Abarat. Days of Magic, Nights of War Abarat :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Arabat, Days of Magic, Nights of War

2008-04-07
I loved this book (as I love all Clive Barker material). Although this is classified as a "Young Adult" book, I think any grown-up with a sense of whimsy will thoroughly enjoy it. The illustrations are imaginative and original and the prose is acceptable. The whole world of Abarat is fantastical and quite different from other fiction of this type. Candy Quackenbush is a heroine for the ages and the villains are satisfactorily villanous. Altogether a satisfying read.

Sailor on the seas of Arabat

2008-03-01
At first glimpse, it might seem that with the Arabat books, Clive Barker has jumped on the Harry Potter bandwagon which has driven several "adult" writers to pen novels targeted to the young adult market. Since Barker's excursion into this field actually predates the Rowling books with his tale The Thief of Always, the charge is not completely legitimate, but it is also not completely off-base either: while The Thief of Always is a dark, standalone fairy tale, the Arabat books attempt at something more epic, not unlike the Potter series. Regardless of Barker's motives, the series can succeed if it is well-written; and by this measure, it is a mixed success.

The second book in the series, Arabat: Days of Magic, Nights of War, continues roughly where the first volume left off. Candy Quackenbush, the teenager from Chickentown, Minnesota, is still in the strange and magical world of Arabat, where the sun doesn't rise and set in a normal fashion. Instead, there is a different island for each hour of the day, and each island is frozen in that time (there is also a 25th island which has its own mysterious properties). The lord of the midnight island, the villainous Christopher Carrion, wants Candy as his prisoner, fearing that she has some unknown power that could usurp his plans to plunge all Arabat in total night.

Much of the novel deals with Candy running from place to place, often just half a step behind Carrion's minions. While all this is going on, she will begin to learn something about what makes her special and also get an opportunity to have contact with her old home in the Hereafter (which is what the folk of Arabat call Candy's world). Even as Carrion worries about Candy, he also is busy bringing his plots to fruition and gets entangled with the intrigues of his nasty grandmother.

Barker is very imaginative, perhaps too much so for this story. With so much running around and so many weird creatures and bizarre situations, there is little chance to really take all of it in. And though much is resolved, there is also much that is left in the air, as befits the second book in what I've heard will be a four-book set. Of course, it's been almost four years since this book came out, so I have to wonder about Barker's continued commitment to the story (I'd also heard that The Great and Secret Show and Everville were the first two parts of a trilogy, and it's been 14 years since book two in that set).

Barker is a very good writer, but Arabat is not Barker at his best. A little more restraint and a little less action is required. This is not to say that these books are bad, but at best they rate a low four stars. Whether you're a fan of Barker or young adult fantasy fiction, this will not be tops on your list, but it won't be at the bottom either.

Fantastic Book

2007-07-15
I loved both Abarat book and would highly recommend them to anyone who enjoys fantasy books. It is fast paced and intriguing.

More Abarat Please

2007-05-20
It had been quite some time since I read the first book of Abarat, but it really didn't matter. Even though I didn't remember everything from the first book this storyline pulled me right in and refreshed my memory.

In this book Candy really grows as an individual and begins to understand her feelings about herself, her family (mostly her father) and also she opens a can of worms in regards to the untold story of Christopher Carrion and Princess Boa. What really happened between them?

Candy also begins to realize her power.

The characters, creatures and landscape are all amazing. So beautiful and intricate that I want to be there. I couldn't put this book down until the very end, and now I want more.

It's a pleasure to see something truly original and inspired for young adults that can also wholly please an adult. It's also a pleasure to see a female in the lead role instad of the obligitory young boy in the lead with females only for supporting characters.

I reccomend this book to anyone who who wants to embark on a voyage into the fantastic and unknown. I reccomend this book to anyone who has a heart, young or old you won't be disappointed.

