![]() I don’t think that it’s currently in print but I would really recommend purchasing it if you’re fortunate enough to find a copy – the art work of the islands and the creatures that inhabit them is absolutely stunning.Īlthough these islands contain creatures and objects that are familiar to the reader, they are the same time utterly alien. I should probably note here that there is a hard-backed edition of this book that contains prints of Barker’s oil paintings. The Islands of Night are traditionally at war with these and are primarily controlled by the Carrion family from their home on Gorgossium, the Island of Midnight. The Islands of Day are bathed in light and all the good things that this represents – from the lively seaport of Tazmagor at 9 am to the lush rainforests of the Nonce at 3 pm. Abarat is an archipelago in which every island represents an hour of the day, representing this in their appearance and the attitudes of those who live there. The setting showcases Barker’s incredible ability to conjure surreal imagery, creating a world that combines fantastical science and magic. ![]() Visitors from Earth (known to Abaracians as the Hereafter) are rare and a number of people seek to exploit Candy for their own gains – most notably the greedy industrialist Rojo Pixler and Christopher Carrion, the twisted Prince of Midnight…Īs a work of imaginative fiction, Abarat truly is second to none. Swiftly separated from Mischief, Candy begins to explore the islands by herself but her arrival has not gone unnoticed. Seeing this as a chance to escape her humdrum life, Candy begs Mischief to take her with him and the two of them leap into the water, allowing it to carry them away to the land of Abarat. ![]() In helping Mischief to escape, Candy manages to activate the lighthouse and brings the sea rushing across the grasslands. More terrifying is the man who pursues Mischief the monstrous Mendelson Shape. Mischief has an immense set of antlers growing from the top of his head, each prong ending in the face of one of his brothers, yet the sight of this does not frighten Candy. While walking on the prairie close to her home, she comes across the skeletal remains of what appears to be a lighthouse and meets a strange man who calls himself John Mischief. The novel focuses on a teenager named Candy Quackenbush who is growing tired of her abusive father and monotonous life in Chickentown, Minnesota. The release dates of the final two instalments have not yet been announced but have been tentatively titled Kry Rising and The Eternal. At the time of writing this review, only two other instalments of the series have been released – Days of Magic, Nights of War (2004) and Absolute Midnight (2011). However, for today’s review, we will be looking at Barker’s first step into young adult fantasy.Ībarat was first published in 2002 and forms the first part of the Abarat Quintet. Although his novels are incredibly popular they are often better known for their film adaptions which include such classics as Hellraiser, Candyman and Nightbreed. ![]() As a master of visual horror, his adult novels combine a mixture of surreal imagery and graphic violence to create frightening and memorable stories. Clive Barker is often considered to be a visionary. ![]()
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