Rating: 
Summary: I couldn't get enough of it!
Review: In The Great and Secret Show: The first book of the Art, Clive Barker demonstrated amazing talent, from the paradoxical love between Jo-Beth and Howie, to Tesla's seeming Shaman qualities and the entirely separate meanings of Trinity. I found the book impossible to put down once I got past the first section, concentrating on the nation-wide battle between the Jaff and the Good Man Fletcher. Barker held my attention, as undevided as it could be, in the palm of his hand through the tragedy of the League of Virgins, the meeting and uniting of two people born for the purpose of continuing their fathers' life-long hate, and all the catastrophic events stemming from their meeting, until the final Show at the home of a famous comedian. I can't wait to read Everville, and greatly anticipate the publication of a third book.
Rating: 
Summary: The Art of the Book part I
Review: It is difficult to review this book without reviewing Everville as well...so I won't. This is an Grand scale guide through the world of the spirit that spares nothing in it's quest to convey the vastness and rich heart of that which is both within and beyond the mortal realm.
Here the reader finds the Kabbalah (Mem b'Kether Sabbat), Thoth, Jungian Archetypes, and an all consuming world/story unparalleled in scope and ambition.
What Imajica did in one book (albiet large) Barker, here, attempts to do in three (GOD...how long must I wait for the third book Clive?!). Barker even claims that he will eventually combine all three Books of the Art into one massive tome.
Breathe deeply from the Tree of Life, swim in Quiddity...and come inside.
Rating:
Summary: Like an Old Friend ....
Review: Like an old friend you will want to see this novel again and again and again even if it is only to rehash old stories. this book is truly exceptional. Not many writers can actually make you visualize settings with only words. the story, the plot or your own desire to read the novel will compel you to stay with it. Not this novel, the magic Clive barker performs by actually letting you be in the novel and feel for these characters will drag you through to the end. when you do finally complete this book you will wish that it goes on for another 1000 pages. It is truly a wonderful novel and something that will stay with you for years after you read it.
I read this book when I was in High School and I never will forget it.
READ IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!! You will not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the effort
Review: Like most of Barker's works, "The Great and Secret Show" is not an easy read, and is not recommended as an introduction to the fantasy/horror genre. For those who have the requisite mindset, though, this book is a jewel.Randolph Jaffe's corruption by the Nuncio, Fletcher's pitiful attempts to stop him, Jo-Beth and Howie's ultimate star-crossed love, Tesla, Raul, Kissoon, the terata and Lix... they're all burned into the reader's mind by the force of Barker's writing. The concepts embodied in TGaSS are mind-blowing: more than once since my first reading of this book and Everville, I've found myself thinking of "the past, the future, and the dreaming moment between, all one country living one immortal day." Barker's unconventional treatment of Christianity and homosexuality will doubtless offend some. For the more open-minded, and those with a bent for truly fantastic writing, "The Great and Secret Show" is an absolute treasure.
Rating:
Summary: Clive Barker is amazing
Review: My first impression of Clive Barker was that he was just a plain old horror writer. That label kind of kept me away from his books. But, for a lack of anything else to read, I picked up The Great and Secret Show. That was the best decision I could have ever made in choosing a book. Clive's style of writing is so amazing. He makes Dean Koontz and Stephen King look like children's book authors. Barker's a very literate man, and it shows in his writing. The flowing dialogue and beautifully described worlds captured me from the get go. The character development, fantastic storyline, and just the overall feeling of this book makes it one of Clive's finest. I recommend this book to anyone in need of a story that will completely shock you, seduce you, scare you, and just completely envelop you!!!! Totally amazing!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Quiddity must be preserved!
