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The Thief of Always

4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 · rating details · 13,671 ratings · 704 reviews

Master storyteller and bestselling novelist Clive Barker creates an enchanting tale for both children and adults to cherish and retell. The Thief of Always tells the haunting story of Harvey, a bright 10-year-old who is suffering from the winter doldrums, and of a creature who takes him to a place where every day is filled with fun, and Christmas comes every night. Illustr...more

Hardcover, 225 pages

Published November 1st 1992 by HarperCollins Publishers (first published 1992)

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Aug 31, 2012 Ghirardelli rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone ever

Recommended to Ghirardelli by: My 6th grade self

Shelves: favorites, kiddy-ture, fantasy, you-have-my-respect, look-something-original, gives-me-spooks, horror, my-ultimate-perfection, illustrated-beauties, precious-things, badass-kids-taking-names, daww

“The great gray beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive.”

The most fabulous opening line I’ve ever read. In all seriousness. It shows that there will be beautiful writing in future pages. It is inevitable.

I’ve praised this book for such a long time. Long enough that I forgot huge chunks of it. They started to jump at me and wonder why the hell I haven’t reread them. It made me think "Why DID I love this book?" when I was 12, in 6th grade, and hated hated hated reading? Maybe my subconscious w...more

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Carlmarajay The best fantasy-horror novel I've read for years.

Back in highschool when I bought this book out of curiosity and boredom..it catches my attention of...more
Oct 22, 2012 05:30pm

Carlmarajay Lets make this a movie guys!!..like a spiderwrick kind of movie! I'll bet its gonna be a hit! Lets push Clive Barker to make this novel a film! Who's...more
Oct 22, 2012 05:40pm

Oct 06, 2008 Qt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, horror-supernatural

A good, interesting, spooky book--just right for October, although it certainly could be read at any time of the year. There are plenty of scary and creepy scenes, but also some thought-provoking bits; it made me feel more appreciative of what I have when I'd finished it.

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Feb 09, 2008 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, top-shelf

So, when I reviewed Coraline, I mentioned that, in terms of "Young-person-casts-off-illusions-and-outwits-a-vastly-more-powerful-otherworldly-entity-and-comes-to-appreciate-the-realities-of-life" stories, I thought this book was vastly superior. So I jumped onto Bookmooch to see if anyone had a copy. Lo and behold, a nice person in Israel was giving his copy away, so I snagged it. And I stand by my judgment.

Plus, this book has one of the best opening lines I have ever read:

"The great, gray beas...more So, when I reviewed Coraline, I mentioned that, in terms of "Young-person-casts-off-illusions-and-outwits-a-vastly-more-powerful-otherworldly-entity-and-comes-to-appreciate-the-realities-of-life" stories, I thought this book was vastly superior. So I jumped onto Bookmooch to see if anyone had a copy. Lo and behold, a nice person in Israel was giving his copy away, so I snagged it. And I stand by my judgment.

Plus, this book has one of the best opening lines I have ever read:

"The great, gray beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive."

Can't beat that.

Harvey Swick is ten years old, and like so many ten year-old boys, he is bored with his life. The interminable grayness of February, the drudgery of life - going to school, coming home, going to school again - and believes that, if his life became the tiniest bit more boring, he would certainly perish.

Then he met a strange, smiling man named Rictus, who told Harvey of a wonderful place where boredom could not enter, and there was nothing to be had but fun and adventure. There is no better place for children, Rictus said, than Mister Hood's Holiday House.

Thinking about it, given that Harvey was willing to follow a strange man to a mysterious house without much consideration for his safety, suggests either that Harvey is not very bright, or Rictus is extremely persuasive. Given the rest of the book, I'd bet on the latter.

The Holiday House is truly a place of miracles. The food is better than you've ever eaten and there are enough toys and games and costumes and masks to keep any child happy for the rest of their lives. And in every day there are four seasons - a perfect green spring in the morning, a blazing wonderful summer in the afternoon, an evening full of woodsmoke, pumpkins and fallen leaves, and every night is a white Christmas with a present for each boy and girl.

It is the best place Harvey has ever been, and it takes him about a month to realize that something is not... quite right. Why would the mysterious Mister Hood do this for children? And what happened to the children who had come before? And what's the deal with that cold, deep pond full of big, creepy fish?

It's a very quick read, but a very good book.(less)

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Oct 12, 2011 Robert Bickers rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: taught

Read Synopsis
Wow! This is a book that stays with you, if you let it. Harvey Swick, as normal a kid as you'll find, is trapped in paradise. The holiday House is a place where dreams come true - so long as you're willing to play by it's rules. Try to break free, and swim with the fishes.

