Editorial Review
Mr. Hood's Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles, a blissful rounds of treats and seasons, where every childhood whim may be satisfied...
There is a price to be paid, of course, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by Mr. Hood's wonders, does not stop to consider the consequences. It is only when the House shows it's darker face -- when Harvey discovers the pitiful creatures that dwell in its shadows -- that he comes to doubt Mr. Hood's philanthropy.
The House and its mysterious architect are not about to release their captive without a battle, however. Mr. Hood has ambitious for his new guest, for Harvey's soul burns brighter than any soul he has encountered in a thousand years...
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Customer Reviews
The Greatest Ever 
2006-07-28
To find a plot that intrigues so many chilren is on thing. To get an adult to read it over and over again is another. Great book.
I Loved This Book At 10 Years Old and I Loved This Book At 24 Years Old... 2006-06-28
Few books can boast that they can be loved at a young age and also as an adult (Chronicles of Narnia among the few), but The Thief Of Always is one of those special books that stays with you. Now this is the only book I have read by Barker because I was never interested in his adult books. So for me, this is what Barker should have stuck to - children's fantasy with a dark twist to it. While this book in a bit dark, any age will appreciate it the vividness of Barker's imagination and the ability to build such realistic characters inside a world of fantasy. I think we can all relate to Harvey's boredom at different times at youth and that we would all love the idea of going to a place where you had Halloween and Christmas every day, experience every season every day, and eat anything you want. It would sound too good to be true, and in this book, it is too good to be true. And Barker throws in a great twist as Harvey tries to escape the Holiday House. I recommend this book to anybody who loves fantasy, especially dark fantasy.
Intelligent reading for young and old(er) alike interested in fantasy with a creepy twist 
2006-06-21
Add this book to the growing pile of books to give a child waiting desperately for the next (and final) installment in the Harry Potter series. This may make the wait a little less unbearable, though nothing will be much solace once J.K. Rowling pens the last page in Book 7. There's only so much one can do about that, after all.
The Thief of Always is also a great choice for anyone smitten by Lemony Snicket, as it features a similarly dark story line with menacing adult characters. There's none of the wonderful banter between author and reader found in A Series of Unfortunate Events, nor really any of the wickedly twisted humor, but there should be just enough terror and danger to keep most fans of this genre riveted.
Harvey Swick is 10 years old and very bored with the long, cold days of February. One day a mysterious man appears, suddenly, in Harvey's room. The man asks Harvey if he'd like to go someplace where life is always fun. Being a self-centered yet somewhat strangely trusting 10 year old, Harvey agrees, and he's led away by the man.
The house where the mysterious man takes Harvey is in a land that's always sunny during the day. Halloween and Christmas, those two revered favorite holidays of children, come every evening. Harvey and another boy, Wendell, have all their wishes granted in this wondrous house, but one day Harvey starts to see that all isn't as it should be, and evil lurks beneath the facade of perfection...
A quick and satisfying read, this is as entertaining for adult fans of the genre as children.
Surprisingly good! 2006-06-13
When I first heard about Clive Barker,I never thought him capable of writing a book such as this,that kids can read.But he sure showed me!
When a boring day drives a boy over the edge and he starts to wish for something more entertaining,a boy pops out of nowhere and invites him to a place where he can have all the fun possible...But you know the saying,everything comes at a price,of course he is not told that.
When he arrives to this so called place,he meets a couple of other kids and befriends them.Things start going good.They start enjoying themselves,until it's pay back time.This book is brilliantly written.Clive Barker takes Horror and covers it with Fantasy!
After experiencing some trouble in the so called "hood",the boy looks for a way to leave.But,guess what?leaving is not easy,he has to endure alot of pain before he does,fighting against things that exist only in our dreams!I definitely recommend this book...enjoy...Nigel
A tale i've enjoyed even today.... 2006-03-09
The Thief of Always is not the typical child/young adult literary fair that people have come to expect. It talks on issues such as childhood depression and remorse, and then explores the depth and imagination in such dark and disturbing ways that one might expect from Horror writer Clive Barker. However, the fear aspect of this book has nothing to do with the gore subject material that many people have come to expect. Its the fear of Human Nature, and human involvement in their own destiny's.
Every now and again i pick up this book and re read it over, and now being 24, i find i still love the story of it. Yes it rudimentary and basic in its style and approach, but there is a style and emotion that captures what i remember at Henry Swick's age. And even to this day do i relate. It's not necessarily a book for little goth boys and girls, such as Emily the Strange, and its not the uppity fan fair that you would get from the Boxcar children sets either. This is a good start off book for kids that will eventually turn to Barker and King and Bright, for a escape. And escape is what Always is all about.
Wow 2008-03-26
I've enjoyed other Clive Barker works. Recently a fellow teacher recommended The Thief of Always as a read aloud. I needed something that would keep the students interested and open them up to new ideas. This book fits that bill.
I just finished reading it myself and I can't wait to read it to them. I was hanging on every chapter; I think the students will be as well.
The Thief of Always 2007-03-30
Once again Clive Barker has taken me on an amazing journey, perfect for adults and children (10+) alike. Definate recommendation.
