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Summary: and now for something COMPLETELY different.......
Review: I picked this book up for the illustrations, (which are quite amazing - I had seen one of his drawings before and wasn't too terribly impressed) but the story just blew me away. I won't tell you about it here, since you can read about it above. I was luke warm about it during the first two chapters or so, but then suddenly it took the first of many total changes in directions. I, literally, had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next. (A luxury for someone who has read thousands of books) This is one of my new favorites - definately a work of art in more ways than one.
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Summary: good art, so-so book
Review: i love Clive Barker's Thief of Always. It is one of my fav readings several years ago. when i saw Abarat, I had to give it a try. It is the first book of 4. On first read you may be disappointed (like i was) if you don't realize that. Barker isn't as good as Stanek in setting up a series take a look at kingdoms and elves of the reaches if you don't believe me. he does though have a story to tell. you can tell the next book should be better.Overall, this isn't interesting but not uninteresting, just average. The main character, Candy, is a bored girl who stumbles onto a magical world. i couldn't really tell what the purpose of the adventure was though, what it was for or about. this is mostly a neat concept. i'd rather recommend stanek's book mentioned before. There at least we know what the bored main character, Adrina, wants to do and what her journey is about.
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Summary: This book is Fantastic
Review: Once you start reading this book you cant turn it down, literally!
It has gone where no book has gone before, and Clive Barkers imagination must be amazing for him to write a story as good as this,
It starts out in Chickentown and takes you to the amazing world of the Abarat, where Candy is swept up in the adventure of her life. this book is so good that I have read it 6 times. If you do not like this book you must be seriously messed up.
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Summary: Abarat
Review: This book took me on a wonderful adventure that defied imagination. Abarat starts out with a young school girl named Candy Quackenbush who was having a bad day at school when she met the JOhns brother. After meeting them she found out that she is "the one" who can light up a lighthouse leading her to a world of 25 islands, the world of Abarat. The Johns brothers ae a major help in her adventure, also the Greshgrat Malingo plays a part in her life in Abarat. In Abarat Candy is constantly being persued by the Lord of Midnight, Christapher Carrion. For some reason the lord of terror wants to meet her. As Candy contunues her adventure she notices that she can perform magic. She starts to think that she had been to the Abarat before, in another life. It combines mystery adventure comedy and alot of imagination. I recomend this book for anyone who loves a good adventure novel. It was a pleasure to read the book Abarat.
sincerely
errol
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Summary: Welcome back, Clive!
Review: Clive Barker, Abarat (Joanna Cotler Books, 2002)
Clive Barker can't be said to have hit a slump after Sacrament, because his books are usually (The Damnation Game excepted) a cut above anything else anyone's releasing, but is two post-Sacrament books, Galilee and Coldheart Canyon, didn't seem up to the standard Barker had set for himself in such fantastic journeys as Sacrament, Imajica, and the books of the Art. With Abarat, however, Barker has returned to the fantasy milieu in which he is the strongest, and has turned in quite a fine piece of work.
Candy Quackenbush lives in Chickentown, Minnesota, a place that really defines "nowhere special." She feels, however, that she should be somewhere else, and very soon after the book starts, she finds that somewhere else-- the Abarat, an archipelago in a sea somewhere not of this earth. Abarat, the first book in a projected series, introduces the main players, sets up (we assume) the events of the forthcoming books, and introduces us to the Abarat itself.
Barker's strength has always been the creation of dense, detailed mythologies in which to set his stories. He doesn't reveal everything, so the reader doesn't feel the need to sit with copies of a Biblical concordance and various creation myths in attendance while reading one of Barker's novels, but he gives the reader enough that there's an understanding that there's a whole complex scenario working behind the scenes. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings series operates in the same way, as do Herge's Tintin graphic novels. Barker's worlds often feel as if they have that same level of detail, which is one of the things that separates him from other writers of books like this, and make his work such a pleasure to read. Abarat may well be the most detailed of the lot to date, surpassing even the attention to detail paid to Imajica. Though it's obvious that Abarat is mostly setting up things to come, it's a joy to have one of the modern masters of high fantasy back on form and writing stuff this lovely. ****
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Summary: The best book ever!
Review: Live in the magical and mysterical world of Abarat, where things are beyond your imagination. Go through Candy Quakenbush's adventure, and live it like your own.
I really enjoyed reading this exciting book. This is about a girl named Candy Quakenbush and when life in Chickentown couldn't be more boring, Candy finds the land Abarat. There is excitment everywhere and everything is way different than her Chickentown life. Candy meets friends and foes and life couldn't get more exciting.
Read it or you lose a great adventure!
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Summary: a phenomenal adventure for all ages!
Review: Barker creates an adventure filled with action, suspense, and emotion; all with hidden spiritual messages. Creatively written, Abarat is guaranteed to lift up each reader and take them on their own personal journey. This book presents easy, uplifting reading for all ages!
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Summary: Can't wait to read the next!
Review: Sometimes I find it hard to get into a fantasy book that is part of a series. I feel like all the author does is try to set up characters and settings. That wasn't the case here. We meet our heroine, Candy Quackenbush of Minnesota, right away and her journey to the islands of Abarat starts quickly. I enjoyed the several stories besides Candy's that were being told at the same time, for I was curious where other characters had gone and what they were up to. I also thought the pictures were great to help me imagine what the creatures Candy met looked like. I really can't wait to the read the next book in the series.
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Summary: Abarat! - recognized as a good book
Review: I do not understand how people can call Abarat "boring, and not worth it". It is now one of my favorite books. Clive Barker's world of magic enthralls any true fantasy fan. Obviously this book is worth while because of all the attention it has been receiving. Hello-o-o?!?!?! It was on the New York Best Sellers List! The book also has fabulous illustrations (by Clive Barker) accompanying it's wonderful text. It has a fantastic website, theme-park rides being made after it, and yes! a movie!!! I have on complaint about the Abarat series...it's not coming out quick enough! What more can I say?...just read it!
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Summary: Great 1st half of a story and that's all you get...
Review: I found the story to be very interesting and much more entertaining than most Barker works. The problem is it's only half a story. The large type, generous spacing, and big margins lend pages to a book that's only partially there. Someone involved in this process got too greedy by putting out half a product and charging full price. Wait until a compilation edition comes out that adds the stories together and you will actually get a complete product for your money. At that point I would reccomend it.
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