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Jul 20, 2011

Mariel rated it:

I think you have to want it to happen to you to open your mouth wide enough to swallow another land of magic, the best friends you'll ever have in your life, maybe you're more special than you realized and the funny feeling there's a movie of you going on is real (um, other people do do that, right?). All the eyes are on you and it's the nightmare that you're naked on the first day of... Oops. It's delicious fear feeling. You're naked and it's the first day of class! Open wiiiiiiiide. But you WA More...

7 comments like (18 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Kelly rated it:

Here’s the best way I can think of to describe the world of Abarat. Picture if you will: Dr. Seuss ambling along while rockin’ out to the fantabulous, psychedelic CCR song Looking Out My Backdoor. Completely distracted due to singing, Dr. Seuss falls down the infamous rabbit hole, crash landing into Wonderland. Got it? Can you picture Abarat now?

Disclaimer: Keep in mind that the following thoughts are coming from the mind of an Alice in Wonderland and Dr. Seuss fan. So I guess I was More...

7 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2010

Sarah rated it:

I was never a fan of Clive Barker's. In fact, I find most of his movies laughably bad. So when my uncle gave me this book for Christmas and I saw Barker's name written across the top, I am sure my uncle received a very strange and questioning glare from me.

But then he explained to me why he bought it. We are both artists, and the book is based upon a series of paintings that Barker spent 6 years creating. My uncle had read the book and wanted to share it with me.

Boy a More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2010

Elizabeth rated it:

I read this book some time ago, so my memory of it is fading, but the thing I remember the most about it is that it failed to ever develop a plot that drew me in and held me there. I love the illustrations, and some other details about Abarat, but the admittedly whimsical descriptions of this foreign land were not enough to fill 500 pages. I even read the second book but I was so unimpressed that I don't remember anything about it. Still, three stars for the awesome illustrations and imaginative More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 05, 2007

Angela rated it:

This is one of those books that I adored in a way that I can't really describe. I'm sorry, I just can't. It was amazing in ways that I can't tell you.

If you like fantasy or science fiction or horror or anything along that particular slant, read. this. book.

If you're going to BUY Abarat, be sure you pay a little extra and get the version with the full color illustrations throughout. It would NOT be the same without them.

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2010

Vikki rated it:

This book is very very interesting.
To anyone who reads this book, I suggest either getting the hardcover, or at least renting the hardcover from your local library. I say this because Clive Barker has painted very beautiful and strange pictures to help the reader understand this very strange world he has created.
This story is about a girl named Candy Quackenbash (weird name I know) who gets tired of her normal life and ventures into the sea with a very strange creature who has one he More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2010

Jen rated it:

I needed an imaginative fantasy romp, so I just finished Clive Barker's Abarat. It's sort of The Thief of Always (darkish kid's book) meets Weaveworld (for awesome otherworlds). And the thing that makes this book extraordinarily special: color drawings by Barker interspersed throughout the text. In a fantastical world like Abarat, it's immeasurably cool to see a piece of art depicting, say, a Sea-Skipper, sort of an elegant cross between a human and a sea horse, or a crazy island shaped like a m More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2010

Erika rated it:

I've never been particularly good with fantasy novels. Perhaps it's the--in many cases--absurd abundance of characters, creatures, environments, and plot-lines, but I've always found them hard to follow.

In the case of ABARAT, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Clive Barker had created a giant, diverse world with an array of colorful characters...and made it easy to follow. Sure, there are one or two snags, but the entirety of it is so consuming and interesting that More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 02, 2011

Lisa rated it:

I was uninterested in reading any more of Clive Barker's children's novels, because I don't remember enjoying The Thief of Always. However, this series was recommended to me by another person, and so I tried it, and so far, I am enjoying the book and the illustrations.

I have finished and am intrigued enough to continue the series. This book is definitely for teen and up, in my opinion. There are some scary parts and the illustrations would give kids a good scare, especially Christo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 21, 2010

Ramlaokami rated it:

One of my favorite series (so far, since there are only two books out now), the first one is really a set up for the rest of the series. In the beginning, especially at the scene with the lighthouse, I hesitated to continue but discovered that the book was actually truly entertaining. There is a constant stream of bizarre and interesting characters as well as the introduction to a very different sort of fantastical world. Its not another Harry Potter teen series or Wonderland. Its more of a dark More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 22, 2010

Lisa rated it:

I always tell my students that if Clive Barker weren't so talented, he would be eating people for a living. Though this is a young adult novel, it still has elements of the macabre. Occasionally Barker becomes enthralled by his own imagery, but overall, the plot moves quickly, and you really care about what happens to Candy and what will become of our world once the fate of the Abarat has been decided. I was eager to start book two and have not been disappointed with what I've read so far-about More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 20, 2011

Roberta rated it:

Clive Barker ( qui il sito ufficiale) è uno scrittore di horror/fantasy dai molti interessi: attivo nel campo del cinema e dei videogiochi è anche un meraviglioso illustratore.