Clive Barker's prose is brilliant; I can think of no other word that clearly conveys my thoughts on The Thief of Always. From the first line-one of the best ever written, rivaled only by the opening to Gibson's Neu...more

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May 02, 2013 MG Mason rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If somebody would have asked me which contemporary horror writer I would choose to write a dark fantasy largely aimed at children, I must admit that Clive Barker would not be top of the list. Most of his work is sexual often with themes of homosexuality and usually BDSM. Not that I have a problem with this but for those reasons Clive Barker would never jump out at me as being the ideal writer for a children’s dark fantasy. Therefore I was surprised when I opened The Thief of Always and not only...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Palice Pottle rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Palice Pottle by: Ghirardelli

Shelves: awesomeness, beautiful, characters-like-no-other, very-interesting, you-must-read, i-was-entertained

This was beautiful! I loved it.

"You're real," he said, as he stood panting on the porch. "You are, aren't you?"
He started to laugh at the foolishness of talking to a House, but the smile went from his face as a voice, so soft he was barely certain he heard it, said: "What do you think, child?"

I wish I had read this when I was younger. I know my younger self would've absolutely gone nuts over it. That's all right though, I got to read it now, and anytime I come across a ten year old and they as...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Auracat rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Goodness gracious, this book was amazing. Thanks to that special someone for letting me read it (aka Ghirardelli).

Seriously, Mr. Clive Barker knows where it's at in terms of thrilling scares. He is the force behind "Hellraiser" and "Candyman", which, if you haven't seen those films, are pretty damn good.

This is a fast read too. Once you start, you won't want to stop. And the ending. That ending. It's such a great payoff. It really leaves you with that warm feeling on the inside.

Not to mention, t...more

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Feb 28, 2010 Jeanette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-fiction, fantasy, creepy-spooky-scary, young-adult-books, four-star-fiction

Fun story! Ten-year-old Harvey Swick is bored with life until he is lured by a stranger to the Holiday House. There, you can have all of your desires fulfilled. Every season happens every day, and you get to celebrate Halloween and Christmas every day. You get to eat all of your most favorite foods and just have fun all day. But there's a trade-off, and you don't find out about it until it's too late. Evil lurks in the Holiday House in the form of an unseen "vampire" thief. He's a different sort...more

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Mar 04, 2010 Fox rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Sean, Krissy

Recommended to Fox by: Townes v. Z.

Shelves: 2009, fantasy, fiction, horror, children-s-book, own

I received this book in the mail in early March and began reading it the day I got it. After having read the first few chapters I put it down and did not pick it up again until today -- this was not for lack of enjoyment or want of reading it, life simply got into the way.

The only other Clive Barker book I had read prior to this was Abarat which I thoroughly enjoyed; due to this fact I was expecting The Thief of Always to be akin to that -- it was not. I was pleasantly surprised.

This book weave...more

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Apr 18, 2007 Toby rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think this one is a wonderful, fast packing read. I read that book in less than 3 hours! I was into that book. I really enjoy it very much. I have read another book by Clive Barker. He wrote fantasy books. Different. I like his novels so far. I am supposed to read his sequel to Abarat called Abarat: Days Of Magic, Nights Of War. I will read that book eventually soon. :-) I think I will read more of his books in the near future.

Back to to The Thief of Always. I learned that it is a fable story...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Citoongirl rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: natalie, own

Imagine my delight when I found this in the attic, remembered it was actually a kids' book, did a little research and realised it would be suitable for reading to my nearly 9yo daughter ... just the look on my husband's face when I told him our little darling's next bedtime story was by Clive Barker was a thing of joy. This copy was bought on publication back when I was a Barker completist - I'd also forgotten it was the book that I'd got signed by him at a signing in Liverpool. Ah.

Anyway, this...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Joh rated it 5 of 5 stars

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

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Apr 25, 2012 Dylan Long added it

I chose to read the book “The Thief of Always” by Clive Barker. The fictional novel was written in 1992, both children and adults all around the world are still reading it The interesting thing of how the book is written is that a child who is only around eight or nine years old could easily read through the novel and enjoy every minute of it, but the child might not see the deep themes and ideas that are hidden beneath the words. Yes, it’s a children’s book, yet adults can’t seem to put it down...more I chose to read the book “The Thief of Always” by Clive Barker. The fictional novel was written in 1992, both children and adults all around the world are still reading it The interesting thing of how the book is written is that a child who is only around eight or nine years old could easily read through the novel and enjoy every minute of it, but the child might not see the deep themes and ideas that are hidden beneath the words. Yes, it’s a children’s book, yet adults can’t seem to put it down. The mysterious nature and concepts of the story make the reader think on a very deep level, and that is exactly what I love about this book.

