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Absolute Midnight (Abarat #3)

3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 · rating details · 1,650 ratings · 242 reviews

Abarat: Absolute Midnight continues the thrilling adventures of Candy Quackenbush in the Abarat, a vast archipelago where every island is a different hour of the day—from The Great Head that sits in the mysterious twilight waters of Eight in the Evening to the sunlit wonders of Three in the Afternoon, where dragons roam, to the dark terrors of Gorgossium, the island of Mid...more

Hardcover, 571 pages

Published September 27th 2011 by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (first published January 1st 2011)

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Mar 26, 2012 Bob rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I have been waiting for this book FOR. EVER. Will be putting this on the "to purchase" list since I own the first two, and they are gorgeous!
*********
I waffled on 3 and 4 stars for what I consider the final book in the Abarat series. This was a good solid conclusion as far as I am concerned, though the end of the book seems to indicate there are more to follow. Not sure I feel the need to pursue the further adventures of Candy and her band of friends and warriors. Beautifu...more

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Jul 05, 2009 mia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Just as good and thrilling as the others.you learn about courage, love, and slef-strengh

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Apr 17, 2012 Rebecca Lunny rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fun-adults-read-young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I have to admit that I came into this with extremely high expectations. Yes, the Abarat books are still some of my favorite YA fantasy novels, but I was seriously let down by Absolute Midnight.

I had several MAJOR problems with Book Three:

First and foremost, Princess Boa, whose soul was living inside Candy Quackenbush's head for 16 years, is suddenly evil incarnate. Where the fuck did that come from? Did I miss Abarat 2.5, wherein Clive Barker does most of the groundwork for Absolute Midnight? We...more

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May 05, 2012 Moonchyme rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Why, it's like listening to a child unwind the very innards of his imagination into the willing ear he's been waiting for.

I had an on-going internal battle while reading over weather I liked being pelted with so much CONTENT. The layers upon layers of unspeakably catastrophic events I found a tad over-dramatic at times....and then downright ridiculous!! It felt like being soaked in endless color of the strange, stranger, and grotesque in order to distract from his worst nightmare: stillness. I...more

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May 13, 2013 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars

The 3rd book is all about war and darkness, war and darkness, war and absolute midnight etc. Literally I don't know how many times this is repeated. I'm not saying this book wasn't interesting because it was, its just that I found a lot of "problems" with the plot line and characters. These aren't personal problems for example I liked character "x" and he was killed off and I was disappointed. The most prevalent one is the disjointedness between the 2nd and 3rd book. Specific back stories are cr...more The 3rd book is all about war and darkness, war and darkness, war and absolute midnight etc. Literally I don't know how many times this is repeated. I'm not saying this book wasn't interesting because it was, its just that I found a lot of "problems" with the plot line and characters. These aren't personal problems for example I liked character "x" and he was killed off and I was disappointed. The most prevalent one is the disjointedness between the 2nd and 3rd book. Specific back stories are created and in the 1st and 2nd books but in the 3rd book they are completely contradicted. Maybe these character changes were done on purpose by the author but in my opinion they were too drastic and irrational. Someone cannot just change like that and boom different person. Also another major problem I saw was the love triangle. Hey it's getting kind of boring oh I know lets spice things up boom! Random love triangle. Another problem I found was that major things happened in the 2nd book but then they were just disregarded and barely mentioned (except for one scene) in the third. Sorry its all really vague but I don't want to put any spoilers in here. Anyway, something must have happened to the author because 1) problems I mentioned happened 2) This discontinuity might be due to the time gap between the publication of the first two books 3) The art work became downgraded. I know this book is about darkness and what not but all of the paintings were kind of blurry and had a very different feel to them. And how can I forget the biggest irregularity? Light power vs. the dark. There are so many dark powerful forces at work while basically no one with any power is on the light side. So what was stopping all of these creatures from coming forth before the take over?