Abarat è il primo volume di una quadrilogia purtroppo ancora incompleta (questa è l’unica controindicazione di questa lettura): mancano infatti il terzo e il quarto volume. Si tratta di una saga di dark fantasy per ragazzi ma di grande interesse per i lettori di tutte le età.

Protagonista è Candy Quacken More...

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Feb 01, 2012

Donovan rated it:

This is the first of a series from Clive Barker and is aimed at a younger audience. It's doesn't contain anywhere near the same level of violent/shocking imagery that he has become renown for.
The rights for a movie have been picked up by Disney.

Plot ***Spoilers***
Abarat focuses on Candy Quackenbush, a teenage girl frustrated with her life in Chickentown, Minnesota. After an argument with her teacher over a school project, Candy leaves the school and goes to the edge of town, More...

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Jan 11, 2012

Clint rated it:

I think after Galilee in the late 90's, Clive Barker kind of lost interest in writing. Not that he stopped (though he did slow WAY down), and not that he ran out of ideas (he never runs out of ideas, he's like an undying, constantly-ejaculating volcano of ideas), but he seems to have lost interest in language. I guess he got really into painting or something, but nothing after Galilee seems to have ever been through a second draft. That's really my only complaint with this book, besides the u More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 11, 2012

Ehren rated it:

Clive Barker is known for, probably more than anything else, creating the movie Hellraiser. And a lot of other horror movies. And some pretty dark, dark books. The intensity and extremity of those stories are impressive, but not what i'm talking about here. With a few exceptions,I''d not call his books horror. I think of them as dark fantasy.

Abarat is different from his other books, in that I can read them to my grade school age daughters. And have. And they loved them. There are inten More...

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Nov 21, 2011

Phillip rated it:

Abarat is an interesting and suspenseful book written by Clive Barker.

I read Abarat two years ago as I found it in a library and thought it would be interesting to read, I read the synopsis and thought it would be very interesting and suspenseful to read. and it was.

This book is about a girl called Candy Quackenbush, a teenage girl frustrated with her life in Chickentown, Minnesota. After an argument with her teacher over a school project, Candy leaves the school and goes More...

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May 20, 2011

Morgan rated it:

Somehow, Clive Barker succeeds in describing a world and its people even more vividly than the images can express. The plot is intricate and the world is complex, (think Cirque Du Soleil meets Inkheart meets HP Lovecraft meets something else twisted and ancient and a little familiar, like you’ve known about The Abarat all along and were waiting with your sextant to see the ocean spread out over the prairie.) In fact, that strange feeling of familiarity is how the first book starts. ......The More...

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Mar 31, 2011

Наташа rated it:

Ах! Ну что можно сказать об Абарате? Только "Я требую продолжения банкета!" Привыкшая к Клайву Баркеру мистику, автору триллеров и ужастиков, я совсем не ожидала от него подобной истории где-то в общей идее напоминающей Алису но вместе с тем настолько же от нее далекой.
Автор как канатоходец, заставляя восхищенную публику затаить дыхание, ловко балансирует между историями об Алисе, классическим фентези и совершенно нетривиальным миром, между по детски доступной историей, весьма в More...

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Jan 31, 2011

Alex rated it:

A lot of people have been waiting for Clive Barker to unveil his newest creation since Coldheart Canyon earlier this year. We all knew it was going to be for kids, but we also knew it was going to be classic Clive Barker, and would be a great first book in the series. Having read this first installment, I concur with every fan’s automatic assumption.

Abarat is the first book in the series about a young girl, Candy Quakenbush, who lives in Chickentown, USA. She has never felt she trul More...

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Jan 21, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

The trip to the other world is a time-honored trope in children's storytelling, one which can provide rewardingly rich material when done well. Unfortunately the YA shelves are full of derivative trips to fairy-land: a tarnished Oz here, a wonderless Wonderland there, where the author uses the journey as a bland gimmick. So I was skeptical when I picked up Abarat--a girl in boring humdrum real world is whisked away to fantasy land? Of course she is.

But Abarat surpassed my expectation More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 30, 2010

Karissa rated it:

This is the first children's book I have ever read by Clive Barker. I know that he is much more well known for his works of horror. However, I was very impressed by this book.

