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203:, 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
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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.
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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
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for its ambition, world-building, and blend of dark fantasy, horror, and metaphysical themes. It was often seen as Barker's finest work, although some criticism was aimed towards the book's length and complexity.
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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.
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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.
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celebrated Barker's "prodigious imagination," noting his ability to conjure vivid characters, gods, and creatures, while acknowledging the book's complexity. The review highlighted
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as "audacious, arrogant and subversive in the most imaginative and visionary of ways," declaring it to be Barker's best book.
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dazzles with its inventiveness, it sometimes suffers from an overindulgence in detail that detracts from the overall plot.
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The novel attained critical acclaim. Critics praised
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887:Clive Barker's Nightbreed: The Interactive Movie
653:The Painter, The Creature and The Father of Lies
365:"The Official Clive Barker Website - Clive on
228:Locus Award for Best Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel
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427:- Clive Barker's opinions on
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612:Days of Magic, Nights of War
258:"Other Voices, Other Realms"
226:was a finalist for the 1992
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133:novel by English author
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980:Novels by Clive Barker
901:Clive Barker's Jericho
894:Clive Barker's Undying
869:Valerie on the Stairs
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915:Recurring characters
373:www.clivebarker.info
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970:1991 fantasy novels
965:1991 British novels
791:Quicksilver Highway
595:The Books of Abarat
554:The Scarlet Gospels
519:The Thief of Always
491:The Hellbound Heart
262:The Washington Post
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143:parallel dimensions
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197:In his review for
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336:. August 1, 1991
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137:. Set within a
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405:. Retrieved
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376:. Retrieved
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338:. Retrieved
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128:dark fantasy
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88:October 1991
59:Dark fantasy
38:Clive Barker
879:Video games
770:Rawhead Rex
664:Comic books
629:Collections
186:Jon Gregory
164:Writing in
107:(hardcover)
959:Categories
812:The Plague
763:Underworld
738:Nightbreed
731:Hellraiser
498:Weaveworld
472:Literature
234:References
139:multiverse
126:is a 1991
922:Cenobites
714:Films, TV
691:Hyperkind
671:Razorline
583:Everville
526:Sacrament
463:Works by
152:Reception
73:Publisher
939:Candyman
784:Candyman
656:(essays)
292:Fangoria
167:Fangoria
44:Language
20:Imajica
927:Pinhead
677:Ectokid
533:Galilee
512:Imajica
429:Imajica
367:Imajica
328:Imajica
224:Imajica
218:Imajica
205:Imajica
191:Imajica
172:Imajica
158:Imajica
123:Imajica
47:English
605:Abarat
131:horror
64:Horror
34:Author
833:Dread
648:(art)
505:Cabal
112:Pages
105:Print
52:Genre
409:2024
380:2024
342:2023
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141:of
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