I didn't know if I should have rated this 3/5 instead due to the disjointed plot line plus irregularities. I still liked the book just its very unrealistic. One could say its ironic I am saying a fantasy book is unrealistic but what I mean is that the plot and characters have taken a sort of irrational turn. Usually there are clues and what not to set something up (which I thought the 2nd book was doing), but instead a flying pig was thrown randomly in the midst of things. I am willing to give this series the benefit of the doubt and trust the author has a purpose for these odd changes. (less)

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Mar 28, 2013 Shane Porteous rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. As the title suggests, Abarat book 3 deals with Absolute Midnight the completion of Grandmother Carrion’s plan to eclipse the sky and bring darkness to all of the islands, thus allowing her to conquer all of them.

Frustratingly the concerns and annoyances I had with the second book aren’t resolved in the slightest in book three. Keeping in mind that this war between the islands of night and day was put in motion from the first book, there is no pay off, for the simple fact there is no war.

A war...more As the title suggests, Abarat book 3 deals with Absolute Midnight the completion of Grandmother Carrion’s plan to eclipse the sky and bring darkness to all of the islands, thus allowing her to conquer all of them.

Frustratingly the concerns and annoyances I had with the second book aren’t resolved in the slightest in book three. Keeping in mind that this war between the islands of night and day was put in motion from the first book, there is no pay off, for the simple fact there is no war.

A war is between two sides fighting for control, one side simply running roughshod over the other isn’t a war it is just slaughter and that is all it is. Grandmother Carrion’s attack is described in great detail yet there is no real counter offense, no real battles. It was disappointing; the author spent so much time describing each of the islands in the first two books. I really wanted and expected a rundown of how each island defended itself from this attack. Yet I didn’t get that, most of the islands are conquered instantly. Very vaguely the author makes mention of a few pointless attempts by a handful of people to fight the darkness, that’s it. In book two I asked where the daylight heroes were and I find myself still asking it.

Here is where Clive Barker’s comfort zone really hurts this book. It is clear that he is much happier writing in darkness and quite frankly spends far too much time writing about the Carrion’s and the midnight island instead of developing the islands of day. Carrion and his Grandmother are no longer scary to the reader because they have been too overexposed to the darkness. This leads into another problem with the series in general and that is just how many red herrings there are. When this story began in book one Christopher Carrion is introduced as the great evil, but from there the greatest evil is actually his Grandmother, but actually the creatures who live in the sea are the most evil....actually no from there it becomes the creatures who live behind the stars. These plot twists weren't interesting they were boring and in fact started to become a little silly. I mean what’s next the most evil thing is actually these creatures who live behind the creatures who live behind the stars?

Also with this book I started to notice just how poorly developed most of the characters were. Yes very brief explanations are given as to why Candy has more powers, but they don’t seem developed but rather just seem to pop up when the plot beckons for it. I was also getting very tired of how driven Abarat is by simply introducing new characters as opposed to better developing the old ones. The new characters introduced in each book seem far less inspired or interesting. A good example is the character of Gazza, who comes out of nowhere and suddenly has a major part to play. Yet he doesn't carry any weight and was very boring.

The book ends with Gazza, Malingo and Candy in YET ANOTHER WORLD which frankly doesn't give me much hope for book 4 which I fear will be little more than an exploration of yet another world, which feels repetitive and sadly stale.

With all of this said, I must admit that I am still fascinated by this world. It has been a very long time since I was excited to read a young adult fantasy. I read the first three Abarat books in a single week, which shows just how interested I was in Abarat. My only hope is that I won’t have to wait until 2019 to read the 4th book.

(less)

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Dec 13, 2012 rastronomicals rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 12/12/12

Spoilers, it's the way I roll.

A disappointment.

After the meticulously crafted first two books in the series, the best word I can think of to describe Absolute Midnight is "sloppy."

Is it that had been seven years, and Barker forgot what he had and had not told the readers? Because he quickly introduces the book of the Abarataraba, and Candy somehow knows about it, but we the readers do not.