Put down the harry potter and pick up Abarat! :-)

A Journey Through the Mind of Clive Barker

2007-05-15
I loved the first book of Abarat so much that I ordered this book four times! (Well, actually, I forgot I had ordered it when I ordered it again, and accidentally ordered it a third time, and then found it at a secondhand shop before the first order came in, and forgot I'd ordered it until after I'd paid for it....or was Candy Quackenbush calling to me from Abarat?) I had been away a long time from the first volume, and the second does NOT contain a "Previously in the Abarat Series" chapter, so I had something of a hard time remembering where we were and what was happening and who was who, or what was who, as the case may be. But once I had mentally refreshed myself, I thoroughly enjoyed Days of Magic, Nights of War. I do understand the criticisms that there is 'not enough plot', but that's not an accurate description of the book--there's plenty of storytelling, but little that is predictable because our plucky heroine, the amusingly named Candy Quackenbush, is not in charge of events but is rather carried along by them, rather like a ragdoll in a hurricane. When I say ragdoll, I mean a ragdoll with two souls, that knows magic and can travel interdimesionally. And when I say hurricane, I mean, a living hurricane with red dreadlocks and three rows of teeth filed down to knifepoints. Because that's the kind of place Abarat is, sort of the Land of Oz, as seen by Dr. Seuss on acid in a mental hospital. It's not for everyone...in fact I'm a little dubious about the 'young adult' label--sure, maybe the really cool, imaginative young adults, but maybe just as much for the young-adult-at-hearts like myself. My only real quibble is that I have to wait for the next two books--although some big plot points were wound up here, many (including those eponymous Nights of War of the somewhat inaccurate title) remain unresolved.

Still captivating

2007-02-03
The eagerly anticipated second volume of Clive Barker's four part fantasy series, Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War, picks up right where the highly praised first novel leaves off. Candy Quakenbush is still on the run from the Lord of Midnight, Christopher Carrion, who plans to establish a Permanent Midnight throughout the 25 islanads that make up Abarat. Candy, aided and abetted by a host of colorful new characters, including Malingo (the affable geshrat she rescued in Book One), continues to dodge Carrion's hired assassins, as forces gather on both sides of Day and Night to prepare for the inevitable war between the Hours.

Days of Magic, Nights of War is a true series book--those who have not traveled to Abarat before will have a difficult time picking up the threads of Barker's complex mythical opus without having read the first installment. But teen readers who have been waiting breathlessly for Candy's return are rewarded with a stunning sequel that reveals her true identity at the novel's smashing climax. As in Abarat, Clive Barker's full-colored, organic illustrations of Abarat's inhabitants stalk and swim across the pages like a Stephen King-meets-Dr. Seuss circus. There seems to be no end to Barker's ever-expanding idiosyncratic vision, and for that, fantasy fans of all ages can be grateful. --Jennifer Hubert

too much imagination, too little plot 2006-12-15
I know I'm in the minority, but I've been underwhelmed by this series. Clive Barker clearly has a vivid imagination -- there are more fantastical creatures and settings running around in his brain than he knows what to do with. Some of the creatures are interesting, particularly those like Malingo whom we actually get to know. But too many pages are taken up with inventories of oddities -- some seen by Candy on her travels, others involving the terrible Christopher Carrion and his assorted gruesome hangers-on. Most of these creations are irrelevant or tangential to the plot, so that I wound up skimming through those passages going "blah, blah, blah," while waiting for something to happen that would actually advance the story arc. I don't think I'll bother with the next book.

Enjoyable second entry in the Books of Abarat. 2006-12-06
I found the first book in the series charming, and the second will not disappoint the faithful reader. Candy Quackenbush is a likeable and intriguing character and her adventures are beautifully and vividly painted. In this continuing adventure, she continues to run from the Criss-Cross man and must answer the question why the Lord of Midnight is so determined to capture her.

Abarat is a really enjoyable series. I don't put it on the same level as Narnia or some of the other children's fantasy classics, but it sure is a lot of good fun. Recommended.

Fantastic 2006-11-27
This book is fantastic. There is no other word to describe it. From the moment I read the first page of book one, I was hooked. I felt like I was in the world of Abarat. Better then any other fantasy series, in my opinion, including Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia. Brilliant.

Clive Barker's Abarat 2006-11-13
This book was awesome. It did not have the elements of some of Barker's previous novels which included over the top fiction. This book was very readable and gripped me until he very end.