Abarat

Rating:
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.

Rating:
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!

Rating:
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.

Rating:
Summary: Abarat is wonderful
Review: This entire world that Clive Barker creates is nothing short of amazing. Everything in the world of Abarat is absolutely brilliant, and comes straight from his own head. You will not find anything like Abarat, no book shares a similar plot, similar characters or a similar world. If you like an original, unique read then Abarat is certainly the right book for you. I loved Abarat so much that it quickly became my favorite book, and I spend a good 3/4 of my free time reading, so I have read many books. I love Abarat because even though I've read and re-read it many times, everything still seems so new and raw, I just absorb it. On the level of fantasy, it surpasses Harry Potter and even Lord of the Rings by far, simply because of the wonderful intriguing descriptions and explanations, which can get far too complicated and overwhelming in certain fantasies like in Lord of the Rings. But Barker's words and descriptions of action, the setting, and characters keep my attention and seem to surround me and flow easily in my head, not overwhelming at all, and quite easy for a child to understand while equally easy for an adult to appreciate and enjoy. If you have children, this is an excellent book to read to them, expanding their imagination, while it is also a wonderful book just to read for pleasure. I've given it to so many people to read and there's a range of my family members from 5-years-old(my younger half-brother)to 97(my great-grandmother) who have fallen in love with this book. The main character, Candy Quakenbush, is easy to relate with since she is a typical American teenager, something all of us have been, will be, or are. She's dealing with an alcoholic father, a pair of annoying brothers, and a submissive mother who all live in the boring town of Chickentown, Minnesota, which has people and places that we can compare to places in our own hometowns. The Quakenbush family deals with issues and personality flaws that all families have seen. And when Candy gets thrown into Abarat, even in that amazing other world all of the problems seem so realistic and almost full of satire, with just a fantasy twist to them.