A Light, Imaginative Thriller 2007-03-27
Ten-year-old Harvey is bored. He is sitting in his bedroom one February afternoon, watching the rain outside, feeling as bored as he's ever felt. He feels like he might die of boredom. Then, to his surprise, a little person flies through his window. This little man promises Harvey a wonderful vacation where he'll have lots and lots of fun--as long as he doesn't ask any questions. Harvey isn't quite sure about going with the man.
However, a week later, the man shows back up and Harvey decides that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go with him just for a little while. So Harvey walks with him across town through a high wall that isn't really a wall, into a place of magic. Here, at the Holiday House, everyone gives Harvey everything he's ever wanted. Every day holds all of the seasons--in the morning it's like springtime, in the afternoon it's summer, in the early eveing it's fall and time to go trick-or-treating, and in the later evening it's winter and Christmastime. There are two other children there with Harvey--Wendell and Lulu. Lulu, though, has started to go a little bit crazy, so Harvey and Wendell don't spend much time with her.
Harvey intends to only stay at the Holiday House for a few days, but after a couple of reassuring phone calls to his parents when they tell him they want him to stay, he begins to relax. However, he shouldn't relax too much. There are some strange things going on at the Holiday House that aren't fun and exciting. Will Harvey figure out what is going on in time to escape?
I liked the whole idea of the Holiday House--what a perfect vacation spot for little children! I also liked the characters of Rictus, Jive, Marr and Carna. They embodied all characteristics that would be useful for keeping children there. I thought a couple of things weren't believable, though. Harvey seemed to have an undue attachment to Lulu. He barely even knew her, but he was very concerned about her, more so than most ten-year-olds would be. I also didn't buy Harvey's thievery toward the end of the story. It seemed less possible than the rest of the story.
.eraweB 
2006-12-27
A ten-year-old boy named Harvey, bored with his life, falls to the wiles of a seductively welcoming being named Rictus, and becomes a guest at a seemingly wondrous place called Holiday House. At Holiday House, each fun-filled day contains four seasons: and seasons at their very best. The springtime which comes each morning ushers in blossoming flowers and explosions of greenery; the summers that fill the afternoons are always those rare perfect kind one experiences but a few times in the school-less, cloud-less summertime of youth; the autumns that ripens as evening sets in sees the trees dyed with bright colors, as the air cools and the breeze smells sweetly of the bounty of unseen fields. And then winter takes over the night, cold, crisp, perfect for sleeping-in or sitting beside a crackling fire. It's all too good to be true---which of course it is.
Clive Barker's dark fantasy, part fairy tale and part horror story, is clearly intended as a vehicle for appreciative adults to rekindle some of the lost themes of childhood, when the world was simultaneously magical and threatening. In this the imaginative Liverpudlian nearly succeeds. The one serious flaw in The Thief of Always is the same one I've found in nearly everything Clive Barker has written, and that is...as best I can describe it...his story lacks a soul. I don't know any other way to put it. This registers in the ease with which Barker's characters can later be put out of mind, and the acceptance one experiences when something terrible happens to someone we've just spent the last however-many pages reading about. I know legions of Barker fans won't agree with me there, but I have always sensed that about Clive Barker's works, be it The Books of Blood, The Damnation Game, Weaveword, Cabal, or even here, in what was mostly a charming, dark little story.
The Thief of Always is good, it's just not THAT good. It's like a trip through a shattered looking glass; it's flat in a few spots, it's neither character nor plot-driven, and it rushes past far too fast in places where I found myself wishing we could linger. Where Bradbury or King might have gotten the dark fantasy elements right in a tale like this and rendered The Thief of Always an everlasting classic, Barker is just not up to the task.
A touching fable for the young at heart 2006-09-10
The Great Grey Beast of February has imprisoned Harvey Swick and the young boy is bored to death. How will he ever survive that dreadfully dull period between New Year and Easter? Contemplating his misery, Harvey discovers that he is not alone in his room. Indeed a somewhat strange and scrawny figure is standing in the corner. The man makes himself known as Mr. Rictus and invites Harvey to the Holiday House. And true, Harvey does not believe his eyes: the house is filled with all the pleasures a boy can want. Delicious food, many friends, tons of toys, every day Christmas. What more do you need? Of course there is a price to be paid, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by the wonders of the Holiday House, does not stop to consider the consequences. Only when he discovers that he is no longer a guest, but a prisoner does Harvey start to react. But maybe it is already too late...
Clive Barker's first attempt at writing a book for a younger audience does not go by unnoticed. As Clive is known for his very dark and fantastic tales, he indeed uses these talents to draw a magnificent place where many children surely would love to hide. But with the same zeal he deconstructs the dream and craftily let the evil seep into the story. Of course the villains are not as dark and disturbed as in his adult novels, but still he manages to portrait a series of characters that would enjoy taking permanent residence in the dreams of the younger ones.
One critique that might pop up is that the setting of the story is so rich that it begs for more than one episode. After reading the story, so many things are left untold that it leaves you wanting for more. Even the narrative itself is extremely concise with its twenty-six chapters counting on average not more than six pages each. It would probably not have hurt if more details were introduced in order to make the environment even more exciting and colorful. Nevertheless the story is exciting enough to get the stamp of a must-read. And please, do not worry if you think you are too old to read this book. You never are!
