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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
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
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Just as amazing as I remember it being. Will review soon.
I love Clive Barker, its hard not to if you are at all a fan of the horror genre. He pushes the envelope then tears it into little tiny pieces and sets fire to them before flushing the ash down the toilet. I definitely have to be in a Barker "mood" as it were, but when I am he always satisfies.
Which is why I have to admit to only LIKING "Abarat" not loving it. There's ultimately nothing new here. The story of Candy Quakenbush and her journey to the dark fairy tale world of the Abarat has been told about 9 gabillion times at last count and while hugely enhanced by Barker's amazing, psychadelic art work, authors like C.S. Lewis, Guy Gavriel Kay and Peter Beagle did it first and did it better.
If you want some really good fantasy Barker I highly recommend "The Thief of Always" which does say something new and has just the right blend of the macabre and childlike innocence.
Which is why I have to admit to only LIKING "Abarat" not loving it. There's ultimately nothing new here. The story of Candy Quakenbush and her journey to the dark fairy tale world of the Abarat has been told about 9 gabillion times at last count and while hugely enhanced by Barker's amazing, psychadelic art work, authors like C.S. Lewis, Guy Gavriel Kay and Peter Beagle did it first and did it better.
If you want some really good fantasy Barker I highly recommend "The Thief of Always" which does say something new and has just the right blend of the macabre and childlike innocence.
Dang. I've loved everything else I read by Clive Barker, so was really looking forward to this. Not sure how I would have edited this to make it more enjoyable. It's a great world, and I liked the main character. I think mainly, it was too much. Too many characters, features, and elements being added chapter after chapter. Yeah, should have been longer, I guess. Oh well.
A thoroughly delightful read. I can't wait to pick up the second book!
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was quite different than I expected, although the illustrations on the front and back cover really should have given me some clues. This reminded me quite a lot of [b:Alice in Wonderland|24213|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass|Lewis Carroll|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167520662s/24213.jpg|2375385] in that a girl is mysteriously transported to another world with strange, interesting, and often frightening characters very different from her own world. One difference in Abarat, though, is that Candy Quackenbush chose to go to this alternate world and felt quite comfortable there - much more comfortable than I did in the beginning. Clive Barker's illustrations definitely help along the way as we meet some VERY different characters. I wonder if he painted some of the characters first and then wrote the story to create a world for those characters?
I knew this was just the first Abarat book, so I didn't expect a completely satisfying conclusion. I did enjoy the journey with Candy and wouldn't mind reading the sequel, [b:Days of Magic, Nights of War|32636|Days of Magic, Nights of War (Abarat, #2)|Clive Barker|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266455347s/32636.jpg|997754], sometime in the future.
A favorite quote:
"Perhaps a wiser eye than hers would be able to read tomorrow in tonight's stars, but where was the fun in that? It was better not to know. Better to be alive in the Here and the Now--in this bright, laughing moment--and let the Hours to come take care of themselves."
I knew this was just the first Abarat book, so I didn't expect a completely satisfying conclusion. I did enjoy the journey with Candy and wouldn't mind reading the sequel, [b:Days of Magic, Nights of War|32636|Days of Magic, Nights of War (Abarat, #2)|Clive Barker|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266455347s/32636.jpg|997754], sometime in the future.
A favorite quote:
"Perhaps a wiser eye than hers would be able to read tomorrow in tonight's stars, but where was the fun in that? It was better not to know. Better to be alive in the Here and the Now--in this bright, laughing moment--and let the Hours to come take care of themselves."
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No