The eagerly anticipated second volume of Clive Barker’s four part fantasy series, Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War, picks up right where the highly praised first novel leaves off. Candy Quakenbush is still on the run from the Lord of Midnight, Christopher Carrion, who plans to establish a Permanent Midnight throughout the 25 islanads that make up Abarat. Candy, aided and abetted by a host of colorful new characters, including Malingo (the affable geshrat she rescued in Book One), continues to dodge Carrion’s hired assassins, as forces gather on both sides of Day and Night to prepare for the inevitable war between the Hours.

Days of Magic, Nights of War is a true series book--those who have not traveled to Abarat before will have a difficult time picking up the threads of Barker’s complex mythical opus without having read the first installment. But teen readers who have been waiting breathlessly for Candy’s return are rewarded with a stunning sequel that reveals her true identity at the novel’s smashing climax. As in Abarat, Clive Barker's full-colored, organic illustrations of Abarat’s inhabitants stalk and swim across the pages like a Stephen King-meets-Dr. Seuss circus. There seems to be no end to Barker’s ever-expanding idiosyncratic vision, and for that, fantasy fans of all ages can be grateful. --Jennifer Hubert


From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10–In this sequel to Abarat(HarperCollins, 2002), Candy Quackenbush is fighting for her life in the mysterious world of the Abarat. The powers of darkness, Christopher Carrion and his murderous grandmother, Mater Motley, plan to overtake it and make it a world of perpetual midnight. As Candy and her friends rush through various adventures, Carrion's obsession with finding her grows, along with his rage and frustration. He hires the Criss-Cross Man, Otto Houlihan, to hunt Candy down. A group of adventurers, including John Mischief and his brothers, continues to look for dragon-hunting hero Finnegan Hob. Candy learns Abarat's history and begins to understand the role she may play in its future. This second title relies on exposition from the first; readers without that grounding may find themselves lost in Abarat's complications. The threads of the narrative take a long time to weave into a unified story, but it's worth the time it takes. With a large cast, a complicated plot, and such varied geography, Barker keeps readers busy juggling, but all that work pays off as the suspense and tension mount. Candy and her allies are engaging characters, if uncomplicated; Carrion and his grandmother are more mustache-twirling than interesting. The Abaratian world is the jewel of this novel, dense and vividly rendered in both striking description and Barker's vibrant artwork. Fans of the first book, as well as of other robust fantasy titles like Garth Nix's Sabriel (HarperCollins, 1996) and Diana Wynne Jones's Dark Lord of Derkholm (Greenwillow, 1998), will enjoy it.–Sarah Couri, New York Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Gr. 7-12. The whimsy is back in full force in the sequel to Abarat (2002), but this story is quirkier, much darker, and laced with real horror. Candy Quakenbush of Chickentown, Minnesota, and the geshrat Malingo are traveling the islands of Abarat, taking in all the fantastic sights. Unfortunately, the Lord of Midnight and his evil minions are in hot pursuit. He is obsessed with Candy, but he knows she must die to prevent her thwarting his gruesome plans. The mystery of her birth haunts her as she gradually finds herself remembering things she shouldn't know, including magic, and she begins to wonder if the struggle between the Night-world and the Day-world is at the heart of why she is in the strange land. Barker lovingly and graphically describes the wonders of a magical world, and his vivid scenes of near captures, deaths, and a climactic sea battle that ends in Chickentown will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Once again, more than 100 unusual, full-color paintings by Barker enhance the story. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description

Candy Quackenbush's adventures in the amazing world of the Abarat are getting more strange by the hour. Christopher Carrion, the Lord of Midnight, has sent his henchman to capture her. Why? she wonders. What would Carrion want with a girl from Minnesota? And why is Candy beginning to feel that the world of Abarat is familiar to her? Why can she speak words of magic she doesn't even remember learning?

There is a mystery here. And Carrion, along with his fiendish grandmother Mater Motley, suspects that whatever Candy is, she could spoil their plans to take control of the Abarat.

Now Candy's companions must race against time to save her from the clutches of Carrion, and she must solve the mystery of her past before the forces of Night and Day clash and Absolute Midnight descends upon the islands.

A final war is about to begin. And Candy is going to need to make some choices that will change her life forever ...


About the Author
Clive Barker is the best-selling author of eighteen books, including his first book for children, The Thief of Always. He is also an acclaimed artist, film producer, and director. For four years Mr, Barker has been working on a vast array of paintings to illuminate the text of The Books Of Abarat, over one hundred of which can be found within this first volume. Mr. Barker lives in California with his partner, the photographer David Armstrong, and their daughter, Nicole. They share their house with four dogs, five goldfish, a parrot, fifteen rats, innumerable wild geckoes, a cockatiel, and a parrot called Malingo.

