Nights of War (Abarat Quartet 2) by Clive Barker (2011-09-09)

This book (along with book one, ABARAT) is surely going to go down in history as a "classic series" of books. It's the second in a 5 part series aimed at young adults and adults in general. Book one sets up the story and even though that book leaves alot unanswered this second book delivers on the promises of the first. The only problem is that we still have to wait until october 2007 (at the earliest!) for the 3rd volume!!. Clive Barker is currently writing an adults only novel at present called "The Scarlet Gospel" which he will hand in to his publishers toward the end of 2006 and then he will begin writing ABARAT 3: ABSOLUTE MIDNIGHT. It's worth a mention on how well produced these books are, rich glossy pages which contain some truly bizzare pieces of art work and even under the dust jacket the books have superb cover boards. Everything about these books has quality about them, they are heavy too which adds to thier sumptuous feeling. Buy the hardcovers for your collection and buy the mass market paperbacks (no illusrations) for reading copies. Im certain book 3 will go one better than the first 2 in the series and I for one, can't wait!

The combination of paintings and beautiful writing was just fantastic in this book. When I read the first Abarat, I liked it, but it seemed rather plotless to me. However, I couldn't stop thinking about it- and later, when I read it again, I really appreciated how many different layers there were to the book. I figured everything would be explained in good time. It was! The second Abarat is about twice as good as the first one, enriching on the characters and the entire world of abarat. I honestly felt like I could read this book a hundred times and not grasp everything. I've heard complaints that the main character (Candy) is boring, and without personality. I saw this in a different manner, as it allows her to reflect off of her surroundings. Her secret at the end of the book, is shocking! Perhaps what I love most about these books, is I am purchasing a work of art in several senses. At first I thought the illustrations would distract from the story, but it was the complete opposite. The best example I can give, is when a character is telling a story about how his house burned down- and when you turn the page, WOW! The spread is alive with red and orange flames. It's powerful. This is simply a lovely fantasy book (along with the first one) that will change your life. Honest.

After falling in love with the first book, I immedeately pre-ordered the second volume of this wonderful series. Now, after I read this volume, I can't wait to revisit Clive Barker's amazing Abarat!

Picking up right where the first book left off, our heroine Candy continues her journey in Abarat and in her journey of self-discovery. After finding out that she has been to Abarat before in Book One, this volume reveals to the reader (and to Candy) the answer she has been seeking and introduces us to the begining of the war between the forces of Night and Day. Along the way, we are introduced to several new characters, including the famed Dragon slayer Finnigan Hob and Letheo the beast-boy.

Once again, Barker's colorful and lively paintings take center stage. This is no truer than in several chapters that deal with Candy and Malingo as they explore the island of Babilonium (aka The Carnival Island). Taking a cue from such fantasies as Little Nemo in Slumberland and Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials triology, Barker creates paintings that showcase his description about the island, from a gallery of freaks to the crowds of people from just about every corner of the Abarat! This is my favorite part of book; it makes me want to explore the world Barker has created for myself and take in all the sites, sounds, and smells!

Once again, if you have not read the Abarat series, what are you waiting for? If you love fantasy series that are orginal and descriptive like The Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, or His Dark Materials, then read this series! Once you've been to Abarat, you'll want to go back for more!

Beyond the realm of Earth lies the archipelago of Abarat where every island is a different time of day. Candy Quackenbush, originally from the Midwestern town of Chickentown is brought for reasons she doesn't quite understand to this new world where magic works. What she does know is that Christopher Carrion, the Lord of Midnight, wants her brought to his home in Gorgossium, a place where monsters obey their lords' bidding and night never ends. He sends his minion the Criss-Cross man to bring her to him but he dies trying.

Carrion and his grandmother Mater Motley plan to bring war to Abarat so that darkness will reign forever over the land and the champions of light will be defeated. They fear that Candy and her allies will stop them but Carrion has another reason to capture Candy, one that he doesn't understand himself until he recognizes who she really is. While evading Carrion's minions, she has plenty of hair raising adventures on the various islands but always she is forced to move on or be caught in her enemy's web.

