Weaveworld by Clive Barker
"Weaveworld" is a fantasy novel that follows the journey of Cal Mooney, who, led by a magical pigeon, discovers an extraordinary carpet that serves as a gateway to a hidden magical realm known as the Fugue. This realm, woven with the essence of the Seerkind—magical beings who created it to escape a malevolent force called the Scourge—becomes the focal point of a fierce struggle against the evil Immacolata and her accomplice, Shadwell. Alongside Suzanna, the granddaughter of the carpet's owner, Cal encounters various challenges as they strive to reclaim the carpet and protect the magical world it conceals.
As their adventure unfolds, Suzanna learns of her inherent power, known as the menstruum, which plays a crucial role in their fight against their adversaries. The narrative escalates during a pivotal auction where the carpet is at stake, leading to a chaotic confrontation that intertwines the fates of the main characters with the intricacies of the Fugue. The novel culminates in intense battles against the Scourge, revealing themes of guardianship, sacrifice, and the power of imagination. Ultimately, Cal and Suzanna's quest leads to the liberation of the Fugue from confinement, allowing access to its wonders through the realm of imagination. "Weaveworld" explores the interplay between reality and fantasy while highlighting the resilience of its characters in the face of overwhelming odds.
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Subject Terms
Weaveworld
First published: 1987
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—magical world
Time of work: The 1980’s
Locale: England
The Plot
An escaping pigeon leads Cal Mooney across Liverpool to Mimi’s house, where he discovers a carpet with amazing properties. He and Suzanna, Mimi’s granddaughter, become involved in an intense struggle for the carpet, facing the evil Immacolata the Incantatrix and her henchman, Shadwell the Salesman. The struggle sweeps across England as Cal and Suzanna try to find the carpet and the magical land that is woven into it, as well as a book of fairy tales that Mimi had given Suzanna. In the course of their struggles, Suzanna discovers that she has the menstruum, an immense flow of power within her.
Suzanna and Cal are joined by several of the Seerkind, who materialize out of a scrap ripped from the carpet. They tell of the history of the carpet, how the Seerkind wove themselves and their favorite magic places into the Fugue and then hid from the Scourge in the lands thus created. The Scourge had been seeking out and destroying all the Seerkind.
Suzanna and Cal’s struggle with the Immacolata climaxes at Shadwell’s auction for the carpet, when the Weave is severed and all the principals tumble into the Fugue. These include Hobart, the vengeful police officer who had been chasing Suzanna and the Seerkind. After a brief respite in this multifaceted magic kingdom, Suzanna becomes guardian of the carpet and is separated from Cal. She flees across England to escape Shadwell and Hobart. Shadwell poses as the Prophet and once again gets the carpet and enters it, setting off a catastrophic struggle in its magic lands as Shadwell tries to become their possessor and lord. He goes into the Gyre, which holds the Loom that made the Fugue. He murders Immacolata. This unravels the weave and casts the surviving Seerkind out into the world.
Shadwell, seeking vengeance for his loss of the Fugue, goes with Hobart into the desert to the ruins of Eden. He finds the Scourge, the horrible, bright angel Uriel who seeks vengeance on the Seerkind for having left him to purposeless guardianship. The Scourge occupies the body of Hobart and manipulates Shadwell.
The novel’s climax occurs in the depths of a blizzard in rural England. The Scourge finds the remnants of the Seerkind defending themselves with their last raptures (magic illusions) and is diverted by Suzanna, whose menstruum destroys the Hobart-shell and causes the Scourge to transfer to Shadwell’s body. Cal, wearing Shadwell’s magic jacket, shows the Scourge its true mirror image of glory and releases it from its long servitude on Earth, freeing the Seerkind. Months later, Cal, made catatonic by the violence of his confrontation with Uriel, awakes. He and Suzanna release the Fugue from the book of fairy tales where it had been rehidden, making it possible for anyone to reach Wonderland through the imagination.