The story is about a ten year old boy named Harvey Swick. He is no ordinary ten year old; his mind and thought process is that of an adult. Harvey is fed up with life. Not depressed, rather bored and dulled by everything. That’s until a mysterious man named Rictus visits his house, and invites him to a place where everything is perfect; the Holiday House. Harvey skeptically accepts the offer, arrives at the Holiday House to find an old woman named Mrs. Griffin, and two children, Wendell and Lulu. Harvey calls his parents upon arriving, only to hear that his parents themselves were the ones who wanted Harvey to go there. He soon settles into the Holiday House, where everything seems a bit too perfect.

Anything and everything that Harvey could have ever dreamed of is all in this house. However, Harvey soon becomes suspicious of how things work at the house. Every day, all four seasons come and go. Upon further investigation, Harvey and Wendell learn that the house owner, Mr. Hood, traps children in a mystical lake nearby forever! They run away from the house back to the real world, where it turns out that for every day they spent at the Holiday House, a full year had passed by in reality. They return to the house with hopes to destroy Mr. Hood. They do so, draining him of his power and pushing him into the very lake which he imprisoned countless amounts of children. A clash of the four seasons causes for a horrid storm, which destroys the house forever. The story ends with the children returning to their normal lives.

My favorite character in this story is definitely Harvey. I wish that I had the ability to look at things in as deep of a way that he could at such a young age. Speaking of his mind, he has an incredibly strong mind. The Dream House he was staying at was the most powerful mental illusion that existed, yet he somehow overcame the illusion of it all. I’m honestly jealous of how smart Harvey is.

I love this book, because it is written with lots of intricate thought and mystery, yet on the surface is a simple novel. I enjoy being able to dig deeper into the story, because on the surface, it seems as if it were written for middle school students. The plot is very interesting, as I have never read a book that touches upon mental illusions on this big of a scale. The idea is very unique and riveting, and for that, I give it a two thumbs up.

I absolutely recommend this book to everybody. If you aren’t a fan of huge novels, this book isn’t that long at all, as it closes off at just over 200 pages. For those who don’t or can’t think on a very deep level, the book will still be very interesting. For those with a very advanced thought process, it will be a blast uncovering all of the hidden meanings and metaphors of the story, as there are plenty of them. And for that, I believe that anybody, regardless of age or intelligence, would enjoy this book.(less)

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Feb 25, 2012 Donovan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, thriller

Just so you know, this is a children's book. It may be hard to believe it (coming from Barker way before he wrote the Abarat series) but it's true and is classic Barker fantasy. He obviously holds back on some of the themes for which he is famous and I chuckled to myself when I re-read it as I pondered how the tale may come out if he chose to write an R18+ version of it.
Never the less, it is a good read and an easy one. I bought a copy for my 7 year old daughter as a birthday present - she took...more Just so you know, this is a children's book. It may be hard to believe it (coming from Barker way before he wrote the Abarat series) but it's true and is classic Barker fantasy. He obviously holds back on some of the themes for which he is famous and I chuckled to myself when I re-read it as I pondered how the tale may come out if he chose to write an R18+ version of it.
Never the less, it is a good read and an easy one. I bought a copy for my 7 year old daughter as a birthday present - she took it to school where the teacher chose to read it to the class. It's that good a book for the young reader. While it is great for kids for obvious reasons; as adults, I think it appeals to our inner child and transports us back to when we were young.

Plot ***Spoilers***
The Thief of Always starts out by introducing Harvey Swick - a 10-year-old kid who finds himself bored with school, uninteresting teachers, homework, and his day-to-day life. One day, a man named Rictus flies up to Harvey's window and tells him about a kid’s paradise, the Holiday House. At the Holiday House, there are all the sweets a person could ask for, four seasons in a day, Christmas every day, Halloween every night, and everything else you could dream of.
Harvey reluctantly goes to the house after a week of thinking, and enters the house through a wall of mist. Harvey enjoys the wonders of Holiday House, and stays there for ten days, becoming friends with Wendell and Lulu, two other kids at the house. However, he eventually starts to suspect that the house is not as perfect as it seems. Upon investigation, Harvey discovers that the house's creator, Mr. Hood, has taken all the children who came before him and imprisoned them in a dark, gloomy lake. After that, Harvey and Wendell are trapped in the house, and escape by following a cat named Blue-Cat through the mist barrier that constantly surrounds the property of the house at night.

