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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
When I first started this book I was very excited. Then, after meeting about 1700 characters I began to completely lose interest. I felt no connection to the main character, Candy Quackenbush, or any other strange being she met along her journey in the Abarat. I will definitely not continue in the series, and I would not recommend the series for adults. This YA title is meant to be read by YAs - probably young males especially even though the main character is female. This book reminds me of a lot of the books I see my freshmen boys carry around. If you're looking for YA lit, or more specifically, YA fantasy/sci-fi as an adult, I would look elsewhere.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is one of my favorite Barker novels. If you just dont worry about where the destination is and enjoy the ride you'll enjoy this.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
To me this had a very ‘Alice in Wonderland’ feel to it which I loved. The author does an amazing job at setting the scene and it was easy for my imagination to put me in the story.
Very well written. More of an adventure than I ever could have suspected. Cannot wait to find the next book in the series.
I loved this. Barker just has such a unique voice, such an ear for the weird, and an immense wellspring of heroism from which the unlikeliest of characters draw. Also, this world...and the paintings...is there more yet??
Still one of my all time favorite novels. Fell in love with it as a kid and I keep falling in love. The characters and world are phenomenal, and I love his writing style!!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Being a long fan of Clive Barker, I bought this book the week it came out, then found out it was the first of a series and promptly shelved it. I'm not a huge fan of serial novels. Reoccurring characters are okay, but I like a book to stand on its own. Or I like the safety of knowing the series has been completed (George R.R. Martin's Song Of Ice And Fire being the exception, and frankly I'm a little worried about that).
12 years later I took down Abarat and read it. The series (at this point estimated to be a quintet) has gained two more volumes, but Barker's other series - The Book Of The Art trilogy - stalled 20 years ago at 2 volumes. All of which does not bode well for Abarat.
Knowing all this, I can't say I started reading "Abarat" with any great enthusiasm. I very much enjoyed Barker's generous illustrations, but the book itself (directed at younger readers) never quite left the page for me. It never quite took on the vivid dimensionality that most of Barker's work achieves. There were long portions which engaged me, but equally long portions where the plot seemed to stagnate, eddying about without any forward momentum. The characters, similarly, were a mixed bag: some are interesting, while others seem to be taken up like junk cards in a game of Go Fish, and in general I found the darker personalities more memorable than Candy Quackenbush (the protagonist) or her accomplices.
All in all, however, Barker planted enough seeds in this first volume to make me want to read the next: 'Days Of Magic, Nights Of War'. Sadly, I didn't pick that one up in hardcover (and at this point I'm not committed enough to seek out a pricey hardcover edition) so it will likely be a Kindle version, without the author's wonderful illustrations.
If I like that one, I'll cautiously go on to the next, but with Barker's track record with The Book Of The Art, I'm not counting on making it to the end... if the end ever materializes.
I recently discovered (because I hadn't been paying attention) that the third book in this series was FINALLY released. It's been such a long time, however, that I found it necessary to go back to the beginning. This was probably my third or fourth time reading this book and I found it just as wonderful as the first time I've read it.
Barker has done a fantastic job creating an entirely unique world with rich, captivating characters. People often try to compare it to other fantasy series or to Alice in Wonderland, but in my mind it stands alone. Though this is technically a young adult series, Barker still manages to touch on deep themes that any age can understand, while setting it in a world that was masterfully created. To people who enjoy series that take imagination to a whole new level, this is the perfect one.
Also, it's absolutely incredible the amount of work that Barker has poured into this series. I watched a short behind-the-scenes video where he gave a little tour of his studio, and every single painting that is in the book(s) is its own full-size painting. It's breathtaking to view all of those in one place.
I love art, good stories, and imagination, and this book is the perfect blend of all three.
Barker has done a fantastic job creating an entirely unique world with rich, captivating characters. People often try to compare it to other fantasy series or to Alice in Wonderland, but in my mind it stands alone. Though this is technically a young adult series, Barker still manages to touch on deep themes that any age can understand, while setting it in a world that was masterfully created. To people who enjoy series that take imagination to a whole new level, this is the perfect one.
Also, it's absolutely incredible the amount of work that Barker has poured into this series. I watched a short behind-the-scenes video where he gave a little tour of his studio, and every single painting that is in the book(s) is its own full-size painting. It's breathtaking to view all of those in one place.
I love art, good stories, and imagination, and this book is the perfect blend of all three.