Take a photo of a barcode or cover
rebelbelle13 's review for:
The Thief of Always
by Clive Barker
I really didn't care for this one. There are some good things sprinkled here and there, but not enough to make up for the rest of the rushed, slipshod story. Harvey acts way older than his age of 10. The relationships are rushed, the villains not nearly fleshed out enough for the reader to be afraid of them. The children are all stolen from different time periods in the past, but what time periods? What do they remember? What was their life like? Why did they go to the Holiday House? These questions are never answered, and the only children Barker scratches the surface of are Lulu and Wendall, and we don't even know much about them. There's no development of friendships or characters, here. We don't even truly know what Hood is capable of. Sure, he provides gifts the children want and he can control the seasons. What else? In order for the reader to be truly afraid of a villain, you need to know the extent of their evil and what they are capable of. Can an entity that evil and that old be tricked by a ten year old? Highly doubtful. We see a little of the house and the grounds, but again, Barker only scratches the surface. Tell me more about the house. Tell me more about Hood and his goonies. Have Harvey stumble upon something in the attic that reveals something about his past or the nature of his character. Or belongings from past children. There's nothing, and we're told everything, not shown. The "plot twist" with the fish in the pond you could see from space. My ten year old figured it out before it was revealed.
There's some good stuff here, but it desperately needs to be elaborated on. There's too much here that we're left in the dark about. I wasn't impressed.
There's some good stuff here, but it desperately needs to be elaborated on. There's too much here that we're left in the dark about. I wasn't impressed.