Or is that he forgot who his characters were? Princess Boa had been for two books sweetness and li...more

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May 28, 2012 Miramira rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, why-author-why

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

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Mar 12, 2012 Emma rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. After the first two books, I found this one slightly disappointing. The art so beautifully strewn through out the first two now appears disorganized. Pictures would appear two pages before the scene/item/character the described appeared, and sometimes the pictures would have no relevance what so ever to what was going on.
And then, Candy fell in love! Now, don't get me wrong. I believe that love at first sight can happen, especially in books. But Candy isn't a Bella Swan, and even love at first...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Nigel rated it 5 of 5 stars

You may think it's a long wait between George RR Martin books, but let me tell you, poor ol' Clive Barker took seven years to make this one, the third in the Abarat series. Now that's a long time between books and it's hardly surprising if the plot details of the previous volumes are lost to memory, but Barker's world is as immersive as it is distinctive and after only a few pages we're back again in the world if the twenty-five hours, the great archipeligo of islands, one for each hour of the d...more You may think it's a long wait between George RR Martin books, but let me tell you, poor ol' Clive Barker took seven years to make this one, the third in the Abarat series. Now that's a long time between books and it's hardly surprising if the plot details of the previous volumes are lost to memory, but Barker's world is as immersive as it is distinctive and after only a few pages we're back again in the world if the twenty-five hours, the great archipeligo of islands, one for each hour of the day, and an extra one for timelessness. Candy Quackenbush, refugee from Chickentown, has defeated the dreadful Mater Motley and her grandson Christopher Carrion, flooding our world in the process. But Mater Motley is only getting started, Christopher isn't as dead as he seems and Candy has a Princess stuck in her head and she wants out.

While Candy looks for the magic necessary to free Princess Boa, a deeply unpleasant person, it turns out, Mater Motley sets her plans in motion. Dark days for poor old Abarat. Literally, as a dreadful scheme to block out the sky entirely unfolds, unleashing a host of hidden horrors on the world, and nasty horribles from behind the stars are involved, just to keep everything interesting.

Barker ups the apocalyptic scale here. The last book had the Reliquax, monstrosities hiding at the bottom of the sea, now we have god-like cosmic evils lending our villainess a massive death-ship with which to lay waste to Abarat. How can Candy and her motley crew of friends stand up to such horrible horrors?

Pure brilliant. I've read Barker since I was a horror fanboy in my teens, and this series is without a doubt his masterwork. He seems to thrive under the limitations set by working for a YA audience in terms of gore and grue, his formidable imagination producing a host of incredible sights and sounds and creatures and people and places. He doesn't stint on the darkness, though. Mater Motley's Empire of Night is an atrocious place full of evil and violence, and through it all, of course, Barker's incredible series of painted illustrations, bright and colourful and grotesque, making this book a beautiful, gorgeous object in its own right. It's probably obligatory to end this review with a line about hoping we don't have to wait as long for the next one, but heck, however long it takes, it'll be worth it. (less)

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Feb 01, 2012 Donovan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This is the third book of the Abarat series.

Plot ***Spoilers***
Candy Quakenbush begins her adventures by visiting Lagunna Munn and asking the witch to remove Princess Boa's soul from her body. Boa is immediately revealed to be an evil character, and tries to kill Candy herself. Later in the novel, Boa is seen looking for Christopher Carrion on Gorgossium and capturing Finnegan Hob, her old fiancé, during a duel with a dragon. Candy spends the next third of the novel finding out who she is withou...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Alexa Coccaro rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was so disappointed with this book. I swallowed it whole in the span of two or three days, as I have been looking forward to it for more than six years. I reread the first two Abarat books and was reminded of why they are worthy of multiple readings. The story is a captivating, Alice in Wonderland inspired adventure ripe with fantastic, meaningful characters. The first two were such a pleasure to read, and Clive Barker really is an amazing author, so I had high hopes for the third. Alas, it is

...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Rosie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I have yet to finish the book. At the moment I am about 1/4 of the way through and already there are several problems. The first and foremost being: I have the wrong copy. This e-version have no illustrations! Normally, I'm not one to complain about a lack of pictures but this book (haveing read the hardcovers of the first two) suffers greatly from a lack of illustrations! The backgrounds are not written in nearly the amount of detail or with the care that Barker took for the first t...more

