful customer reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Monumental Metaphysical Marvel, Jan 29 2004
It is hard to believe that it has been over ten years since I first read this mammoth novel- and some thirteen since it was first published. I think "mammoth" is not exaggerating, for how else do you describe on novel that exists as two separate volumes, each of over 500 pages? This isn't a casual read. It represents a considerable investment in time. There are also so many characters, settings, plot lines, specialized vocabulary and underlying principles to keep straight.... Yet, it is worth the investment in time and effort.The basic framework, like so many of Barker's other novels, is that of a hidden world behind the superficial façade of our mundane world. Barker is such a master at interweaving mundane, and profane, details into the greater fabric of his realities that you find yourself totally drawn in. I found myself totally immersed in this hidden reality. For this is a story of five worlds, or dimensions, or Dominions. These make up the whole of Imajica. That is, they should. Two hundred years ago there was an attempt to reconcile our own fifth Dominion with the other four. This ended in a metaphysical catastrophe so great that that nearly all of the Dominions great theurgists, shamans, and theologians were killed. The result was that almost all magical knowledge passed from our world and for two centuries science and materialism held grim sway. Now, conditions are once again ripe for an attempt to reconcile the Dominions. The great magus', or Maestros, know that this may very well be the last attempt to heal the rift in creation. To fail this time will undoubtedly mean two more centuries of isolation- plenty of time for the Fifth Dominion to destroy itself in nuclear or ecological suicide. Yet, to heal the rift will require a Master of such power and confidence that he will try to succeed where all those that have gone before him (even the Christos) has failed....
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1.0 out of 5 stars
What the frack?, Jan 17 2004
I am having such a hard time reading this novel. I'm only on page 205 after a week of taking brief dips into to this... book. I'm a person who usually puts away one to two novels a week. I am hoping I haven't wasted my time and that it gets better. So far I have made no emotional contact with the main characters. Everything is so unmotivated. I am at the point where Gentle and Pie oh pah have made their first trip to another dominion. They walk down the street with senseless advice from Pie then encounter a "who goes there" type of characters. They exchange words, then are rescued by some guy who happens to walk up on them by chance. I am so frustrated with the way this book is being executed. I am so close to the point of putting this book down for good. So far I have seen nothing that warrants the praise this book has received. To me, this book feels like an unpolished first draft, just waiting to have huge chunks of irrelevant material cut from it to improve story flow and plot progression. I will retract this review of mine if things turn for the better.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Most amazing book I've ever had the PLEASURE of reading!, May 27 2002
I'm an avid reader, but very rarely does a book capture me the way this one did. It has become a comfort book for me, something I return to to make my life a little more magical. And it has become my teacher. The following line from Imajica has taken on a great importance in my life: "...everything you learn is already part of you, even to the Godhead Itself. Study nothing except in the knowledge that you already knew it. Worship nothing except in adoration of your true self. And fear nothing except in the certainty that you are your enemy's begetter and its only hope of healing. For everything that does evil is in pain." This is more than a book, it is a philosophy, a mentor. I've read it more time that I can count, it's traveled with me through the most important times in my life, and I treasure it. It is the greatest testament to Barker's talent. It's only downside, I can't help but compare all other books to it. And so far, the only books to come CLOSE to the perfection of this story were the LOTR epic and the Dune epic. And even they fall short, not following the most basic rules of Pluthero Quexos, refusing to end with the empty stage.
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