ANNOTATION

Candy Quackenbush's adventures in the Abarat continue as she makes a startling realization as to who she is, and the forces of Night begin plans for war.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Candy Quackenbush's adventures in the amazing world of the Abarat are getting more strange by the hour. Christopher Carrion, the Lord of Midnight, has sent his henchman to capture her. Why? she wonders. What would Carrion want with a girl from Minnesota? And why is Candy beginning to feel that the world of Abarat is familiar to her? Why can she speak words of magic she doesn't even remember learning?

There is a mystery here. And Carrion, along with his fiendish grandmother Mater Motley, suspects that whatever Candy is, she could spoil their plans to take control of the Abarat.

Now Candy's companions must race against time to save her from the clutches of Carrion, and she must solve the mystery of her past before the forces of Night and Day clash and Absolute Midnight descends upon the islands.

A final war is about to begin. And Candy is going to need to make some choices that will change her life forever....

FROM THE CRITICS

Bill Sheehan - The Washington Post

His heroine is a likable, credible figure who grows and changes under the pressure of events. Her presence provides the chaotic narrative with a stable human center. But it is the Abarat itself -- a protean creation overflowing with grotesque, beautiful visions -- that most engages Barker's febrile imagination. The 25 islands allow him to create an array of colorful landscapes and populate them with a gallery of creatures that are utterly sui generis. The Abarat Quartet is shaping up to be, among other things, Barker's bestiary. No other writer -- and no other artist -- could have conceived or created it.

Publishers Weekly

Favorite characters from lands near and far return in a multitude of fall sequels. Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War arrives as the follow-up to Clive Barker's Abarat. PW said of the first book, "[Barker] cooks up a surreal stew of character portraits." Here, Candy, the human heroine of the first book, and Malingo the geshrat avoid Otto Houlihan (aka the "Criss-Cross Man") and Christopher Carrion, the Prince of Midnight, as they travel across the strange landscape. Candy discovers new abilities and insights into the battle between the Night-world and Day-world. Once again, Barker's paintings of the creatures help draw readers into this fantastical realm. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

VOYA - Ann Welton

Carried away by a mysterious sea, the Izabella, from her home of Chickentown, Minnesota, Candy Quackenbush begins an adventurous and momentous life in the islands of Abarat, a magical archipelago where each island stands at a different hour of the day. Pursued for reasons she does not understand by Christopher Carrion, Lord of Midnight, Candy and her friend, the geshrat Malingo, stay just ahead of Carrion's minions. The second book picks up right where Abarat (HarperCollins, 2002/VOYA October 2002) left off, with Candy and Malingo on the run from island to island, always followed closely by Carrion's agents. As events in Abarat begin to affect the Hereafter, as Abaratians call the real world, Candy comes ever closer to an answer to the puzzle of her power and importance in the magical archipelago. Similar in construct to the first book, the action is part Perils of Pauline, part Hieronymous Bosch, and part how-gross-can-you-be. As Candy moves from place to place, disgusting phantasmagorias are followed in succession by locales with a decidedly Mardi Gras air or sleeping palaces of Circe-like reverie and enchantment. Characterization is not Barker's strong suit in these books, but he more than makes up for it in the swift and intricately intertwined plot. With the addition of many surreal color illustrations, this sequel again establishes Barker as the Salvador Dali of the fantasy set. Readers of the first book will be delighted with the second, as will those who like their fantasy whimsically original. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9;Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2004, Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins, 513p., Ages 11 to 18.

KLIATT - Paula Rohrlick

Second in a projected series of four books, this dark fantasy continues the adventures of teenager Candy Quakenbush of Chickentown, MN in a magical island realm filled with a multitude of bizarre creatures. In the first book, Abarat (an ALA Best Book for YAs; reviewed in KLIATT in November 2002), Candy received a key that the evil Lord of Midnight, Christopher Carrion, wanted, and in this sequel he sends his minions to try to capture her. Carrion wants to do away with Candy because she stands in the way of his goal to bring "Absolute Midnight" to the world. A secret in Candy's past revealed by her mother provides a clue to her special relationship to the world of the Abarat, as she tries to understand her role in the realm and survive the many dangers she encounters. Over 125 bright, bold full-color paintings by Barker accompany the text, depicting the many fantastic and often spine-chilling characters and settings. Fans of the first book will welcome this with open arms. (Sequel to Abarat). KLIATT Codes: SA*—Exceptional book, recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 204, HarperCollins, Joanna Cotler Books, 512p. illus., Ages 15 to adult.

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