Hidden within a warehouse is a rug. This rug, called the Fugue, is the home of the
Seerkind, which was woven into a rug to keep it safe. However, the Fugue has enemies in the form of the witch Immaculata and her undead sisters the Magdalene and the Hag, as well as her human servant, Shadwell the Salesman. In their search to find and destroy the Fugue, they find a man known as Cal who takes it before they can and opens it up, bringing the land of the Fugue back. At that point, a story full of wonders and terrors begins...
Clive Barker's second full-length novel, and his first novel that could more easily be classified as
Urban Fantasy than
Horror.
This novel provides examples of:
- Arc Words: "That which is imagined need never be lost." It first appears in the book of fairy tales Suzanna's grandmother, Mimi, gave her. It shows up again at least twice after this and at the very end, the exact meaning is made clear.
- Big Bad: Immacolata
- Body Horror: That ol' Barker classic. The Rake comes to mind.
- Cain and Abel: Immacolata killed her triplet sisters the Magdalene and the Hag when they were in the womb together.
- Cameo or Continuity Nod: Immacolata refers to an incident where a man she knew was hunted by the Cenobites (not by name).
- Corrupt Cop: Hobart, who might have been an Inspector Javert, were it not for the fact that he's stone-cold insane.
- The Hecate Sisters: Immacolata, the Magdalene and the Hag are a thoroughly evil manifestation.
- Our Angels Are Different: The Scourge
- Another Dimension: The Fugue, the magical places of our world that were hidden in the Weave.
- Lilith: Claimed by Immacolata as an ancestor.
- Dragon Ascendant: Shadwell, the Salesman.
- Green-Eyed Monster: The Seerkind consider envy to be humankind's defining trait.
- Meaningful Name: Immacolata, who is a virgin.
- Mother of a Thousand Young: The Magdalene.
- Patchwork Map: The Fugue, quite literally. Justified, since it's made our of whatever odd patches of reality the Seerkind could take without being noticed.
- Spirit Advisor: The Magdalene and the Hag to Immacolata.
- Villainous BSOD: Immacolata's breakdown in the Fugue.
- Virgin Power: The menstruum can only be obtained by a virgin female. Afterwards, Immacolata and Suzanna pursue, ah… different entertainments.
- Weirdness Censor: Stated to be the power of the Cuckoos, aka normal humans.
- Witch Species: The Seerkind
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