Harvey and Wendell soon discover that for every day they spend in Holiday House, a year has passed in the rest of the world. They decide that the only way to regain their lost time is to return to Holiday House. Upon doing so, Harvey learns that Hood runs the entire house on magic and illusions. Harvey defeats Hood by tricking him into using up all of his magic by wishing for as many things as he can think of as fast as he can, to drain Hood's power. When an exhausted Hood allows Harvey one more wish, Harvey asks for all the seasons at once, resulting in a furious lightning storm that burns down the house. Hood seems to perish in the fire, but he manages to rebuild a body from the debris of the house, and remarks at Harvey's courage, contrasting Harvey with Wendell, who has succumbed to the House's lures and wishes to stay forever in a trance. Hood then offers Harvey, whom he calls A Thief Of Always, to be a vampire with him and be immortal. Harvey refuses, and this final confrontation ends when Hood is knocked into the lake, which has turned into a vortex (or whirlpool) and sucks him in. The children all leave the remains of the house to go back to their respective times.(less)

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Jan 08, 2012 Tanja Seppä rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-fantasy

What a marvellous little story! Children's horror of the finest sort. Like "Coralaine" by Neil Gaiman, I wished I would have been able to read this when I was 10 years old. How different my mind could have been with some variation to pony-books and goody-two-shoes Nancy Drew "crime" novels. Oh well - better late than never I suppose.

The story is that of Harvey, bored to death with rainy February days. He's lured to a "holiday house" where every day offers the best of each season. Spring in the m...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Karin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: other-worlds, magic, dark, dark-forces, books-for-boys, fantasy, evil, horror, juvenile-fiction, illustrated-fiction, borrowed-from-the-library, saving-the-world, children, heroes, young-adult-fiction, tween

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It’s February and Harvey’s bored. Winter is sucking all of the life out of him and he wants more than anything for there to be sunshine and things to do. His wishes are granted when he meets a strange man/being called Rictus. Rictus promises to take him to Mr. Hood’s Holiday House, where Harvey can stay indefinitely (forever) and indulge all of his fancies. Harvey decides he’ll go along.

The house is, indeed, marvelous, and every day passes through every season with the best parts savored by the...more It’s February and Harvey’s bored. Winter is sucking all of the life out of him and he wants more than anything for there to be sunshine and things to do. His wishes are granted when he meets a strange man/being called Rictus. Rictus promises to take him to Mr. Hood’s Holiday House, where Harvey can stay indefinitely (forever) and indulge all of his fancies. Harvey decides he’ll go along.

The house is, indeed, marvelous, and every day passes through every season with the best parts savored by the children staying there. Mornings are spring, afternoons are summer, evenings are autumn (with Halloween and Thanksgiving), and nights are winter (with Christmas and presents). Almost any wish the children have is granted. There are two other children at the house when Harvey arrives – Lulu and Wendell. Harvey enjoys himself until one of the house denizens magically transforms him into a vampire, and he realizes that part of him really does want to hurt Wendell. After that nothing is quite the same. Wendell’s frightened, and Harvey suspects that the house is not a benevolent place. When Lulu falls into the lake and becomes one of the sad monstrous fish that dwells deep in the water, the two boys make their escape through the mists surrounding the house. In the real world, 30 years have passed.

After a few days, Harvey realizes that he can’t live this way, knowing he’s lost 30 years of time with his parents, and that the house still exists and will do the same thing to other children. Wendell comes to the same decision, and the two boys return to Mr. Hood’s house to try and free the other children and get back the time they’ve lost. They find their way back easily, and Wendell completely loses himself in the magic once again. On his own, Harvey must fight his way through the denizens of the house in order to get at Mr. Hood, whose magic holds it all together.

