The Thief of Always

Harvey is a 10 year old boy who is bored and tired of the cold, damp February. Until a creature comes along and promises to take him to a place where he will always be made happy, where it's spring and summer and Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas every day. He soon discovers, of course, that seeming and being are not the same and that a happiness for always isn't what's being offered at the Holiday House.
Barker's imagination is incredible and he has the writing chops to match. I loved this always-slightly-creepy-but-never-outright-terrifying story with it's interesting characters and fairy tale feel. Barker comes close to Gaiman in storytelling abilities for me, which is high praise.

Harvey es un niño de diez años que odia los días grises, en especial el mes de febrero. Un buen día es invitado por un estrambótico personaje a visitar una casa de vacaciones, donde siempre hace buen tiempo y se puede jugar todo el día. Pero no todo es perfecto, ya que pronto descubrirá que no puede salir de este lugar.

‘El ladrón de días’ (The Thief of Always, 1992), del escritor británico Clive Baker, se aleja de las historias de terror y morbo que tanto le caracterizan. En este caso nos encontramos con una novela infantil, con sus buenas dosis de fantasía e imaginación, aunque no falta el toque “Barker” en algunas escenas, como no podía se menos. Y es que esta historia no desentonaría si fuese dirigida por Tim show more Burton, por sus notas de oscuridad y extravagancia. En resumen, la novela me ha gustado, pero hay que leerla con ojos de niño. show less

This book was amazing. It felt like a children's book or a fable wrapped up in a horror. Plus, yet again, the writing style of Clive Barker never stops to amaze me. Unlike his other books, this one has a good ending.

This was a great palate cleanser and a perfect read for the spooky months.

The Thief of Always has been getting recommended to me for years. I met Clive Barker last year, so it was finally time to read this.
I loved it!

The pacing of the book is quick, but you don't feel like you're missing anything. I was able to guess the plot ahead of time but that didn't ruin anything and the cast of characters were just the right amount of disturbing. Also, the drawings throughout the book were stunning and really helped build how creepy the characters/settings are. The only thing I'd want more of are the final battles between the main protagonist and the house/its servants.

Overall, this book is a great starter for young adults looking to start show more reading horror books. show less

This was the first Clive Barker that I ever read and it's still good in the re-reading years later. Quick, riveting read that is dark fantasy or maybe entry horror. Just enough level of creepy and disturbing without being overtly violent, profane, or dystopian. Kind of a Tales from the Crypt or Twilight Zone feel.. Safe for teens and mature tweens who can handle a bit of supernatural and dark magic. There's a lot to like about young Harvey, the child hero of the book. Would be a solid pick for a teen book club. The book can be enjoyed on its surface, but there are positive themes and messages to be dug out and explored for those who want to go a little deeper. Recommended!

Summary: Ten-year-old Harvey Swick has grown bored with his life - school and home and homework and chores, nothing seems really exciting anymore. And then he receives a visit from a strange man who promises him a vacation at the nearby Holiday House. Harvey takes him up on his offer, and at first, the Holiday House is everything he could wish for - a perfect summer day every day, followed by Halloween at dusk and then Thanksgiving and Christmas at night, all powered by the mysterious Mr. Hood. But the longer Harvey stays there, the more suspicious he starts to get. What's really at the heart of the Holiday House? And what will happen when he wants to go home?

Review: This book is aimed at mid-grade readers, so it was pretty fast fare show more for an adult. (large print, plus a fair number of Barker's great illustrations.) I'm a little ambivalent about this book - it was sort of half-creepy and half-cute, and I sort of found myself wishing it would commit to being one or the other. Basically, I spent a lot of time wishing things were more developed than they were - the characters, the underlying mythology of the house, the complexity of the plot, the scary parts, the sad parts, the sweet parts, etc. I realize that it's a mid-grade book, and the level of development for most of these things is probably spot-on for that level. But as an adult reader, it wasn't entirely satisfying.

I actually found myself put in mind of some of Ray Bradbury's work, particularly The Halloween Tree. The Holiday House does pretty effectively capture the childhood nostalgia with the tinge of creepiness that Bradbury's so good at. But Bradbury's more subtle with his scares, they're more psychological than visceral, so the comparison between the two was not always in The Thief of Always's favor. Barker is a good writer, though, no doubt - even at the lower age level he's got some finely crafted turns of phrase. And there's obviously plenty of imagination there. I just found myself wanting to go a little deeper than the story would allow. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: If you'd handed this to me around the time that I first discovered Bradbury as a kid, I would have eaten it up. (Conversely, if you know a kid who liked this book, give 'em some Bradbury... maybe Something Wicked This Way Comes.) As an adult reader, it was a fun and unchallenging way to pass a few hours, although I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been skewed somewhat older. show less

With this book Mr. Barker has proven that he can cater to any literary crowd. Probably the most tame of anything he has written but with that signature Barkeresque touch. Barker is known for his extreme violence and explicit sexual tone. But this is truly a children's book. Just remember don't go and grab something like Coldheart Canyon or Everville and attempt to read it to your children. THOSE are not children's books.