Customer Reviews
Yet more frustration... - By: Bookmark, 30 Sep 2008 
First off I want to say how much I enjoy & cherish the two books of Clive Barker's "Abarat" series. They are unique creations in children's literature, with beautiful images to match prose that is exciting in its description of character & events, alongside some wonderful ideas.
My only frustration is with the lack of a concrete publication date. This book was supposed to be out by now although various retailers have different ideas of its publication date:
- Borders don't have anything listed on their system
- Independent bookshops also don't have anything on their system
- Waterstones in-store staff are saying that their system shows they are due to receive copies on 29 September 2008 but as of yesterday they still haven't got anything
- while Waterstones on-line is showing the book as having been published on 31 August 2008, & yet it goes on to say it is available to pre-order.
I spoke with HarperCollins who informed me the book was due out on 1 September 2008, but as of today they still haven't received any stock, & don't have any idea when they will.
This isn't the first time that Clive Barker's books have suffered from lack of publication information & it is frustrating for his fans when they look forward to reading new material, speciallly when it is growing rarer as the years go by. So, who are we to ask when the publishers have no idea when one of their authors is going to give them a manuscript they were hoping to publish on a certain date? Over to you, Mr Barker: perhaps you could let your fans know when the much-anticipated third book in your Abarat series will reach us?
Wolverhampton Libraries LGBT Reading Group Review - By: R. L. Graham, 02 Jul 2008 
Candy is an unhappy teenage girl growing up in Chickentown, Minnesota, when, after another bad day at school, she finds her way into another universe with the help of John Mischief & his seven brothers. The adventure that follows has alll the strange characters that you'd expect from a magical fantasy novel, as well as the obligatory baddies to boo & hiss at.
The illustrated version shows the imaginative images that provided Barker with his original inspiration, which shies away from Barker's usual gore & horror - perhaps for the benefit of the young adults this book is aimed at.
The Reading Group was divided with this book - it is an imaginative story but some readers felt it needed more depth. "Abarat" is the introductory book from the series, followed by "Days of Magic, Nights of War" which readers must read if they want to know how the story progresses - everyone in the Group was disappointed by the abrupt halt to which this book came.
Several clues are planted in this first book, which presumably have significance in the future. If your committed to reading the whole series, or are unfamiliar with fantasy books, go for it! Barker is a great writer.
Could do better - By: D. Jillings, 19 Mar 2008 
This book is obviously written for a different audience to Clive Barker's earlier books. He has much more competition now & has not made the change entirely successfully. Abarat is highly reminiscent of the Garth Nix "Mr Monday" series but lacks the spark.
Most annoyingly of alll, Abarat is not a complete book. It just stops half way through the story & demands that you buy the next book in the serious. It feels as though Mr Barker has written a book & his publishers have decided, whether for financial or audience reasons, to split it arbitrarily into several books.
Disappointing. I shan't bother to buy the next in the series.
Intricate story from one of literature's great story-tellers - By: J. Roberts, 10 Feb 2008 Given Clive Barker's reputation as one of literature's great writers of horror, I expected this to be dark, violent & grim, like Cabal. Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered an intricate & delicately-woven fantasy-driven story, with little to no violence.
This is not to 'Abarat's detriment, however. In actual fact 'Abarat' is a great story, about a teenage girl named Candy who lives a disatisfied, disillusioned & generallly unhappy life in the ridiculously-named 'Chickentown'. In great fantasy tradition, she escapes from the real world into an alternate one, which no-one knows exists. That world is Abarat.
There, she encounters the various islands of Abarat, alll devoted to a different hour of the day. She also meets a variety of odd, unpleasant & endearing characters who will come to play pivotal roles in her journey through Abarat. It's the little details that make this story so appealing: the beautiful descriptions of Abarat's flora & fauna, the descriptions of characters, the successful creation of suspense & expectation, & the effective technique of writing short chapters in order to keep the reader's interest piqued. I read this book in only a few short days; keen & enthusiastic to discover whether Candy manages to successfully avoid the clutches of Christopher Carrion, the Saruman/Voldemort type figure who resides in the Island of Midnight, the most feared island in Abarat.
Clive Barker is a gifted & imaginative story-teller, & the evidence of that is alll over 'Abarat'. I am looking forward to reading it's two sequels.
Amongst my favourite books - By: rubbah, 17 Apr 2007 This is one of my favourite books ever. There are characters from the first book, & new ones, but they are alll great, & each more fantastical then before.
The story starts a few months after the first finished & Candy & Malingo have been travelling around the Abarat. However they are still pursued by Christopher Carrion's henchmen & they are seperated, & have to make their own seperate journeys. Their adventures take them through more of the hours, from Twilight to Three in the afternoon & more.
