Days of Magic, Nights of War (Abarat)

Now that the Harry Potter saga's come to a conclusion, there may be a little void left for the reader - child or adult - who enjoyed the type of fantasy that J.K. Rowling did so well: complex in plot but simple enough in language to be accessible to younger readers as well. Certainly, the best in the bunch would be The Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit) by Tolkien, but there are other choices out there, with probably the best of the rest being Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Then there is Clive Barker's Abarat.With the popularity of Harry Potter, a number of "adult" writers took their shot at writing for a younger audience with mixed success. Barker, one of the great horror fantasists around today, was not one of these bandwagon jumpers, having already written one good "juvenile" novel, The Thief of Always, long before anyone knew who Harry Potter was. With Abarat, he starts a series of books with a similar young-and-adult-alike audience in mind.Abarat uses one of the standard fantasy plot devices involving a youngish girl named Candy Quackenbush who discovers a world beyond her mundane existence, one in which she has a great destiny. For Candy, the mundane world is her life in Chickentown, a dull town with one industry (poultry, of course), where she lives with her family that may not be at a Dursley-level of nastiness, but is nonetheless a rather unpleasant one (due, in large part, to an alcoholic, abusive father).Candy's life changes when she encounters the master thief, Mischief. It doesn't take long for Candy to realize he's something extraordinary: after all, he has seven other heads at the end of antlers. Mischief is being pursued by another strange creature named Shape, and in the process of helping Mischief escape, Candy is transported to another world called the Abarat. This is a set of twenty-five islands, one for each hour of the day plus a mysterious extra island. This is no mere figure of speech: each island sits in a certain block of time, so the noon island is always in bright sunshine, while others under different states of night, day or twilight.The ruler of the midnight island, Christopher Carrion, has a sinister agenda that involves bringing night to all the Arabat. His opponent, Rojo Pixler, is no good guy either, but is a relentless capitalist intent on a monopoly on all magic and converting the whole world (and Candy's world, known to the locals as the Hereafter) into his own marketplace. In the middle is Candy who has adventures as she goes from place-to-place as both Carrion and Pixler seek her, aware that she is something special.Abarat is not a self-contained novel, but the first in a series (which I believe to date has only one other book published). As such, it is hard to judge the novel on its plot, which is obviously incomplete. Barker does do a good job at creating a truly bizarre world, one that at times is almost too bizarre. With humor, drama and danger throughout the book, this is a nice read, even if it not a perfect one. For Harry Potter fans who are looking for something new (but at the same time not just a pale Potter imitation), this is a good choice.

Picking up right where the first book left off, Candy Quackenbush continues her travels throughout the wonderfully strange world of Abarat, in search of an explanation of why she arrived there in the first place. Christopher Carrion, the Lord of Midnight, is far from happy with the failing attempts of his henchmen Criss-Cross Man in trying to capture Candy, but decides to give him one final chance. Carrion is convinced that the little girl knows some secret that will destroy his ultimate dream of creating eternal night on the Abarat archipelago. Candy will need the help of Malingo, the geshrat she rescued from the clutches of the evil Wizard Kaspar Wolfswinkel, to fight against the Lord of Midnight's evil freaks.Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War is the long awaited second volume of the Abarat Quintet (originally it was planned to become a quartet, but Clive felt that the story needed some more depth and will add an extra volume). Based upon the speed that Clive Barker has been releasing these books, it will probably take Clive till fall of 2009 to deliver the final volume. And that is really a pity, because the story now really gets up to speed. Compared to the first book, which missed quite some action because it had to introduce the world of Abarat, this episode is a thrilling rollercoaster ride. Quite some colorful characters of the first book do make their reappearance, like the fascinating Wolfswinkel and the three witches Diamanda, Mespa and Jeophi. But this time all the pieces start falling into place. Candy will discover aspects of herself that she would have never have guessed she possessed. Even Chickentown, Minnesota will undergo some remarkable transformations.Abarat is clearly going to turn out to become the Magnus Opus of Clive's career and although it is officially categorized as a children's book this should stop no-one from entering the amazing world of Abarat.

_There isn't too much more that I can add to this review that I didn't say in my review of the first volume of Abarat. That is because the magic continues undiluted in this volume. This is literally a dream between two covers. So much of what was introduced with promise in Book One is more fully expanded here. I just can't get over the vividness of the images presented in both prose and illustration. This is a book that will literally make you dream in color...._Just in case you aren't familiar with the story so far, this is the tale of Candy Quackenbush from a dysfunctional little family in a dysfunctional little town called Chickentown, Minnesota. Candy is drawn into a fantastic new world of adventure and strangeness called the Abarat. Yet, as strange as this world is, it also seems more and more familiar to her...._By the way, if you think that not too much of importance will happen in the second volume of a four volume series, you would be wrong- dead wrong. As a matter of fact, so many important characters died in this book that I briefly wondered if there would be a volume three. The conclusion is so operatically spectacular that I cannot imagine Barker topping it when he concludes the series._The author also further develops the metaphysics of his vision here. From what I can tell his inspiration is primarily drawn from Plato. Actually, the Abarat comes across as one of the infinite levels of the astral plane- but one that is coming unglued and increasingly under the influence of dark forces. In any case, I found it a satisfying vision._Like the original volume this book is a top quality production in every respect: illustrations, typesetting, paper quality, end papers, covers, dust cover, etc., etc., etc.

i love this series but did not realize this version doesn't include the artwork, which in my opinion is essential to understanding and appreciating the book. as a result, i have not read this volume yet. :/