Weaveworld by Clive Barker Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Weaveworld
Book Review: A Fantasy-Romance for People Who Don't Read Fantasy-Romances
Summary: 4 Stars
Initially I was surprised that Weaveworld wasn't the horror story I expected it to be. Then I was surprised how much I was enjoying it anyway.Certainly there are elements of horror: The Rake, The Hag, The Magdalene and her Offspring, and The Scourge/Uriel - but this is primarily a love story between Cal and Suzanna. Their relationship is remarkable if for no other reason than the fact that it can never be fully consummated (unlike most of the casual relationships Cal and Suzanna have with others, which can and often are).
From suburban London to the Scottish Highlands to the Arabian desert, the story covers all this ground, plus the fantastic settings within the weave (The Fugue) itself. The pacing is fairly quick, but Barker does take the time to insert a descriptive paragraph or nice turn of phrase now and then. Characters are well-drawn, but there isn't a whole lot of development demonstrated over the course of the novel. Cal becomes obsessed with the carpet, but doesn't really change as he pursues or attains it. Suzanna gets super-powers almost as soon as she comes on the scene, so there isn't even much "before" and "after" as she comes to grips with them.
The book has a few other flaws, as well. Barker consistently uses the crassest term imaginable for the part of female anatomy euphemistically referred to on the TV-show Scrubs as the "bajingo." There are some pretty big plot holes as well; for instance, at one point a psychic attack is accidentally launched against an innocent London population; later, when such an attack would come in handy, no one suggests "doing what we did back in London." Wasn't it Chekov who said, "If you establish mind-altering super-powers in the beginning of the book you have to make an attempt to use them in a crucial moment by the end of the book"? Words to that effect, at any rate.
Subject matter and material aside, this is still a very good fantasy story. Romance fans will find a lot to recommend it. Horror fans may find themselves pleasantly surprised.
Book Review: A Pure Venture of the Imagination
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading Barker's other fantasy epic, Imajica; I couldn't wait to get my hands on Weaveworld, and now that I'm done reading it I am convinced that Barker is one of the most talented authors alive. Calhoun Mooney, a 20 something freespirit, accidentally falls into a magic carpet which serves as a refuge for the Seerkind, who have been hunted by mankind (Cuckoos) throughout history for their special abilities. Cal's fall into the carpet sets into motion an epic controntation for the carpet and the wonders it contains. With the aid of the beautiful Suzanna, whose connection to the carpet is deeper than she can possibly realize, Cal must protect the carpet from Immacolata, an "Inncantrix" who once ruled the carpet; Shadwell, a salesman by nature who considers the carpet the ultimate prize; and the Scourge, an ultimate evil whose very existence is tied to the extinction of the Seerkind.
If all that doesn't make too much sense, don't worry...its not supposed to at first glance, and that's the wonderful part reading Barker...he has such a wonderful imagination and is able to convey his imagination so well, that the only real way to understand what his books are about is to read them. Barker also has a gift for making wonderfully complex "villans" that never fail to dazzle. By the end of the story, even the Scourge, which was the ultimate evil to the Seerkind was able to provoke profound empathy from me over the emptiness and sadness that it felt.
Anyone who enjoys fantasy, horror, or simply a good yarn will love this book. Admittedly it does start out somewhat slow, but the pace soon picks up and you will not be able to put it down.
Book Review: A children's book for adults
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading some of the negative reviews on here, I've found that most of the people posting them missed the point entirely. Barker says in the introduction that it is a book about memory and how it fades away. The "lulls" in the book that some people describe are necessary to the point. We all know the feeling of having a wonderful experience or vacation that takes us away from the mundane. But eventually we must return to the real world and our everyday lives. It's the memories that keep us going and the knowledge that one day we will return to those moments again. Anyway, this is an excellent book! It made me feel the wonder of being a kid again. Don't let the nay sayers discourage you. Once you finish, it's like waking from a fantastic dream, and you're kind of sad to have to leave it behind and get on with your usual day.Book Review: A colorful adventure into the weave
Summary: 4 Stars
Weave world is a clever little adventure within an adventure beneath an adventure. One of the main characters of weave world is the twenty five year old Mr. Calhoun Mooney. He and his father are living in the present in London, suffering from their loses. The other main character, named Suzanna Parish lives as a potter who receives a message on her phone telling her that one of her only relatives living nearby is sick in a hospital bed and that she might visit her. Upon visiting her sick grandmother, who cannot speak because of her sickness, she feels an almost mental installation or a prophecy telling her to check her grandmothers home because there is something very important their.
Cal watches his father's prize winning pigeon collection while his dad lays in his depression. One day a single one of the pigeons escape and cal gives chase of it. Upon following the pigeon he finds himself at a house with thousands of birds all flocking their, flying in a whirlwind of birds, all above a single house and backyard. This same house is Mimi lancheski's, Suzanna's grandmothers. What occurs afterwards at the house on Rue Street is a serious part of the plot but Cal and Suzanna meet and they both adventure to a magic world caught inside of a carpet with its own people and its own places.
The dark tones that this author paints in ones mind are both bold and a little bit eccentric. This is the second book that Clive barker has written and it is out of the two books he has written by far the most descriptive.
Book Review: A mesmerizing weave of a tale. Busting at the seems with cosmicly lush landscapes,enchanting magic and unforgettable characters.
Summary: 5 Stars
Having just finished this book minutes ago i'm somewhat at a loss for words in a sense.
Weaveworld is certainly an epic dark fantasy that will leave the reader with hands nearly in a feverish shake as they turn the pages. An excellent book that i highly recommend.
Though I found the beginning somewhat too slow and a little perplexing this story slowly began to unravel and before I knew it seized my imagination. Are their any downside to the tale? Well...yes. Their where things I felt held it back a little but my oh my is the book worth the journey you take. You'll certainly be for the better after diving into such a spell binding adventure filled with nameless Lovecraftian horrors,heavenly delights, and cosmic perplexities ever so breathtaking and bizarre.
Read it!