I listened to this book on audio book. The audio book was very well done. I think the guy who read the audio book must be the same person who read Stephen King's Dark Tower series on audio book. At least they sound very similar since I keep getting flashbacks to when I listened to the Dark Tower; maybe it is jus More...

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Jul 02, 2010

Ellya rated it:

Sebuah cerita petualangan, yang mengingatkanku pada Harry Potter atau Eragon, dengan detail di hampir seluruh kalimatnya, menuntunku untuk berimajinasi tentang sebuah dunia lain bernama Abarat. Dan ini adalah seri pertamanya...

Peristiwanya berawal dari Chickentown, sebuah kota di Minnesota, yang populasi ayamnya lebih besar daripada populasi penduduknya. Di sinilah Candy Quackenbush tinggal, dan hampir mati kebosanan karenanya. Ia memutuskan untuk mengikuti kata hatinya, pergi ke uju More...

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Jun 30, 2010

Rebecca rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 02, 2010

Karmologyclinic rated it:

Epic fail for Mr. Barker. Here is a review I wrote in 2006:
"And now, let's hop alltogether to our third heroine of the day, Candy Quackenbush. If we should hop on top of the book she enacts in, I wouldn't care less.
This might come as a surprise, at least to me it was, but the new Clive Barker book was not good. What a big dissapointment from my favourite fairy-teller. Abarat by Clive Barker adds up many weaknesses of a bad written book and I will put them here in a few words.
More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 22, 2010

Caleb rated it:

This is a damn good story. Straight up, homeslice. It will hook you like a chipmunk on crack is hooked onto crack. Barker has created a whole mysterious world here, and you'll want to explore it.

Abarat follows a girl by the name of Candy Quakenbush from Chickentown into a totally ballistic world where time doesn't flow in the normal sense. There are 24 islands, each with an hour assigned to it. Damn neat concept. Anyway, Candy has to save the world or some shit, you know how it goes. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 28, 2010

Erwin rated it:

*Pertama kali dipost di thread Pembahasan Berbagai Novel di forum Role Playing Cyber Novel Video Games Indonesia tanggal 5 Mei 2008*

Sinopsis

Candy Quackenbush adalah seorang gadis yang bosan dengan kehidupannya. Ayahnya seorang pengangguran pemabuk yang kasar sedangkan kota tempat tinggalnya, Chickentown, benar-benar payah. Semua itu berubah saat dia bertemu dengan John Mischief dan tujuh "saudaranya". Peristiwa itu berujung pada sebuah petualangan seru di More...

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Nov 02, 2010

Sean rated it:

Abarat, by Clive Barker, is a supremely creative tale of another world inhabited by creatures almost unimaginable to my own brain. Candy Quackenbush is thrown from the overwhelming ordinariness of her life into the crazy, varied, chaotic world of the Abarat, 25 islands all standing for each hour of the day, with one mysterious, timeless island leftover. Abarat chronicles her journeys and discovery of the islands as well as herself, and is a coming-of-age tale with a whole new spin. The two world More...

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Jan 25, 2011

Sheenab rated it:

Book Review
Abarat: The First Journey by Clive Barker

Content
It took me a little while to get into this book, but once I did, I was immersed in it. I usually set goals for myself in reading a certain number of pages and when I started this novel, I was behind about 120pages. Then as soon as I got into it, I made up those pages and finished two days earlier than my original goal. Barker uses the perspective of many fascinating characters to bring together world, different More...

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Sep 14, 2011

Ryan rated it:

I'd always associated Clive Barker with horror movies, and I'm not a big horror movie fan. Fortunately, I am fine judging a book by its cover and Abarat's cover is lovely. So is the story and artwork inside. Its a bit of Alice in Wonderland & Wizard of Oz - if you got to know the thoughts and motivations of the Red Queen and the Wicked Witch.

Candy Quackenbush (great name) has lived her entire life in Chickentown, Minnesota. Just chickens and small town life with an abusive father an More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 02, 2011

Tanabrus rated it:

Questo primo libro della serie di Abarat mi è piaciuto meno del secondo, Giorni di magia, notti di guerra, che avevo letto ad aprile.
Può essere che questo sia dovuto al fatto che il secondo libro riprendeva la storia da dove si interrompeva alla fine di questo volume, ma ampliandola, facendoci conoscere meglio i personaggi, svelandoci alcuni misteri. Parecchi misteri.
Ecco, posso dire che la lettura di Abarat non ha ampliato di molto la mia comprensione della saga.

Certo, m More...

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