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Abarat by Clive Barker
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2,609622,100 (3.97)59
Abarat (31) adventure (22) alternate worlds (14) art (14) Barker (9) children (13) children's (27) children's literature (12) Clive Barker (30) dark fantasy (15) fantasy (533) fiction (204) first edition (10) hardcover (10) horror (75) illustrated (56) juvenile (11) magic (30) novel (23) own (15) read (48) science fiction (14) series (32) sf (8) sff (22) teen (12) to-read (24) unread (31) young adult (210) young adult fiction (19)
  1. 60
    Coraline by Neil Gaiman (Death_By_Papercut)
  2. 61
    The Thief of Always by Clive Barker (kawika)
    kawika: The Thief of Always is a stand alone novel, as opposed to the Abarat series which will have five installments, and is more of along the lines of a Brothers Grimm fairy-tale and is wonderful.
  3. 30
    A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (Death_By_Papercut)
  4. 20
    The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien (Death_By_Papercut)
  5. 20
    The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (Death_By_Papercut)
  6. 00
    Abarat: Absolute Midnight by Clive Barker (Death_By_Papercut)
  7. 00
    Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker (Death_By_Papercut)
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English (61)  Dutch (1)  All languages (62)
Showing 1-5 of 61 (next | show all)
What if your ordinary life turned out to be anything but? That's what happens to Minnesotan teenager Candy Quackenbush when she meets John Mischief in a field one afternoon. He seems normal - aside from having seven talking heads with their own personalities that is. Candy will soon follow Mischief to his world of 25 islands (one for every hour of the day plus a mystical 25th hour).

You can tell throughout the story what an amazing imagination is present to build such an amazing world. Barker never writes what you expect to happen, and I love that quality in an author. Turning the pages of the Abarat is akin to floating through your own dreams in a half-wake state.

The story and characters are amazing. A friend suggested Barker to me, and my view of sci-fi / fantasy has never been the same. Abarat holds you spellbound with this fantastical world, and even hoping against reality that it's real. The special editions contain wonderful illustrations.

I will read anything by Barker because of Abarat. If you're looking for a break from the mundane and ordinary, hop on my sailboat and read along.
( )
  hopefully86 | May 1, 2013 |
This isn't my favorite of Clive Barker's works, but I do love the imaginative world he's created and I enjoyed this book enough that I'll continue on with the next book in the series.

What would raised my rating of this book? First, a stronger plot - although there are tense moments, much of this book seems to be more about description of the Abaratian world and the characters who inhabit it than about any real action, but I imagine that will change in the next couple books. Second, I think Barker's imagination way overshadows his skills as a writer. Not that he's a bad writer (The DaVinci Code, anyone?), but he's not excellent, either. There are ideas and descriptions that spark my imagination and give me insight I haven't had before, but never turns of phrase or word choices. It's been years since I read Barker's fiction for adult readers, so I am curious if his writing was simplified for the young adult novel, but my husband recently read The Great and Secret Show for the first time and he was not impressed with the writing in that, either. ( )
  anneearney | Mar 31, 2013 |
I have to say that Clive Barker's Abarat series is firmly planted in my upper echelon of favorite books. ( )
  skyebadger | Oct 12, 2012 |
not the greatest, but the artwork was truly amazing. the story line was a bit dark and a little too unbelievable, but *hats off to the writer*. (by bookdevourer1416)
I really enjoyed this book. It was creative, fantastic, and showed that there can always be more out there in the world.( by anonymous)
it was very confusing! but it was pretty good. (by flying pig) ( )
  bplteen | Apr 16, 2012 |
All I can say is, the paintings made me weep for joy. What a pleasure, on top of a top-notch story too.
  KaterinaBead | Feb 1, 2012 |
Showing 1-5 of 61 (next | show all)
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Epigraph
I dreamed a limitless book,
A book unbound,
Its leaves scattered in fantastic abundance.

On every line there was a new horizon drawn,
New heavens supposed;
New states, new souls.

One of those souls,
Dozing through some imagined afternoon,
Dreamed these words.
And needing a hand to set them down,
Made mine.

-- C. B.
Dedication
To Emilian David Armstrong
First words
The storm came up out of the southwest like a fiend, stalking its prey on legs of lightning.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Book description
Historien begynder det kedeligste sted i verden: Chickentown, USA. Her bor pigen Candy Quackenbush, som er godt træt af sin familie, sine venner og skolen. Hun vil væk. Og det kommer hun så sandelig også. Ud af det blå ruller en bølge, og anført af en mand ved navn John Splid, springer Candy i de oprørte vande og føres væk. Hvortil? Til ABARAT: et mægtigt øhav, hvor hver ø er en forskellig time i døgnet, fra Det Store Hoved, der ligger i det sælsomme skumringsfarvand omkring Otte om Aftenen, til de solbeskinnede underværker på Tre om Eftermiddagen, til de mørke rædsler på Gorgossium, Midnatsøen, hvor selve Midnatsfyrsten, Christopher Carrion, regerer. På sin rejse får Candy nye venner og forræderiske fjender - mekaniske insekter og kæmpemæssige natsværmere, mirakelkatte og muddermænd, en djævelsk troldmand og hans skrækslagne tjener - og noget begynder at dæmre for hende. Hun har været her før. Og denne gang er hun udset til at redde Abarat for den ondskab, der truer med at ødelægge Abarats forunderlige verden.
Haiku summary

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0060596376, Mass Market Paperback)

In Abarat, accomplished novelist and artist Clive Barker turns his considerable talents to creating a rich fantasy world for young adults.

Candy Quackenbush is growing up in Chickentown, Minnesota, yearning for more--which she finds, quite unexpectedly, when a man with eight heads appears from nowhere in the middle of the prairie, being chased by something really monstrous. And so begins Candy's epic adventure to the islands of the Abarat. Peopled by all manner of creatures, cultures, and customs, the islands should prove a fertile setting for the series that Barker is calling The Books of Abarat. Candy is an intelligent and likable heroine, and the many supporting characters are deftly drawn, both in words and in the full-color interior art that Barker has produced to give the story an extra dimension.

Abarat delivers the rich and imaginative storytelling that Barker is known for, with less overt horror or violence than one of his adult novels might include. However, Candy's path isn't an easy one, and young adult readers should appreciate the hard choices she must make along the way. --Roz Genessee

(retrieved from Amazon Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:52:01 -0500)

(see all 9 descriptions)

Candy Quackenbush of Chickentown, Minnesota, one day finds herself on the edge of a foreign world that is populated by strange creatures, and her life is forever changed.

» see all 4 descriptions

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