The Great and Secret Show

The Great and Secret Show begins Clive Barker’s Book of the Art sequence, with Everville coming next. That makes the reading order pleasantly simple: if you want to start the sequence, begin here. Fantasy and horror sit together in its description, which is enough to catch my eye on a dark evening.

The title feels like an invitation slipped under the door after everyone else has gone to bed. I like that sort of invitation in a book, especially when I can settle in with a lamp and a strong coffee. It gives me a mood to bring to the first page, though the title alone cannot tell us what waits there.

I would pick this for a quiet night with time to get comfortable, and for a reader who wants horror alongside fantasy. The promise of another book makes it a good choice if you enjoy beginning a longer story. As for the fright, I would leave room for the book to answer that itself. The sensible part of my brain can deal with the title in the morning.