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Dec 26, 2011 Anna The Crow rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have been waiting for this book from the moment I've finished the second one, five years ago... and it was as good as I imagined it will be!
That said, Absolute Midnight is not a perfect book. Barker makes a lot of unexpected turns, especially concerning the characters - and while some of them made me squeal with pleasant surprise, some of them just don't work that well. As for the plot, it feels...fragmented. Some of the scenes just don't fit into the rest of it, their threads left hanging and...more I have been waiting for this book from the moment I've finished the second one, five years ago... and it was as good as I imagined it will be!
That said, Absolute Midnight is not a perfect book. Barker makes a lot of unexpected turns, especially concerning the characters - and while some of them made me squeal with pleasant surprise, some of them just don't work that well. As for the plot, it feels...fragmented. Some of the scenes just don't fit into the rest of it, their threads left hanging and the story just moving somewhere else.
I can guess where is it coming from - it's a middle of a series, the plot is getting complicated and it's neigh-impossible to resolve things as neatly as the other two books did. Still... a bit less ominuous description of the horrors and more moments to keep in touch with all the characters would do the book good.
Speaking of horrors, there are lots of them. Maybe a bit too much of them at once. Mater Motley, the Requiax, the Sacbrood, (view spoiler)...the matters get more confusing then terrifying.
Not to sound so critical, the book is a page-turner and despite it's problems, it is a pleasant read I would recomend to anyone. I has something you just don't get from books these days - a stream of wild imagination, fresh, not bound by lore, or history, or some unwritten rules of the genre. It stands out. I can safely say it's the best book I've read this year, and I'm definitely waiting for more.

Personal comment on the book:(view spoiler)(less)

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Nov 17, 2011 Kim Ryser rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011booksread

I can't tell you how painful it is to give this book only 3 stars. I love the previous books in the series, but after waiting SEVEN YEARS for this one, I'm disappointed. The plot is ok, the developments fine, but it doesn't really feel like that much happened, especially considering the relative length of this book. Plus, there's one story in the first half regarding one villain, that then TOTALLY disappears for the rest of the book while a second plot and villain take over. I'll admit that I'm...more

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Sep 27, 2011 J Edward Tremlett rated it 4 of 5 stars

When we last saw Candy Quackenbush -- late of ultra-boring Chickentown, USA -- she was back in the magical waters of the Abarat, after a harrowing adventure back in the reality she'd known her entire life. The freakish Christopher Carrion was apparently dead, having been seen off in a fight with his even more disturbing grandmother, Mater Motley. And she learned that the strange voice in her head was none other than Princess Boa, herself -- placed within her skull by the Fantomaya for their own...more
When we last saw Candy Quackenbush -- late of ultra-boring Chickentown, USA -- she was back in the magical waters of the Abarat, after a harrowing adventure back in the reality she'd known her entire life. The freakish Christopher Carrion was apparently dead, having been seen off in a fight with his even more disturbing grandmother, Mater Motley. And she learned that the strange voice in her head was none other than Princess Boa, herself -- placed within her skull by the Fantomaya for their own purposes.

There's not much time to rest, though. A significant portion of the Council is convinced the chaos that has stricken the islands is all her fault, somehow, while the real dangers are going unspoken out of fear. The need to get the Princess out of her needs tending. Things must change if she's to go forward, though the way seems unclear at the best of times.

That's not the only change in motion, though. Back in the Hereafter, Candy's alcoholic father has found religion, or rather it's found him, and not in a good way. Something equally strange and unsettling has happened to Rojo Pixler, down in the darkened depths of the sea. And on a darkened shore, something familiar washes up -- something not quite dead, and entirely unwilling to go into death.

And then there's the great dark change that Mater Motley is working towards. She plans to free the hideous sacbrood from their tomb, so they will take to the skies and shut out the stars themselves, plunging the world into the prophesied darkness of absolute midnight.In that darkness will she gather her enemies together and destroy them. In that darkness she will rule.

But even that darkness just a small detail in a much larger plan -- something truly hideous is afoot, and equally hideous emissaries for the coming change are on the way.

