wombat_88's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
tacochelle's review against another edition
5.0
*Note: in order to see the images, you need to click "see review" at the bottom. Sorry for the inconvenience*
I reread this book again because I felt like it. I have good memories of reading this book, and after rereading it, my rating hasn't changed much. More like a 4.5 out of 5.
This book is more of an introduction to the characters and the world of Abarat: the 25 islands in it's own separate world. Each island has it's own time, like Yebba Dim Day resides at 8pm, Ninnyhammer is at 10pm, etc. The 25th island is the mysterious Odom's Spire, the Time Out Of Time. Ordinary girl Candy Quackenbush accidentally calls the sea to Chickentown, MN, which takes her to this crazy and surreal world. She goes to all sorts of islands, and makes many new friends like:
John Mischief and his eight brothers who reside on antlers on his head,
Malingo, a geshrat slave to a short, violent wizard,
Samuel Hastrim Klepp the 5th, publisher of the one and only guide to the Abarat,
Diamanda, Joephi, and Mespa, the women of the Fantomaya who look over Candy on her journey and have something to do with why she's there,
And so much more.
Not as big in this book is the villain:
Christopher Carrion, Prince of Night. He wants Candy for some reason that we aren't told right off the bat. All we know is that if he gets his hands on her, bad things will happen. So while we're discovering this world with Candy, she's avoiding Carrion's henchmen like Mendelson Shape and Otto Houlihan, the Criss-Cross Man.
This book is accompanied with beautiful illustrations done by Clive Barker himself, and let me tell you, they are beautiful. Look up Abarat, and you will find a slew of colorful and interesting pictures. These make the world come to life for me. We see how strange and fascinating and terrifying it is for Candy throughout her journey, and in combination with good, descriptive and exciting writing, brings this world to life.
The one to to mention is that it is entirely an introduction to this series. The book does this well, but the actual plot is also briefly introduced here. I have read the next two books, and the plot concerning Candy and Christopher Carrion does ties in later on. It helps a lot because, though there will be new islands to introduce in the later books, now we can focus on what Christopher Carrion wants with Candy. For this reason, I say this book gets about a 4.5.
I reread this book again because I felt like it. I have good memories of reading this book, and after rereading it, my rating hasn't changed much. More like a 4.5 out of 5.
This book is more of an introduction to the characters and the world of Abarat: the 25 islands in it's own separate world. Each island has it's own time, like Yebba Dim Day resides at 8pm, Ninnyhammer is at 10pm, etc. The 25th island is the mysterious Odom's Spire, the Time Out Of Time. Ordinary girl Candy Quackenbush accidentally calls the sea to Chickentown, MN, which takes her to this crazy and surreal world. She goes to all sorts of islands, and makes many new friends like:
John Mischief and his eight brothers who reside on antlers on his head,
Malingo, a geshrat slave to a short, violent wizard,
Samuel Hastrim Klepp the 5th, publisher of the one and only guide to the Abarat,
Diamanda, Joephi, and Mespa, the women of the Fantomaya who look over Candy on her journey and have something to do with why she's there,
And so much more.
Not as big in this book is the villain:
Christopher Carrion, Prince of Night. He wants Candy for some reason that we aren't told right off the bat. All we know is that if he gets his hands on her, bad things will happen. So while we're discovering this world with Candy, she's avoiding Carrion's henchmen like Mendelson Shape and Otto Houlihan, the Criss-Cross Man.
This book is accompanied with beautiful illustrations done by Clive Barker himself, and let me tell you, they are beautiful. Look up Abarat, and you will find a slew of colorful and interesting pictures. These make the world come to life for me. We see how strange and fascinating and terrifying it is for Candy throughout her journey, and in combination with good, descriptive and exciting writing, brings this world to life.
The one to to mention is that it is entirely an introduction to this series. The book does this well, but the actual plot is also briefly introduced here. I have read the next two books, and the plot concerning Candy and Christopher Carrion does ties in later on. It helps a lot because, though there will be new islands to introduce in the later books, now we can focus on what Christopher Carrion wants with Candy. For this reason, I say this book gets about a 4.5.
linbee83's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favorite series by Cliver Barker. You definately have to read the version with the illustrations, as they add to the overall effect of the book. I've read it several times and get a different thing from it each time. Barker creates a wonderful world that you fall into along with Candy Quackenbush.
hopeheadden's review against another edition
3.0
I was suggested this book by a friend so I really wanted to like it, but I just feel like nothing happened? The world is really cool and there’s a lot of fun imagery, but the entire book I just felt like nothing was going on that I cared about. It was okay
circularcubes's review against another edition
2.0
I have faint memories of reading this book and its sequel way back when I was in middle school, and I remember finding them very, very odd at the time. Every so often I'd find myself thinking about the strange details from these books, with their disturbingly colorful illustrations, and I decided to reread it to see if it holds up to my younger self's memories. (I'm also somewhat of a completionist, and I was wondering if it would be worth reading the third book that hadn't yet been released when I first started this series ages ago).
