Clive Barker's Fantastic Worlds

So, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about an author that I absolutely love. That, of course, is Clive Barker. I'm kind of new to his work, but he is steadily becoming one of my favorites. He has the amazing ability to create far-out worlds that no other man could ever dream of. I've only read a couple things by him: The Thief of Always, The Hellbound Heart, and Mister B. Gone, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed (Especially The Thief of Always, which is absolutely fantastic). I know it's a short list, but with those few items I've realized that Barker is a genius. I've recently started reading Imajica, which is another example of Barker's ability to create fantastical and amazing worlds beyond our own.

I've only read seventy or so pages, and with somewhere around 800 still to go, I'm barely even into the story yet. At this point, I'm still in the dark. I'm not entirely sure what's going on yet. I know there are other dimensions (or dominions, as they call them) that are separated from Earth (which is the fifth), and that there are magical creatures intent on reconciling the fifth dominion with the other four. The main character, Charles Estabrook, has something to do with this, but I'm not sure what exactly. He's already getting himself involved with murderous creatures and assassins, and it looks like he's about to be in a world of trouble. Even though I'm kind of confused at the moment, I'm not worried. I've still got a long way to go, and 800 pages is more than enough for everything to be explained. So far, though, the seventy or so pages I've read are wonderful. He's drawn me in, made me curious about these other worlds and creatures, and made me feel for the few human characters present. I'm excited to discover just what the Imajica really is.

Another of Barker's books that I'm really looking forward to reading is The Books of Blood, which is a vast collection of short stories. One of those is The Forbidden, which is the story that Candyman was based on. It all seems extremely interesting, and I know it will be beautiful once I finally get my hands on it. 

So, if you've yet to delve into the fantastic worlds of Clive Barker, you should definitely give it a go. He's an amazingly talented writer with the gift of extreme creativity.