What can be done in the face of such well-laid madness, terror, and death? Can Candy and her disparate band of friends, questionable allies, and fellow refugees stop the coming horror? Or are they doomed to languish under the mad rule of Mater Motley, as the hag of Gorgossium brings about Absolute Midnight?

After waiting for far too long for another chapter in this amazing series, Absolute Midnight did not disappoint. It is replete with quintessential Barker: the harsh but loving collision of the fantastic with the mundane, the changes -- both glorious and horrible -- that collision brings, and the travails of ordinary people from both sides of that divide as they try to repair the damage, or revel in it.

I've often told people that if they took a classic like The Great and Secret Show or Weaveworld, removed the sex and gore, left in the fantastic writing of a creator at the top of his powers, and added tons of astounding art, you'd have Abarat. If you have not read any of these books, do yourself a favor and hunt down Abarat and Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War.

(From the review HERE)(less)

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Dec 30, 2011 Ariel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, recommended

I remember reading the first two books in this series back when I was about twelve or thirteen, and loving them. The cliffhanger at the end of Days of Magic killed me, though, and twelve-year-olds aren't very good at waiting around for books to come out. So I didn't reread them until Absolute Midnight was released (seven years later, might I add), but they were every bit as creative and astounding as I had remembered. It's pretty obvious they're YA novels, especially in comparison to Barker's ot...more

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May 27, 2012 Heather Olson rated it 4 of 5 stars

As with some other notable young adult series, Absolute Midnight makes it clear that this series is growing up and growing out, increasing not only in its imagination but its complexity as well. I have a few minor complaints, and sometimes Barker's prose is a bit hard to follow due to the way he splits up his sentences, but overall the book was a strong piece of literature. It read as much more than a simple fantasy novel, and his artwork for this third installment of the series was brilliant: d...more As with some other notable young adult series, Absolute Midnight makes it clear that this series is growing up and growing out, increasing not only in its imagination but its complexity as well. I have a few minor complaints, and sometimes Barker's prose is a bit hard to follow due to the way he splits up his sentences, but overall the book was a strong piece of literature. It read as much more than a simple fantasy novel, and his artwork for this third installment of the series was brilliant: dark and chaotic, like the nature of the events happening in the world of the Abarat.

Only a few complaints...

The first complaint I have is of the Abarataraba, the ancient, most powerful form of Abaratian magic. It's mentioned within the first few chapters of the book, and Candy admits to having had heard of it, and yet this is the first time we the readers are hearing of it. It pops up out of nowhere, and we don't understand what it really is until later, only getting bits and pieces of information about it. But then again, maybe that's meant to reflect the nature of the Abarataraba itself, in which case, kudos to Barker.

The next two complaints I have (view spoiler)

I suppose I could summarize my complaints by saying, as another reviewer put it, that I feel as though I missed a step between the second and third Abarat books, that there is an "Abarat 2.5" out there that explains all these things that seem to pop up out of nowhere and the increasing detachment that at least I felt from the character of Candy as she becomes exponentially more abstract. Yes, the third book begins right where the last one left off, but suddenly all these new elements are introduced and I'm left scratching my head and struggling to keep up.

Overall, however, I find that though it seemed a bit rushed at times, Absolute Midnight is a well-written, creepy and complex chapter in this epic story.(less)

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Feb 06, 2012 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: youth-mg-ya

I was tempted to go 2 stars on this one out of sheer disappointment. The book is okay, but after the first two and the six year hiatus, I was expecting mind-melting awesomeness.
But this was a really fragmented work, where two plots evaportate mid-way and another takes over (dad? Boa and Finn?).
Old characters come back, but briefly and for many of them without a real purpose within this work, more just as reminders. New characters are introduced, and I have to agree that the love interest one l...more

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Dec 14, 2011 Katie rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was very disappointed with this book. I loved the first two, and I was very excited to read this one, but it just did not hold my interest. If it were not for the fact that I am curious to see what happens to Candy and all her friends from the previous books, I would have stopped reading it about half-way through.