This is a haunting, but not too chilling, tale. The illustrations are far more alarming than the text is. You can sense that it’s going to be dark even through the happy times that Harvey spends at Mr. Hood’s House. Harvey’s only ten in this story, but he’s a very thoughtful and resourceful ten-year-old, and takes a lot of responsibility for his actions and for others. He’s far more mature than most his age. This fascinating fable can be read in an evening, and all of the dark scary bits are nicely rendered innocuous by the end, so you’ll probably sleep just fine.(less)

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Aug 09, 2011 Aya Wali rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: روايات

لن تسمعَ وقع أقدامه، ولا همساته، ولا ضحكاته !
لكن وجوده آسرٌ، و ستحصل على كل أمنياتكَ في منزلِ العُطلة [ منزل الأحلام ]
حيثُ تمّر فصول السنة كلها في يومٍ واحد ،
تتكاسل تحت شمس الصيف مخططـًا للهالوين القادم بَعد ساعات ،
و ستحصل على هدية كريسماس كل يومٍ ، كلَّ يوم !
يعرفُ السيد هود كل ما تحلم به . . و حياة المرح و السرور لا تنتهي في منزله ،
لكن حاذر فهو يكرهُ مِن الضيوف كثيرُ الأسئلة ،
لا تدقق كثيرًا فيما حولك . . حتى لو بدا لكَ مريبــًا غريبــًا ،
أو تكترث بشكل خَدمه الأربعة غرباء الأطوار و الشكل ،
يَغويك...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Nastassja rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay so I was thinking about this book, it has been quite a long time since I read it but I'm at work and I'm kinda bored and since I can't read "A Storm of Swords" AT work, I thought I would go back a little and write some thoughts I have on one of my favorite childhood books of all time. Alongside "Island of the Blue Dolphins" and "It" as the three books I likely re-read the most in my pre-teen years, The Thief of Always remains ingrained in my conciousness... somehow.

It's the story of a boy w...more

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Jul 23, 2011 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

I thoroughly enjoyed this fable from the great Clive Barker! If you've never read Barker, start here. While his earlier horror short stories (Books of Blood) and similar books can test just about any stomach and emotional tolerance level, this novel can be enjoyed by all ages from probably age 10 through adult. At some point in his career, Barker ventured into fantasy rather than straight horror, and it was a brilliant move. Barker's style of prose is still distinctive, and he still infuses horr...more

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Jul 11, 2011 Tiffany Cooke rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone who loves fantasy or horror

Shelves: 2010

The Thief of Always is written by Clive Barker. It is another one of my favorite books. February is a hard time for Harvey Swick. He hates the snow, cold, dark, and endless drag of school. Luckily Rictus saves Harvey from despair by whisking him off to Mr. Hood's Holiday House.
The Holiday House is incredible. Every morning at breakfast a warm breeze blows in welcoming spring. By afternoon, summer arrives, allowing basking in the treehouse reading comic books. Dinnertime brings Halloween and a...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Kevin rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was actually my introductory book to the workings of Mr. Clive Barker. I'm aware now that this is an odd starting point due to the fact that the characters are not as sadistic as they are often times in Barker's other works (Hellbound Heart and The Inhuman Condition) instead the main characters are, simply put, bored children; being a bored child I can relate to these characters and I too wish I could have escaped to a house where every single day would start as Christmas, every afternoon w...more

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Jan 19, 2011 K.r. Duntz rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Thief of Always by Clive Barker is an interesting book that keeps you guessing. I loved the author's imagination and sytle writing. For example when the author was describing the way the seasons change so qucikly and the way that the food is so delicous is just a great peice of writing. The entire book is filled with suspense. Near the end of the book its just a page turner, you will not be able to put it down without finding out what happens. In this book you get to know a young boy named H...more

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Jan 21, 2010 Nicholas Armstrong rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was an important part of my childhood. As near as I can remember it was the first book my father read to me (although some goosebumps could have taken that illustrious place). I still have quite fond memories of clue-cat and his question mark tail.

If there as any meaning in this book aside from what is intrinsically present then I don't remember it. I remember the conflict and the resolution perhaps because this was read to me front to back several times, but any meaning aside from th...more

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Dec 29, 2009 U.L. Harper rated it 5 of 5 stars

I started reading this actually thinking it was a children's story. I'm not saying it's not a children's story. I'm merely saying I don't know any kids it was marketed to. I work with kids and they nor any of their parents have heard of this story. Just sayin.

This is a clearly fast-paced and heroic little story where we find our main character being lured in by evil that is using his weaknesses against him. Our main character is simply a little boy who doesn't like school, especially on rainy d...more

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Oct 24, 2009 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, horror

I couldn't have been more pleasently surprised reading The Thief of Always. I sat down with it and finished it in one sitting.

If I had to sum it up in one word, I would call it enchanting. The book demands a suspension of disbelief as it helps you back into your ten-year-old shoes and takes you along on your childhood nightmare. It touches on a few of the bigger horrors most kids have, from feeling trapped to warped monsters. Whether you're a child, a teenager, or an adult, there are days where...more I couldn't have been more pleasently surprised reading The Thief of Always. I sat down with it and finished it in one sitting.

