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Imajica is a fantasy novel by British author Clive Barker. Barker names it as his favorite of all his writings. The work, 825 pages at its first printing in 1991, chronicles the events surrounding the reconciliation of Earth, called the Fifth Dominion, with the other four Dominions, parallel worlds unknown to all but a select few of Earth's inhabitants. Wide in scope, elaborate in its imagery, and meticulate in its detail, the novel covers themes such as God, sex, love, gender and death. The book's protagonist, a man called John Furie Zacharias (or Gentle), can be seen as a Christ figure, albeit a much different sort of man than the Christ worshiped in Christianity.
Conception
The inspiration and many of the ideas for Imajica came to Clive Barker in dreams, and so inspired, he worked at an intense pace to complete the novel. Barker has stated he wrote the novel in fourteen months; writing fourteen to sixteen hours a day, seven days a week.
Plot Summary
Earth is actually just one part of 5 connected worlds, called the Imajica. However, Earth became separated from the other four worlds long ago. This explains both the appearance of extraordinary phenomena on Earth as well as the lack of understanding of magic and acceptance of the extraordinary as commonplace (as it is in the other 4 worlds)
The ultimate story is one of reconciliation and healing. Great magic users (called 'Maestros') have attempted through the ages to reconcile the Earth and the remaining Imajica (Christ was one). The "reconciliation" can only happen once every 200 years.
Beginning with his halting a murder attempt on the life of his former lover, Judith, Gentle (a skilled artist whose greatest talent is in producing forgeries of classic works) is drawn into a journey of discovery, fantasy, sex, and horrors. Gentle with the assassin Pie 'oh' Pah travel across the 4 'other' realms searching ostensibly for the soul of his friend Taylor, and in the process he re-learns who he is: the greatest maestro who ever lived.
External links
"Imajica"