Clive Barker - Abarat

Pros: Simplistically written, non-stop action.

Cons: Billed as a children's novel. Implausible.

The Bottom Line: Fantasy how it should be done.

Review: Candy Quackenbush has one great fear, she fears that she will never leave her home of Chickentown, Minnesota. It is only when asked by her loathsome teacher to do a project on her dull town that she finds there is more to the place than meets the eye. ...

Pros: Great character development, wonderfully built fantasy world, awesome pictures

Cons: Themes and vocabulary may be lost on younger readers

The Bottom Line: This book is excellent for ages 13 through adult. Less graphic and complex than Weaveworld, more intense and absorbing than the Thief of Always.

Review: Abarat is Clive Barker's second attempt at fiction for children/adolescents (the first was The Thief of Always, which was aimed at a younger audience) and his first intended as a series. Barker wrote this book around a group of vivid paintings, many of...

Pros: Imaginative and witty, while touching the dramatics of our every-day monotonies....

Cons: slightly scary cover art

The Bottom Line: Read it. Buy it. Prize it. Why? Because it is just that good.

Review: My, my, my, this book has definitely got what others in this genre are definitely lacking. I definit ...

Pros: Great illustrations, uplifting story (if your kids are not easily scared).

Cons: Too scary for younger, or sensitive children.

The Bottom Line: Great read, great illustrations.

Review: Wow, this would have scared the be-Je5u5 out of me at any age under ten. The paintings alone could have done it. Don't get me wrong, I loved the book and think it gives some hope (albeit unrealistically, as TV is slowly eroding all of our imaginations) ...

Pros: Great plot, great setting, great characters, great paintings, great everything!

Cons: Umm.... cliffhanger ending?

Review: Abarat... Abarat is one of the best books I have ever read. Clive Barker's magical manipulation of words has you hooked and turning pages faster than you can say Quackenbush. The wonderful plot, magical locations, lovable and hatable characters whose ...

Pros: Amazing illustrations and fantastic story...

Cons: Rather dark, somewhat convoluted language...

The Bottom Line: A book of fantasy and adventure for kids, Abarat is a modern day Oz with a dash of Narnia and Wonderland thrown in for good measure.

Review: Who woulda thunk it. Clive Barker, a children/young adult novelist? Will wonders never cease? Act ...

Pros: An engrossing and richly detailed otherworldly tale, with cool illustrations

Cons: The ending leaves too many unanswered questions

The Bottom Line: What happens when Alice in Wonderland meets a master of adult fantasy/horror... juvenile and adult readers alike are treated to an epic and bizarrely twisted tale.

Review: I read this book several years ago, and though it’s not as fresh in my mind as some of my all-time favorites, it still conjures up good reading memories. Though I’ve been told numerous times over the years by many friends to read Clive ...

Pros: Shockingly, surprisingly beautiful. Actually fun to peruse for hours. Remarkable.

Cons: You’d have to justify to your friends why you were reading a Clive Barker.

The Bottom Line: If nothing else it's just amazing to see how much time and effort went into the planning of this intricate and vast magical land.

Review: Kudos to Clive Barker. Kudos indeed. I admit right here and now, in the presence of every good Epinion reviewer, that I walked into a reading of Barker’s, “Abarat” with a great deal of suspicion. To my mind Barker had several elements ...

Pros: Great illustrations, and Clive Barker's still better than pretty much anyone else.

Cons: NOT his best, and that ending sucks!!!

The Bottom Line: Maybe it's because it's intended for younger readers, but there are plenty of Barker books better than this one.

Review: I’ve always loved Clive Barker’s work. I remember the first story I read, THE HELLBOUND HEART in the back of the car on the way to the Metallica/Guns N’ Roses concert in 1992. It’s not just his imagination, which is incredible, but his ...

Pros: unpredictable, fast-moving, the pictures!

Cons: some creepy pictures, weird elements, doesn’t totally click

The Bottom Line: I’m still a bit confused (and weirded out) by this book, but I also was very intrigued.

Review: Pick up a copy of Clive Barker’s Abarat and it’s pretty clear this is not like any YA fantasy you’ve read before. Instead of the requisite cheesy “sword and sorcery” cover, you get a jacket with a patchwork of slightly ...