If I had to sum it up in one word, I would call it enchanting. The book demands a suspension of disbelief as it helps you back into your ten-year-old shoes and takes you along on your childhood nightmare. It touches on a few of the bigger horrors most kids have, from feeling trapped to warped monsters. Whether you're a child, a teenager, or an adult, there are days where you'd just like to escape to your perfect paradise. And that's exactly what the protagonist, Harvey Swift, gets to do. But what happens when that escape turns...sour?

On the whole, the book was fun. Light and easy to read, but not to be dismissed as a 'juvenile' work. On to the review: I liked the first half of the book better than the second. It's not like the storyline was unpredictable--I could pretty much guess where the story would end up--but it stayed fresh and entertaining. The first half, though, was more suspenseful. The first half is able to keep the mindset of a trapped ten-year-old while the second half forces the reader to grow up a bit. Not that this is a bad thing, but I personally enjoyed the mystery element of the first half more.

The protagonist, I felt, was believable as a ten-year-old. There was just the right balance of selfishness and thoughtfulness. There were times in the book where I felt like he was a little bit underdeveloped for a main character and I would have liked to get into his head a little bit more (maybe a first person narration would have been better?) but Barker did such a wonderful job of driving the story that it was excusable.

If you need a quick read, The Thief of Always is nice story crammed into a small package. (My copy of the book was about 270 pages with large print, and about a third of those pages taken up with illustrations.) If you're a young horror fan or you can appreciate good young adult horror, I'd recommend The Thief of Always.(less)

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Apr 13, 2009 Dreadlocksmile rated it 5 of 5 stars

First published back in 1992, 'The Thief Of Always' was Barker’s first novel aimed predominantly at the children's fiction market. The vocabulary of the novel is simple and the structure of the sentences is of a plainer style than usual Barker work, due to the main market being targeted at 8 yrs old and onwards. Barker also wanted to appeal to 40-year-olds in the same way that C.S. Lewis does to so many. For the 8-year-olds, 'The Thief of Always' is an adventure about a kid who goes to a house t...more

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Jun 02, 2011 Jacob Germain rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Thief of Always is a plot that largely reflects a very old western sort of myth warning of the dangers of hedonism and apathy. The myth (specifically, a sort of fable [It even says so on the cover! Yay Clive Barker!]) is meant to impress upon people that their time on earth is short and every day should be valued just as the last (Seriously, he even maxims that shit up at the end). It's a principle that's been expressed in a number of ways throughout time, none of which are proving easy to g...more The Thief of Always is a plot that largely reflects a very old western sort of myth warning of the dangers of hedonism and apathy. The myth (specifically, a sort of fable [It even says so on the cover! Yay Clive Barker!]) is meant to impress upon people that their time on earth is short and every day should be valued just as the last (Seriously, he even maxims that shit up at the end). It's a principle that's been expressed in a number of ways throughout time, none of which are proving easy to google and right now I'm not really capable of coming up with one in my head. Suffice to say: It's a mytheme, or a trope, or a meme, depending on whose term you like best.

Of course re-telling a story is far from a sin, and far from uncommon. It's almost always a contest of who can tell the story best, not of who can tell the story first. Arguments abound, claiming that invention is inherently the same as mastery, but this is a very western idea, expressed in the patent office and the prevailing concept that the book is always better than the movie or the stage plays were better than the movies or generally whatever came first was better. It's as though chickens all hatched not only from an egg, but a golden egg. That played fantastic music as it hatched. and that first chicken was the prime of chicken-hood, sublime and heavenly. Heck, the idea that we as people are mere images or copies of the All-Mighty is contributory/resultant of this ideal.

This (Thief of Always) as a work is fairly nakedly aimed at children (I just wanted to say that) with simple sentences, little dull character exposition, and a lot of straightforward action, this happens and this happens and so forth. It's a fair step down from Barker's other works which tend to be both dense and flowery, a good style for the illusory horror/fantasy descriptions he employs. This book features that in a stylistic sense, but remains pretty approachable for someone around 8 or 9 (I have no idea what age this ought to be for. I would have read it maybe around 7. if we go by the "protagonist is the same as the reader" rule, then this is aimed at ten year olds.) That said, the sketches featured inside are vivid, and while none particularly terrifying (probably just me) many are pretty unsettling. It's great, actually, Barker is a talented artist and having a bit of a picture-book touch in the novel helps express it as a cohesive vision, a sort of multi-media work that is usually frowned upon in literature aimed at audiences over ten.

