Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1)

The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1)
The Great and Secret Show - Book of The Art, Bk 1
Author: Clive Barker
ISBN-13: 9780061099014
ISBN-10: 0061099015
Publication Date: 10/1990
Pages: 688
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 113

3.9 stars, based on 113 ratings
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

12 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

Kibi avatar reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 582 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
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.
reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 76 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I've always liked Clive Barker's work and this book lives up to my expections of his thought processes. This is a long one at almost 700 pages, but I found the storyline kept me reading.
reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 24 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Clive Barker-what more can I say. You must add this to your collection!
reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
My wife likes this author, liked it.
reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Well, I think this is Clive Barker's best book. Although it has been out for a few years, Barker weaves terror,k horror, fantasy into an imaginative tale that will capture you! I love it
ft-ball-fn avatar reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 33 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
At first I was put off by the premise of this.. but by the end I was hooked and could not put it down. Its a HUGE book too... a nice read with good character development, etc. Its not straight forward/brain candy like Stephen King (my favorite) but still good as long as you're willing to think while reading a chiller.
reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 83 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is a very good horror story, but is does get a little long in spots.
reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 30 more book reviews
The Great and Secret Show, 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.
snewcomb avatar reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 2 more book reviews
An Amazing Journey! As are most of his books.
reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 224 more book reviews
I thought I would enjoy this book, but it was to weird or far out for me. Maybe I'm not smart enough to grasp the Authors intent. What ever, it wasn't my cup of tea. I'm sure someone else may love it.
reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 335 more book reviews
Armageddon begins with a murder in the dead letter office in Omaha, Nebraska.
A lake that has never existed falls from the clouds over Palomo Grove, California.
Young passion blossoms, as the world withers with war.
The Great and Secret Show has begun on the stage of the world.
And soon the final curtain must fall.
reviewed The Great and Secret Show (Book of The Art, Bk 1) on + 45 more book reviews
did not read this one