I have three major issues with this book. The first is that it was hard for me to relate to Candy. I think that in the first two books, she was still somewhat connected with the Herea...more I was very disappointed with this book. I loved the first two, and I was very excited to read this one, but it just did not hold my interest. If it were not for the fact that I am curious to see what happens to Candy and all her friends from the previous books, I would have stopped reading it about half-way through.

I have three major issues with this book. The first is that it was hard for me to relate to Candy. I think that in the first two books, she was still somewhat connected with the Hereafter and her family, which made it easier for the reader to connect with her. (view spoiler)

The second issue I have is that this book is really like two separate books. Things happen in the first half ((view spoiler)) that are not even touched upon in the second half of the book. As a reader, I want to know what is going on with all these pieces of the plot, even if they do not have to do with the main plot of Mater Motley trying to take over the islands. These plot points were apparently important enough to be included in the beginning of the story, but the fact that they are never mentioned again is really confusing.

The third issue: (view spoiler)

There are a few things that I enjoyed about this book. The first is the fact that we get to learn more about Carrion's past (view spoiler) I also appreciate how the artwork has gotten darker along with the story (I know the artwork usually comes first, so maybe that's why they work so well together.(less)

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Oct 18, 2011 Meghan rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Now that Candy is back in the Abarat, she must find a way to get Princess Boa out of her head and keep Mater Motley from destroying the one place she's truly felt at home.

Candy meets a mad magician named Laguna Munn, who has two sons. The first son she made out of all the goodness in her and the second she made out of all of the darkness. The boys help their mother to extract the soul of Princess Boa from Candy, but Boa turns out to be a wicked woman who fed on the life of the evil son so that...more

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Aug 21, 2011 April (CSI:Librarian) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

(Originally posted @ CSI:Librarian.)

As overjoyed I was to finally get a chance to read this, I was also incredibly apprehensive. On one hand, darkness taking over is something Barker does well. On the other, I wasn't sure really what could possibly happen to Candy or Abarat to warrant three more books. Happily, re-reading the first two books assuaged most of my fears and Absolute Midnight itself was more than worth the wait.

Wow. I am still reeling from the emotions, the darkness, the characters,...more

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Dec 19, 2011 Marigorri rated it 5 of 5 stars

I reread the first two books before I started on this one and I was glad that I did, for although something of what happened before is mentioned when necessary, I felt I was much more into the story by remembering it all in detail. I would advise anyone who wants to read this book to read part one and two first.

The book starts with a surprising new character. In fact this book comes with many surprising new facts and with new views on what happened in the earlier books. Some of these made me wo...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Jamie rated it 4 of 5 stars

In this, the third book of Abarat, the story picks up right where it left off at the end of the second book, so many years ago. And Barker does not disappoint with his captivating storyline and beautiful artwork to take the book to a whole other level of reading. We follow Candy as she goes through the Abarat, picking up friends, old and new, and losing others. Characters we thought were good become evil, and characters that we thought were pure unchangeable evil show signs of goodness. Mater Mo...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Sergei Franson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, awesome-world-building

" 'I know that many of you here have waited years for this Hour,' Mater Motley said, using the 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' "
~from Abarat: Absolute Midnight

Okay, no one can say Clive Barker can't write: he can without a doubt, but I still wonder if he can continue a story that he stopped writing, like, six years ago, and still have readers hooked...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Glucose Johnny rated it 5 of 5 stars

The first two "Abarat" books acted as a bridge between Mr. Barker's "Thief of Always", which is truly a children's book, and his other works intended for an adult audience. He succeeds in crafting a narrative that draws in readers of all ages without sacrificing style or substance. This third installment is without a doubt the best in the series so far. It is here that Mr. Barker reaches the "epic saga" status promised in the first two books.

The author's horror chops shine here, with stark and d...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Renee rated it 3 of 5 stars

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

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Sep 16, 2011 Merope rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Welcome to the world of the Abarat where time is designated to islands, the idea of magic is sacred, and the people are as colorful and diverse as humans are gray and plain. Barker's use of language and creativity in this book are amazing and enticing just like its predecessors.

