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A review by tcgarback
The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Critical Score: B-
Personal Score: B
Barker fits a lot in here. My head was spinning at multiple points from the sheer amount of stuff going on.
That’s part of the excitement, part of the messiness. Well, the messiness mostly lies in the often convoluted and contrived fantasy elements. Sometimes it feels like he’s making it up as he’s going along, or establishing to some vague and overly abstract magical element to make the plot work the way he wants it to. And that became draining.
But I pushed through and was rewarded by the epic stakes and impressively persistent pace.
Barker’s writing style can get a little out of hand when he’s talking philosophy. Cue the headaches. Cue the reading fatigue. But again, I pushed through because the plot made the sticky parts worth it.
My main issue with the plot is how much setup was needed to get things going. Providing so much prologue sorta proactively killed the suspense and took away any scariness in the villain. We didn’t need to know quite so much up front—I’d have been fine with some flashbacks if it meant opening up on the small town setting from the start.
Now about the small town setting…
My main issue with the thematic structure is Barker’s clear lack of experience with the American small town. Compare this to a Stephen King book and The Great and Secret Show looks like child’s play. Barker simply hadn’t had enough knowledge of his setting at the time of writing to convince me or illuminate me on the secret lives in suburbia. After all, this book thinks it’s deep when it comes to small town secrets. But Barker doesn’t ever actually give us that much to chew on in the intimate moments. His characters aren’t developed enough, and their secrets aren’t wrought—which is odd when the fantasy elements are so poetically wrought.
What kept me invested was the adventurous and thrilling plot. Barker engages us the whole time, even when the flaws are on display. I read this giant book in a few days. That’s a testament to its entertainment factor.
I’m excited to read the sequel Everville, though it might be a while before I get around to it. I wonder if Barker’s gotten around to writing the long-awaited third book. I hope his health is holding up.
Critical Score: B-
Personal Score: B
Barker fits a lot in here. My head was spinning at multiple points from the sheer amount of stuff going on.
That’s part of the excitement, part of the messiness. Well, the messiness mostly lies in the often convoluted and contrived fantasy elements. Sometimes it feels like he’s making it up as he’s going along, or establishing to some vague and overly abstract magical element to make the plot work the way he wants it to. And that became draining.
But I pushed through and was rewarded by the epic stakes and impressively persistent pace.
Barker’s writing style can get a little out of hand when he’s talking philosophy. Cue the headaches. Cue the reading fatigue. But again, I pushed through because the plot made the sticky parts worth it.
My main issue with the plot is how much setup was needed to get things going. Providing so much prologue sorta proactively killed the suspense and took away any scariness in the villain. We didn’t need to know quite so much up front—I’d have been fine with some flashbacks if it meant opening up on the small town setting from the start.
Now about the small town setting…
My main issue with the thematic structure is Barker’s clear lack of experience with the American small town. Compare this to a Stephen King book and The Great and Secret Show looks like child’s play. Barker simply hadn’t had enough knowledge of his setting at the time of writing to convince me or illuminate me on the secret lives in suburbia. After all, this book thinks it’s deep when it comes to small town secrets. But Barker doesn’t ever actually give us that much to chew on in the intimate moments. His characters aren’t developed enough, and their secrets aren’t wrought—which is odd when the fantasy elements are so poetically wrought.
What kept me invested was the adventurous and thrilling plot. Barker engages us the whole time, even when the flaws are on display. I read this giant book in a few days. That’s a testament to its entertainment factor.
I’m excited to read the sequel Everville, though it might be a while before I get around to it. I wonder if Barker’s gotten around to writing the long-awaited third book. I hope his health is holding up.