Abarat: Absolute Midnight – Clive Barker (Review)

Hardcover, 592 pages
Published 27th September, 2011 by HarperCollins
Source: Publisher

“I know that many of you here have waited years for this Hour,” Mater Motley said, using that voice that, though it was barely conversational in volume, was somehow heard everywhere. “The waiting is over. Tomorrow there will be no dawn. Only midnight, absolute and eternal.”

And so begins a new chapter in the epic story of sixteen-year-old Candy Quackenbush and her journeys through the world of the Abarat, where every hour is an island in one eternal day, and nothing is as it seems.

Candy travels through the Abarat from island to island and across the sea with an unlikely band of friends: the escaped prisoner Malingo the Geshrat, the quarrelsome John Brothers, who all share the same body but never the same opinion, and the many other colorful characters they meet along the way.

The problem is that trouble finds Candy wherever she goes. And soon she discovers a secret plot, masterminded by the diabolical Mater Motley, who is obsessed with becoming Empress of the Islands. Her method is simple. She will darken the skies, putting out the suns, moons, and stars. She will bring absolute midnight.

Review:

First, how awesome is the trailer by Dog Ear Creative? I don’t know about you guys but their interpretation of Christopher Carrion gave me the creeps and reaffirmed his status as vilest villain of the fiction genre. Or, well, one of the vilest villains anyway.

Moving on. I have been waiting seven years for this book, you guys. And I was not going to be impressed if it ended up disappointing me because seven years is a very long time to wait for a book. I just hope that the next one in the series is released some time earlier. But! Absolute Midnight does not disappoint. In fact, it takes you on a ride that spins all your expectations about people and characters in such a way that it will leave you whirling. What a ride.

Mr. Barker knows the stereotypes very well, he knows what the reader expects. And I don’t know if it’s because the interim has been such a long time that the plot and story have percolated in his mind to gain extra depth and strength or if he intended the story to go in this direction all, whatever it is, the result is quite tremendous. Not at all predictable and in a good way. Candy continues to develop in interesting ways and Mater Motley finally shows her true colours – midnight. The paintings continue to enthrall me and the magic is felt all over again.

Of course, the plot is necessarily more serious but the whole adventurous feel of it, the whole brilliance of Abarat is sustained and I don’t know what else to tell you, people. If you have been waiting for this book, you will not be disappointed. And if you have just gotten into the series, you won’t be disappointed. The plot, the characters, the pacing, the complexities. These all benefit from the growing Mr. Barker did. And reading Abarat 3 was punctuated by fast heart beats and frantic page turning and all things lovely.

If you haven’t started this series, I urge you to do so. Dudes, I have been urging you all week. I just know that I’m anxiously counting down the days till the next one in the series is released.

Abarat I and Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War – Clive Barker (Review)

Review:

This is for the benefit of those of my readers who are just discovering Abarat and the wonder it offers. You have met the characters, gotten a glimpse of the setting, seen some of the wondrous paintings populating the novels. Now, it’s time for you to get a hint of the story contained within the pages of the novels. This is not going to be a review in the objective sense of the word because I really can’t review it without…you know, resorting to gushing. So, first I’ll just say that I am not very familiar with Mr. Barker’s writing. His work is generally horror (I believe) and that is not one genre I’m too interested in. (Fine, call me chicken but I like sleeping without nightmares.)

I don’t remember what led me to picking up the first Abarat novel. I really don’t. I must have gotten it from the library. Or perhaps I bought it from Chapters on a whim. I have no idea. I just remember that as soon as I finished book 1, I had to get book 2 and I was lucky because Eid had just passed (and kids get money during Eid) so I had the moolah that was required to purchase this novel.

Here’s an aside: If you are going to read this book, read it in hardcover form so that all the paintings are in full colour and you can properly appreciate the gorgeousness of the art. Seriously.