Which lends itself to an interesting line of thought, as books with pictures aren't inherently childish or particularly that lacking in philological value. Particularly, illuminated texts are an ancient tradition of using art along with words as a method of valuing literature rather than making it younger. The reasons for the modern perception are numerous, the most obvious being the method and process of printing around the turn of the century, and the social backlash against perceived brainwashing of children in the mid 20th century. The process of mass printing did not allow for pictures of much quality to appear in (or on) books. The best you could hope for was a Lithograph of a daguerreotype or something similar. And flowery book bindings, as those are made separately from the books themselves. Illuminated texts had long since been out of style. So picture books (rather, books with pictures) were financially unfeasible. It didn't much matter, because no one made books for kids back than anyway. Kids were too busy working.

The later effect had a lot more to do with the tides of the comic industry. Early comics were little more than glorified editorial cartoons, or simply cartoons that didn't cover current events. Hogan's Alley and Dream of a Rarebit Fiend and Little Nemo and even Katzenjammer Kids were all aimed at a general audience, purposed for selling papers (and having papers one-up each other with regards to their printing press' ability [no, really]) rather than amusing children. This continues to this day, actually, with a number of features (Doonesbury and Dilbert spring specifically to mind) that are clearly not aimed at the young. The practice of creating comic books themselves didn't really pick up until the 30's and forties, and existed as titillating titles meant to sell to and arouse anyone who could buy them. Tijuana bibles are from this era, a most decidedly non-children form of comic book. Look up the comic "male call" or "Jane" or any other racy/highbrow (barnaby) comic that appeared in the forties. It wasn't until the cultural backlash of the post-war era (comics code, McCarthy and so on) that comics even really tamed down. And only a generation after that, comics underwent a cultural shift in the opposite direction, leading to the dark and gritty and relentlessly "mature" comics of the eighties. Still, picture books as we know them were created en masse in the fifties, and they largely stuck to the tradition for their entire existence. Picture books aimed at adults are now differentiated with the term "graphic novels," which is exactly the same thing as "picture book," just more complex. That Barker uses his skills as an artist to illustrate this and his other works ultimately becomes a mark of individual style, rather than any sort of reflection on popular fiction or fantasy.

I still digress. The book itself has its flaws, though many of these can be argued are results of the book being aimed at children. The main character, Harvey, has really nothing in the way of a personality, beyond being very willful. This makes him a good contrast to the other personalities in the book (much better examined/created) but a little dull and hard to particularly care about. The vague semblance of quasi-romance (just wanted to say that) between Harvey and Lulu was confusing and a felt a bit unnecessary or maybe just underdeveloped. It seemed like an angle that Barker changed his mind about exploring somewhere midway through writing the book, but felt was important enough to keep through to the end. Maybe he thought a ten year old (again, keeping with the protagonist) boy would be bored by a bit of romance. Or at least mystified and unable to relate. Who knows. The writing itself is quite good, however, especially compared to the first two chapters of Coraline that I google booksed to write this review with. Barker knows how to put together flow and express and idea in metaphor and unconventionality. Never does this book come across as insulting the reader's intelligence, something that I value in a book aimed at ten year old boys. Gaiman writes Coraline like a stilted pre-teen forced to write a short story, which is odd because he's usually a pretty decent writer. My best bet is that he fell apart when trying to write for a younger audience, unlike Barker here.

Specifically, I keep bringing up Coraline because the narrative structure of The Thief of Always is very similar. Coraline too discovers a world of enchantment and illusion that seems infinitely better than her own, then discovers it's terrible, then escapes, then returns to defeat the creator of that world. Actually, that kind of thing is a Neil Gaiman trope nowadays. I really enjoyed the movie, which I feel did a fantastic job of creating likeable characters that were legitimately mysterious and interesting, much the same reason I enjoyed The Thief of Always.

Anyway, The Thief of Always is a fairly clever book, with well-put-together characters and a scope that is just wide enough to imagine that there's probably more to it than what you've just read. It's also compact and breezy enough to read in the span of an afternoon, so no great shakes in the time-investment department. Overall, I'd say this book largely makes me want to go back and read Abarat again, or maybe try Imajica and see how that goes.

Hum, this review kinda got out of hand. Oh well. Gotta sharpen the whole reviewing skill if I ever want to do this semi-professionally. (less)

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Feb 22, 2010 Seth rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was very good for a children's novel. But honestly, the plot became very predictable and too forgiving. The conflicts were resolved almost effortlessly, and while the setting was very interesting, it felt cheapened by the lack of danger or tension.

