Everville

From Publishers Weekly Horror's wunderkind returns with a spectacular sequel to his masterpiece of dark fantasy, The Great and Secret Show. As before, the saga of how our world commingles with the dream-sea world of Quiddity-and the wondrous, sometimes malevolent lands and beings that lie beyond its shores-provides the British author with a vast canvas on which he paints a riot of Boschean images. So complex are Barker's imaginings-from a celestial hierarchy that toys with human affairs; a geometry in which a pyramidic city can balance on its tip-that readers new to his cosmos could use a glossary or map that, alas, the publishers do not provide. Still, most will be swept away by his marvels, begining with the horrific decimation of a party of Old West pioneers by an interloper from the parallel world of Quiddity. Grotesqueries, dazzlements and titanic battles between humans and nonhumans abound as, in the present, several men, women and creatures, many returning from the prequel, are caught up in the attempt by two corrupt men to attain the "Art," the power by which they can manipulate time and space. Meanwhile, the Iad, a sentient force of immense destructiveness, breaks into our world on a mountaintop above the town of Everville, Oreg. But for all his facility at apocalyptic wonders, Barker's greatest strength remains his grasp on the yearnings of the heart and spirit. At times profoundly moving as flawed heroes and heroines martyr themselves to love or goodness, this novel confirms the author's position not only as one of horror's most potent and fertile minds but also as one of modern fiction's premier metaphysicians. BOMC and QPB alternates; Harper Audio. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Barker follows up the best-selling The Great and Secret Show with an epic fantasy that opens in the Pacific Northwest.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist The second of Barker's Books of the Art is a quest tale of several overlapping searches all taking place in and between the parallel worlds of the Cosm (i.e., reality as we know it) and the land that is bordered by a sea called the Quiddity. That body of water lies right on the other side of a door between worlds situated on a mountain above Everville, Oregon. Opened during the nineteenth century, the portal has never quite shut; indeed, malevolent forces on the other side will soon come pouring through to wreak havoc but will also afford the opportunity for several otherworld exiles to go home. Those exiles and some humans who've learned about the other side want to get control of the Art, the ultimate source of power over there and the object of many characters' quests. But Phoebe Cobb just wants to be reunited with her lover, Joe Flicker, who went through the door while trying to escape the sheriff, who thinks he killed Phoebe's husband (he didn't). Does this sound like what we have here is a very busy book? It should. Although he keeps the action--which includes lots of gory stuff and a few graphic sexual encounters both male-female and male-male--humming, Barker fails to establish just what the sense of it all is. We readers wind up confused but also entertained. Ray Olson A pioneer group's slow and deadly journey results in tragedy for most but also reveals a rare vision of a future world, a supernatural door, and links to the future which will connect an entire dreamed city. Barker's horror story builds slowly, but turns into a twining plot which proves striking and satisfyingly hard to predict. Even the most seasoned horror fan will appreciate the approach and action. -- Midwest Book Review Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, England, in 1952 and now makes his home in Los Angeles, where, in addition to his work as a novelist and short-story writer, he is also a painter and filmmaker. He is the author of numerous worldwide bestsellers, including The Books of Blood, The Damnation Game, Weaverworld, Imajica, and most recently, Everville. The films he has written, produced, or directed include the Hellraiser series, the Candyman pictures, Nightbreed, Lord of Illusions, and the forthcoming The Thief of Always. Read more