Paintings aside, there is a reason people love Abarat as much as they do. The setting is as much a character as any “real” (and I use the word in the loosest sense) person in the novel. The protagonist, trapped by her family and situation in a deadend town called “Chickentown” yearns to escape. And escape she does. But the place she goes… well, let’s just say that it is way stranger than anything she could have dreamed up. She meets people/creatures along the way, all of whom leave some sort of tangible (or intangible) impression upon her and all the while, she battles this sense of strange familiarity. As though she has been to this place before. As though she’s seen these things before. Experienced the life of Abarat before. The story is a journey and it is layered ever so exquisitely. It’s a coming of age story, it’s a treasure hunt, it’s an explorer story. An amalgamation of genres designed to appeal to anyone who likes reading.

And Christopher Carrion has to get special mention. He is one of the most intriguing villains out there. Voldemort is interesting yes but I believe that Carrion is much more compelling. He is terrifying. His visage is a horror to look upon but he is more a product of his surroundings than perhaps of genuine evilness. There is something broken about the man that even as you see him commit the atrocities he commits, you still find yourself feeling this helpless pity for the “man” he is. Or was forced to become. Did I mention that despite the pity, he is still terrifying as hell?

Candy is also a fun character. She’s quirky. Seemingly fearless but still vulnerable enough that a reader can relate and empathize with her. She is a dynamic character and grows as the book progresses and it is sort of fascinating to see her apply human logic in a world that is blatantly not human.

The plot is, hmm, the word would be intriguing. The first book is largely world building. It lays the foundation (very firmly) and plants the seeds that start to germinate in book two. It introduces characters, gives them individuality, hints at the past, shows glimmers of a possible future. It’s rather brilliant. Very brilliant.

Book 2 ends with a loud enough bang that I was in paroxysms of agony coupled with a large dose of despair at having to wait almost seven years for book three. But I’ve read it (and the review of that comes tomorrow) so I can tell you that I was not disappointed in it.

Tomorrow: Review and trailer of book 3.

 

Abarat: The Book Covers

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the covers of the books. The first two anyway. So here they are:

And as a bonus, I found a manga version. I’m not sure it’s a legit cover but it’s really cute so.

Tomorrow, the reviews of the first two books.

Abarat: The Fan Art

Yebba Dim Day (An island in the Abarat by Soma-plume)

The 25th Hour (by Lordratchezlath)

Revisioning of the original painting by Clive Barker. Lady at Yebba Dim Day by Mizzy Chan

Isn’t this super cool? If ever there is a real life version of Abarat, I imagine it to look something like this. Created by hovelkamp.

Christoper Carrion colourized and slightly humanified. Original painting by Clive Barker. Revisioning by AprilQween.

Tomorrow, the book covers.

Abarat – An Introduction

I dreamed a limitless book,
A book unbound,
Its leaves scattered in fantastic abundance.

On every line there was a new horizon drawn,
New heavens supposed;
New states, new souls.

One of those souls,
Dozing through some imagined afternoon,
Dreamed these words,
And needing a hand to set them down,
Made mine.

— Clive Barker, Abarat: Book 1

The Books of Abarat is the name of the series authored by Clive Barker. The first installment was released in 2002 and I think (am not absolutely positive) that there are going to be a total of four books in the series.

So Nafiza, you may ask, what is so special about this book that you are running a week long event on this?

Well… I don’t really know how to properly articulate the answer so that you will see what I see in Abarat but I shall attempt to do so anyway. Imagine a world where time is a place.

Every hour of the day is a different island and if you want it to be three p.m. in the afternoon, you don’t just wait for time to pass, oh no, you sail to the island where it is always three p.m. Boggles the mind, huh?

Read more here.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is Abarat.

Another special thing about the books is that all of them contain original paintings done by the author to portray the strange creatures that look like they have crawled out of someone’s nightmares or someone’s acid trip. They are rich in colour and a veritable feast for the eyes.

And those are just the paintings. The stories contained within the pages are compelling enough that were the paintings not present, they would attract just as much attention and evoke as much love.

The characters:

Candy Quackenbush (the main character)

The three women of Fantomaya.

John Mischief (and his brothers.)

Malingo (He just may be my favourite character)

Every story needs a villain. Christopher Carrion. But somehow, he makes me pity him.

(All pictures belong to Clive Barker.)

So, this is the introduction. Tomorrow, we will see the art that Abarat has inspired from its fans.