I ended up reading through this in an afternoon - the text isn't too dense, a lot of the book itself is taken up with illustrations, and there's a lot of action and changes of scenery. This book was as strange as I remembered it being, but I found it to be somehow lacking. There are so many odd creatures and beings that are described in this book, but I'm not really a "go-with-flow" reader of fantasy - give me rules! reasons! logical world-building! The fantastical beasts and nonsensical world of Abarat did not appeal to me in the least, and I didn't find the characters themselves terribly interesting, either. So, while I don't regret going down memory lane with this book, I don't see myself taking this path any further.
I ended up reading through this in an afternoon - the text isn't too dense, a lot of the book itself is taken up with illustrations, and there's a lot of action and changes of scenery. This book was as strange as I remembered it being, but I found it to be somehow lacking. There are so many odd creatures and beings that are described in this book, but I'm not really a "go-with-flow" reader of fantasy - give me rules! reasons! logical world-building! The fantastical beasts and nonsensical world of Abarat did not appeal to me in the least, and I didn't find the characters themselves terribly interesting, either. So, while I don't regret going down memory lane with this book, I don't see myself taking this path any further.
sydneyrp143's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
fanboyriot's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was a lot more random than what I was expecting, with lots of adventures with almost an Alice in Wonderland vibe to it. Candy getting an escape from her abusive household and her traveling into the world of Abarat. It was a lot to take in, to be honest, lots of places and people to remember but it was entertaining and a good fantasy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Bullying
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Death, and Kidnapping
willgalltall's review against another edition
5.0
I first read Abarat when I was around 10 years old. I had very fond memories of the book, and started my love for Clive Barker. 11 years later, I decided to revisit the world of Abarat with the intention of refreshing my memory of how it all started, ready for Abarat 4 (when it is released).
Oh, how I made the right choice!!
This really did take me back to my childhood, but at the same time, being able to interpret the story in a different way.
Clive's prose is so smooth, and allows you to literally fly through the pages, whilst being able to take the time to study the beautiful illustrations (hardback only), that he created himself. If you do read this, then you will only get the full experience of it by reading out of the hardback. This was one of the main reasons why Clive even wrote Abarat, to create a story for all of the paintings he made.
The characters are brilliant as well! They are so real and unique. Characters that could only come from the mind of Clive Barker. We have Candy Quackenbush, John Mischief, Christopher Carrion, Mater Motley, Kasper Wolfswinkel, Malingo, and so many others!
I couldn't really believe how short the story is. I always remember it being a long book, but looking back, it really isn't that long.
I honestly have nothing negative to say about Abarat. It truly is a great story, and is very different to what Clive is mainly known for, which is gruesome horror. This is definitely a fantasy story, that is fun from start to finish! A must read!
Oh, how I made the right choice!!
This really did take me back to my childhood, but at the same time, being able to interpret the story in a different way.
Clive's prose is so smooth, and allows you to literally fly through the pages, whilst being able to take the time to study the beautiful illustrations (hardback only), that he created himself. If you do read this, then you will only get the full experience of it by reading out of the hardback. This was one of the main reasons why Clive even wrote Abarat, to create a story for all of the paintings he made.
The characters are brilliant as well! They are so real and unique. Characters that could only come from the mind of Clive Barker. We have Candy Quackenbush, John Mischief, Christopher Carrion, Mater Motley, Kasper Wolfswinkel, Malingo, and so many others!
I couldn't really believe how short the story is. I always remember it being a long book, but looking back, it really isn't that long.
I honestly have nothing negative to say about Abarat. It truly is a great story, and is very different to what Clive is mainly known for, which is gruesome horror. This is definitely a fantasy story, that is fun from start to finish! A must read!
roshk99's review against another edition
2.0
Confusing and unnecessarily convoluted. With a little more background, could have been better, but no such luck
griddlemybeloved's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0