Abarat--Clive Barker

[jessica]

I picked up this book b/c of the novelty of Clive Barker writing a children's book(turns out it's his second). After reading the first few chapters it seems to be pretty interesting. Has anyone else heard of it or started reading it?

 

[Dawn]

I saw it in the bookstore. The display and cover looks intreguing. So course I'm a sucker for a fantasy. Can you do a book review when you're done, jessica?

No pressure, mind you.

 

[jessica]

Dawn--

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Sure, I would do a review for it. It wasn't a great book, but was an interesting beginning, because it obviously has a sequel. Anyway, if you set up the page, I'll try to put a review on it sometime this week.--jessica

 

[Darren]

I've added Abarat to the reviews libary here. If you click "Add Review" you should be able to write it there (I'd recommend writing offline first and then using copy & paste as there is no "back" option if you accidentally enter the wrong username or password).

Thanks.

Darren.

PS I'm assuming it belongs in the "Teen & Young Adult" genre?

 

[Gryphon]

I've been waiting for the paperback, which I have on order and should be getting in September. I'm intrigued by Clive Barker, but I can't imagine him writing a children's book. I'm eager to see what he's done.

 

[Halo]

Originally posted by jessica
I picked up this book b/c of the novelty of Clive Barker writing a children's book(turns out it's his second).

I haven't read this, but I've read his first kid's book, which I think was called "The Thief of Always". I quite liked it, but to be honest I read it years ago and I can't remember much about it! I don't think I enjoyed it enough to read more of his work.

 

[Stewart]

Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War, the second installment in the Abaret Quartet is available. To coincide there's a new Abarat website containing details on the characters, trips around the 25 islands, an Abarat glossary, amongst other things.

The site is here.

I couldn't find any info on what Disney is doing with the film and theme park rights after splashing out $8,000,000 on them based on the 400+ paintings alone that accompany the series.

 

[Halo]

Managed to buy the hardback of Abarat today for the bargain price of £1!

 

[Wabbit]

1£? Woooooo! You go girl

Always been interested in Abarat. I do like Clive Barker so i'll probably check them out at some point.

 

[Stalky]

I enjoyed this book, too. The pictures were really nice, and the plot was interesting - I think the characters were its best attribute. It was easy to become fond of John Mischief and the Tarrie-cats. What is Clive Barker besides an author? I'd never heard of him before I read the book.

 

[Mouse]

Many of his books have been adapted into films and he has directed or scripted many of them eg. the Hellraiser series and Night Breed.

I've read all his books and have just got the second Abarat book to read.
His imagination is so vivid that he can take you along to any other universe and when he blends his fantasy worlds with ours it seems very believable, however fantastical it may be.

 

[nighthawk]

Are you talking about the same 'Coldheart Canyon' Clive Barker???? Writer of children's fantasy?? Perhaps I mis-read...

 

[Mouse]

No, it is the same guy. The Abarat books for children / teens are just as way-out as Coldheart Canyon etc but with all the sadistic sex and nightmarish horror taken out.
A bit like a pre-watershed version of a Cronenberg film.

 

[nighthawk]

Thanks! I've only read two of his books 'The Sacrement' a few yers back and when I saw 'Coldheart' advertised I bought it I'm over 21 and like to think I can read anything but I'm fraid I couldn't finish that one. Have you read it?

 

[Mouse]

Yes I've read them all. It was ok but only started to get interesting when they went into the wall carvings. A similar story but done much better is his Weaveworld, where "Olde Englande" complete with magical beings, is kept hidden from modern man in the weave of an old rug. I know it sounds daft but I was totally immersed. As a rule I don't read the fantasy genre, but he's not quite the same.

 

[nighthawk]

The storyline sounds interesting the idea of another world/dimesion woven into a rug but is it a sadistic? Perhaps I should go into this as we're in this section, but that is an area which bothers me - putting such an author in th same category as Harry Potter. I would hate a daughter of mine to pick up one of his books finding it was something entirely different to what she had in mind.

 

[Mouse]

It depends how old your daughter is, but I would say Thief of Always and the Abarat books could safely be read by an 11 year old. There is nothing violent in these books, just wierd creatures and enchanting stories. I would compare them to a cross between Lewis Carroll and The Brothers Grimm.

My daughter's only 2 yrs and 4 months, so I don't have that worry yet!
She's currently being read & loves the Cat in the Hat stories. I just find them so difficult to read out loud!

 

[Stewart]

What is Clive Barker besides an author?

Clive Barker was, first and foremost, a playwright. He wrote plays for a living and six of them have been collected and released as two separate volumes: Incarnations and Forms of Heaven. In the evenings, as a playwright, he wrote short stories which were collected into the six volumes called The Books of Blood.

From there he wrote other novels and novellas using his strange take on dark fantasy. In his student days he had dabbled in film-making making such shorts as The Forbidden - written as The Forbidden in The Books of Blood and adapted as Candyman for Hollywood.

It was no surprise then that he adapted his novella The Hellbound Heart to the big screen under the name of Hellraiser and filmed it himself for £1,000,000. The film made his name as a film-maker and other adaptations of his novellas and short stories followed suit: Cabal became Nightbreed, The Forbidden, as mentioned, became Candyman, and The Lord of Illusions became, well, Lord of Illusions. Another short story, called The Body Politic, an allegorical tale featuring a person's hands trying to escape his body, was filmed in the feature called Quicksilver Highway, alongside an adaptation of Stephen King's short story, Chattery Teeth from his Nightmares and Dreamscapes short story collection. Incidentally, Clive Barker made a cameo appearance as a doctor in Sleepwalkers, a film based on an original Stephen King story. King, himself, made a cameo as a cemetery groundskeeper.

Latterly, Clive has continued to write excellent novels (with the exception of Coldheart Canyon, Sacrament, to me, is his finest hour, probably followed by Galilee) and write film scripts. He has also written some graphic novels; a mixture of adult and teen comics. Recently he has completed a new collection of short stories which should be out this year - they could possibly also feature photographs taken by his photographer boyfriend Emilian David Armstrong, the subject of his last few dedications.

And, for Abarat Clive painted upwards of 400 canvases to convey the world he wanted to create. He had been doing exhibitions of his artwork for years prior to this also. Other, non-Abarat, examples of his artwork can be viewed on his Official Website which, in my opinion, could look a lot better.

So, who is Clive Barker? Playwright, author, artist, director, and father.

Incidentally, Douglas E. Winter wrote an excellent biography of Clive Barker called The Dark Fantastic.

I met Clive in 2000 in Glasgow when he had flown in from the States to see a play based on a couple of his short stories - The Last Will And Testament of Jacqueline Ess and The Body Politic - small theatre, stage in the centre of the audience, and some nice adaptations. I got my copy of Galilee signed and, prior to the play, he did an hour long question and answer session. Excellent stuff.

 

[Rustam]

I picked up this book b/c of the novelty of Clive Barker writing a children's book(turns out it's his second). After reading the first few chapters it seems to be pretty interesting. Has anyone else heard of it or started reading it?

I read it, but in russian ... Now I searching second book of Abarat. There was't shipment in Russia, english version of a book. So this very big tragedy for me.
Can anybode advice me where i can find Days of magic, online?

P.S. Sorry for my english, haven't practice about 5 years.

 

[mojo]

It depends how old your daughter is, but I would say Thief of Always and the Abarat books could safely be read by an 11 year old. There is nothing violent in these books, just wierd creatures and enchanting stories. I would compare them to a cross between Lewis Carroll and The Brothers Grimm.

Yeah they reminded me a lot of Lewis Carroll, I absolutely loved the first one, how many are there at the moment?