Review: Randolph Jaffe was a man at the end of his rope. He hungered to be a big man, a king, yet all his life he had never managed to rise higher than a private in the ranks as he passed from job to job. At 37 he felt that time was running out. Now he had a dead end job in the central Dead Letter Office of the U.S. Postal Service. Yet, even here his brutal, vulgar coworkers and supervisor left him no peace. He found himself forced to participate in systematic looting of unclaimed mail for money and valuables. As he did this day after day he seriously began to contemplate suicide. Then, as he started to read the letters that he was opening he discovered, slowly, that the world was not what it seemed- not even remotely. Here and there, certain people hinted at a world behind the world, a Sea of Seas, the Shoal, Quiddity- and the Art. One day, Jaffe found a medallion in the mail- and everything changed. What had first been synchronicity in his life as he deciphered the mystery, now turned to direct supernatural power. Unfortunately, this was a power that Jaffe never should have possessed. He was a petty, unworthy, little man that had learned nothing from his own maltreatment by others. He used the power from the start to murder and exploit. Yet, he hungered for even more power to remake the world to serve his ego. Unfortunately, this would create all sorts of problems for the guardians who were worthy of the secrets of the Art....
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of imagination from Barker
Review: This is a masterpiece of imagination from Barker. Randolph Jaffe was a failure post office employee who wanted to be big, but ended up small. Along with his co-workers he started opening mail and, in doing so, found a secret that another world existed besides ours. Thus, he went to find this world and with it the power to rule. Not learning anything from his own miserable life, he mistreated the power to create evil. Thus he opened the gates to our own world and created a battle of chaos. Superb.
Rating: 
Summary: No Place For Taste
Review: This is a very good plot: twisted, dramatic, and memorable. Be forewarned, though: this book is riddled with gratuitous sex, gratuitous sex, and more gratuitous sex. I challenge anyone to find a reasonable explanation as to the purpose of the scene with the dog, the Death Boy and the dirty dancer. Also, the book would have been none the worse without the excremental references and some even worse scenes that I won't go into here. The same goes for Everville. Tesla rules.
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable read of a fantastic landscape of the mind
Review: This is definitely an interesting book but, then again, that probably depends on what interests you. For Clive Barker fans, the story largely fits into the thematic structures he often puts to writing (notably in works like "Weaveworld" and "Imajica"). For those new to Clive Barker, his are books that you have to give a chance. Go along for the ride and realize that if you are confused by what is happening, so often are the main characters. In fact, that is often the point. Everything is not wrapped up into a nice little bundle, certainly not right away. You are given hints. You are given threads of the story along with the characters and, along with them, you will unravel those threads to get at the core elements. The overall story uses fantastical elements (the dream-sea, called Quiddity; loops in time; a mysterious cult that worships something called the Art) but in doing so what the story is really highlighting is the secret lives that people lead and how ephemeral those lives can be, particularly when those lives are based on the superficial and fleeting pleasures (whether that be fame, money, or sex). The events in the book speak to people's deepest fears and their secret desires and how those fuel an odd melange of dreams and nightmares and how those dreams and those nightmares can define who we are and who we become. The ideas in this book flow pretty fast and furious and yet all are logically connected in my opinion. While the concepts are fantastical, the mundane setting they are placed in serves as a wonderful contrast to the events that eventually take place. The ideas behind the Quiddity and the Art that allows access to it may not satisfy fans of more science-fiction novels but, on the other hand, the elements of an odd cult, an ancient enemy and the means by which tears in the fabric of reality can bring those things together are not really in the true horror genre either. So the book sort of straddles a few elements from various literary genres and weaves what I think is a very compelling story. If you decide to give this book a try, understand that you are getting into what is (at the time of writing this review) a two-book series. (The second book is "Everville" and a third book is ostensibly planned, although there is some debate on that, most notably from the author.) However, do not let that daunt you. The current book actually can stand on its own quite well if you decide to venture no further into Clive Barker's portrait of humanity and what might lie at right angles to reality and just beyond the veil of our dreams.
Rating:
Summary: I WISH I COULD GIVE IT MORE THAN 5 STARS
Review: THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ (the only books that come close are other Barker novels.) Don't let the other bad reviews fool you (they just bring down the review average from 5 stars to 4 and half) This book does take some serious thought, but it's well worth it and if you've spent most of your time reading Stephen, Dean and Anne, you'll never want to go back. By the way, if you decide to order this, you'd better order Everville because Everville isn't really a sequel, it's the middle of this great story (and Clive says the end will be put out soon and it will be huge.)
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