I've long awaited this debut since I was a mere 15 and even though this book is dedicated to the genre of young adult, I firmly believe that the heroine will work her way into the heart of all readers. Candy Quakenbush re...more Welcome to the world of the Abarat where time is designated to islands, the idea of magic is sacred, and the people are as colorful and diverse as humans are gray and plain. Barker's use of language and creativity in this book are amazing and enticing just like its predecessors.

I've long awaited this debut since I was a mere 15 and even though this book is dedicated to the genre of young adult, I firmly believe that the heroine will work her way into the heart of all readers. Candy Quakenbush returns to the scene in Absolute Midnight with more obstacles in her path than ever. Yet with all of the obstacles, Candy still retains her residual strength and finds a way to overcome as much as possible through the help of friends and a little known thing called love. Mater Motley, the ultimate antagonist of Candy only furthers the extreme obstacles that Candy must find a way to resolve, such as saving those who have felt the wrath of Mater Motley herself and who thought they were beyond worth saving. The Hag also does not make anything easy on Candy, with her army of stichlings, the unleash of the sacbrood, her ties to that live behind the stars known as the Nephauree, and her pools of strength that are connected to all things devoid of love; emotions such as anger, fear, and hatred. With these forces Mater Motley wants to destroy the Abarat in its entirety and become Empress of all. Of course our beloved protagonist is not going to allow this to happen...

However it's not just external battles that are potentially harmful to Candy, but also those within. She must battle it out with Princess Boa, the pangs of loneliness and hurt as well as find a way to believe in herself. Candy also learns that even when all seems lost and that darkness will prevail the only thing left is hope, which is a most powerful against in and of itself.

With all books, there are some slight disappointments. Even for a fantasy some of the imagery can seem a bit far-fetched and a bit to big even for that of the Abarat. Also some of the storyline wavers here and there in that Barker contradicts himself and develops the characters in ways that really are not befitting of the characters, such as Candy Quakenbush's own father and the people he supposedly controls. Barker could have developed that part of book in a more comprehensive matter because it appeared too inadequate with the lack of details as to how her father was able to control the people and it would have been nice to know the exact description of the machine and if all had gone as planned, what her father initially wanted to do with her memories aside from going to war with the Abaratians. There are also plenty of plots that he did not finish, such as the of Finnegan Hobb, Princess Boa, Candy Quakenbush's mother and brothers, as well as what world exactly Candy fell into at the very end. However maybe this is Barker's way of keeping the reader on edge and eagerly await the fourth book.

Overall I was extremely happy with this book and the way Candy seems to hold on to all things right and fight the forces of malice. Barker's way of evolving love, death, friendships, antagonisms, the concept of right and wrong, shows through the complexity of the main characters and the emotions that make them jump from the page. If you have read the Abarat and Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War then you will appreciate this third installment and be left hungering for more.(less)

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Mar 06, 2013 Woodge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, fantasy

This is the third book of what I understand to be eventually a five-book series. I read the last one six years ago and was looking forward to getting back into the world of the Abarat. Candy Quackenbush, the young teen from Chickentown USA, has a powerful enemy in Mater Motley, the grandmother to Christopher Carrion. Mater Motley has apocalyptic plans for the twenty-five islands of the Abarat archipelago. I enjoyed the story and rich imagination behind it, but I did like the first two books bett...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Kerri rated it 4 of 5 stars

A great continuation of the series. Stuff starts coming together and happening, it is all very exciting. I lost steam while reading it because I got super sick in the middle, and then I learned that there are supposedly going to be at least two more books in the series that are not out yet; it kind of sapped my energy to know I would not be able to finish the series yet. Sigh. But! I still liked the book a lot, the world and characters are just so fun though this one is much darker than the othe...more

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YA Science Fictio...: Absolute Midnight by Clive Barker	11	45	Oct 06, 2011 08:03pm

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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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Quotes from Absolute Midnight

“We each die countless little deaths on our way to the last. We die out of shame as humiliation. We perish from despair. And, of course, we die for love.” — 14 people liked it

“Funny that. We live in islands of Hours and we never seem to have time enough for anything...” — 9 people liked it

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Absolute Midnight (Abarat #3)

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