I don't know. It started off with a very surprisingly idiosyncratic protagonist that somehow fell away by the end of chapter 1. He became the "everyman" protagonist with little personality even less emotion.

He does things almost out of princi...more

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Apr 21, 2009 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

Clive Barker is best known for his Hellraiser movies (there's a remake in works, I'm not sure why - do we really need better special effects or more gore?), but has also made a good living writing horror novels. The Thief of Always is tame compared to some of his other work, and has a certain charm to it. Harvey Swick is a rather lonely, bored 10-year-old boy who, in Pinocchio style, meets a character who invites him to a house where it's always play time for children. He hesitantly accepts the...more

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May 29, 2012 Sen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Sen by: Ghirardelli

TERRIFIC.

I've just finished this book five minutes ago; now typing out my thoughts of admiration!

If you are reading this review and not know what The Thief of Always is about, please read the synopsis here. I'm afraid I'd spoil when I summarize. Besides, I want to write down my thoughts, RIGHT. NOW.

But wait!!! Allow me to rewind to
/Why I picked up this book:
I was bored, like Harvey. I was tired of all the recent, ~~sucky~~ not-so-good YA's that I read. So, I needed to read something good; goo...more

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About Clive Barker

Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Joan Rubie (née Revill), a painter and school welfare officer, and Leonard Barker, a personnel director for an industrial relations firm. Educated at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School, he studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool University and his picture now hangs in the entrance hallway to the Philosophy Department. It...more Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Joan Rubie (née Revill), a painter and school welfare officer, and Leonard Barker, a personnel director for an industrial relations firm. Educated at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School, he studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool University and his picture now hangs in the entrance hallway to the Philosophy Department. It was in Liverpool in 1975 that he met his first partner, John Gregson, with whom he lived until 1986. Barker's second long-term relationship with photographer David Armstrong, ended in 2009.

In 2003, Clive Barker received The Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards. This award is presented "to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for any of those communities". While Barker is critical of organized religion, he has stated that he is a believer in both God and the afterlife, and that the Bible influences his work.

Fans have noticed of late that Barker's voice has become gravelly and coarse. He says in a December 2008 online interview that this is due to polyps in his throat which were so severe that a doctor told him he was taking in ten percent of the air he was supposed to have been getting. He has had two surgeries to remove them and believes his resultant voice is an improvement over how it was prior to the surgeries. He said he did not have cancer and has given up cigars. On August 27, 2010, Barker underwent surgery yet again to remove new polyp growths from his throat. In early February 2012 Barker fell into a coma after a dentist visit led to blood poisoning. Barker remained in a coma for eleven days but eventually came out of it. Fans were notified on his Twitter page about some of the experience and that Barker was recovering after the ordeal, but left with many strange visions.

Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, writing in the horror genre early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 – 6), and the Faustian novel The Damnation Game (1985). Later he moved towards modern-day fantasy and urban fantasy with horror elements in Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), the world-spanning Imajica (1991) and Sacrament (1996), bringing in the deeper, richer concepts of reality, the nature of the mind and dreams, and the power of words and memories.

Barker has a keen interest in movie production, although his films have received mixed receptions. He wrote the screenplays for Underworld (aka Transmutations – 1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), both directed by George Pavlou. Displeased by how his material was handled, he moved to directing with Hellraiser (1987), based on his novella The Hellbound Heart. His early movies, the shorts The Forbidden and Salome, are experimental art movies with surrealist elements, which have been re-released together to moderate critical acclaim. After his film Nightbreed (Cabal), which was widely considered to be a flop, Barker returned to write and direct Lord of Illusions. Barker was an executive producer of the film Gods and Monsters, which received major critical acclaim.

Barker is a prolific visual artist working in a variety of media, often illustrating his own books. His paintings have been seen first on the covers of his official fan club magazine, Dread, published by Fantaco in the early Nineties, as well on the covers of the collections of his plays, Incarnations (1995) and Forms of Heaven (1996), as well as on the second printing of the original UK publications of his Books of Blood series.

A longtime comics fan, Barker achieved his dream of publishing his own superhero books when Marvel Comics launched the Razorline imprint in 1993. Based on detailed premises, titles and lead characters he created specifically for this, the four interrelated titles — set outside the Marvel universe — were Ectokid, (less)

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“Wherever I go, I will speak of you with love.” — 40 people liked it

“The great grey beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive.” — 22 people liked it

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