Imajica Books in Order

Imajica is Clive Barker’s vast, one‑volume epic about love, memory, and the architecture of reality. It is set in a cosmos divided into five Dominions, only one of which is our own Earth. The others are hidden realms of gods, magicians, and beings whose very existence has been erased from human memory.

At the center of the story is John Furie Zacharias, known as Gentle, a talented but drifting artist in contemporary London. When a failed assassination attempt and a reunion with his former lover Judith Oberon shatter the life he has built, Gentle discovers that his past has been carefully rewritten. He is tied far more closely to the other Dominions—and to a failed attempt to reunite them—than he ever imagined.

As Gentle and Judith move between worlds, Barker reveals a parade of strange cities, sects, and deities: a living labyrinth ruled by a god who wears other gods as trophies, a religious order obsessed with keeping the Dominions apart, and communities of exiles who remember what Earth has chosen to forget. The journey is part metaphysical quest, part intricate love story, and part meditation on art as a way of remaking the world.

Because of its length, Imajica has sometimes been published in two volumes, often titled The Fifth Dominion and The Reconciliation. The split does not change the story; it simply divides the original novel into two physical books. Reading them in sequence follows Barker’s intended structure, from the unravelling of Gentle’s life to the far‑reaching consequences of any attempt to heal a broken universe.

The tone is lush and strange rather than purely horrific. There are moments of cruelty and terror, but they sit alongside passages of awe, eroticism, and quiet humor. Themes of gender, faith, colonization, and forgiveness run throughout, making Imajica one of Barker’s most layered and talked‑about works.

This series page explains the different editions, outlines the main arcs, and shows how Imajica connects to Barker’s larger body of fiction for readers who want to explore further.