Clive Barker has made his mark as one of the best fantasy writers of young adult tales since C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. This book contains 125 illustrations that raise the bar of excellence even more. Candy Quackenbush's adventures can be compared to a magical version of The Perils of Pauline. Candy doesn't know her purpose for being in Arabat is to avert a war but she does her best to help people who are victimized and manages to find a little time to have some fun. DAYS OF MAGIC, NIGHTS OF WAR is a fantasy worth reading by high school students as well as adults.

Harriet Klausner

When I read Abarat (Abarat), I really liked it. However, I wasn't "wowed". I liked it enough to go on and read the second book in the series.

Like many other reviews state, this book picked up where the first left off. We follow Candy around the islands on her quest to find out who she is, and escape Christopher Carrion. There is a review on here that says you don't get to explore any new islands in this book, and that is not true at all. You get to go with Candy and her friends to many other islands, both in Day and Night. And once again, Clive Barker's paintings make a great visual aid to the story.

You will be missing out if you don't read the second installment to the Abarat series. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone under 14 as there are some very scary scenes and paintings, but anyone else, I would consider this series a must read!

WOW! Finally, Book Two of the amazing series by Clive Barker has come out! This is the book event of the year! This book, starting off where the first one ends, has everything you wanted to know or see in the Abarat. Not only do you see more of the stronger, more heroic side of Candy, you also see a lot more of Christopher Carrion,Mater Motley, and the rest of there dark comrads. Not to mention the return of Malingo,The Johns's, and the rest of the crew. You meet the 3 sisters of the fantomaya again, and meet a whole bunch of new characters. This book was gripping from the secone you start reading it. You also,something I was personally hoping for, get to see a lot more of the islands of the Abarat. With Plot twists and things you'd never expect, Abarat, days of magic, nights of war, is an amazing book!

The paperback version does not include illustrations. Which are part of the reason why I really like these books, is the paintings and drawings by the author. If you, too, want to experience the books in full strength, get the hardcover, they're pretty hard to find, but are totally worth it. In fact I think they only publish them in hardcover somewhere in Europe...anyway.

The character of Candy was interesting in the first book, however she grows stale in this second book of Abarat. I really liked the first book, with it's descriptions of each island representing a different hour. There are hardly any new islands described. Yeah, there is a scene on the pyramid island and one other on the island that the princess was killed on, by the dragon. But, mostly it's just Candy running from diffent characters while narrowly avoiding capture. Many of these scenes are not very well done. The one in which Candy escapes Christopher Carrion is especially dreadful, with the end being telegraphed from a mile away. The book ends with very little solved and hardly anything happening, besides the deaths of a few minor characters. I wanted to know more about the various creatures and peoples living on the islands. I wanted to know more about the monsters of the deep. I wanted more than Clive Barker delivered. If another in the series comes out I'll definately read the reviews and maybe a chaper or two in the book store before I deside to read it. I am not going to bet on it though. jay.

This is honestly a wonderful story. It works upon logic, but a twisted logic that is imbued with elements of the wonderful, terrifying, and humorous. It will literally take your breath away. However, I must warn those who have not yet read the first Abarat not to tread upon these paths until they have done so. :)

This new portion of the Abarat saga begins once more with Candy - the novel's quirky heroine. Events quickly spiral out of control, however, and Candy finds herself pursued relentlessly by Otto Houlihan the Criss- Cross Man, one of the Midnight Prince's most potent henchmen. She uses quick wit and a bit of luck to escape him, and each escape only fuels his rage and resentment.

Enter Christopher Carrion - the Lord of Midnight. Carrion, a complex villian to be sure, has been nurturing plans of destroying the Abarat and remaking it entirely according to his rules. Although this may seem cliche, (trust me) Barker's twists succeed in throwing this notion out of the window. Anyway, both his and Candy's futures are entwined somehow; yet even he cannot begin to fathom the extent. He constantly feels an undeniable urge, to meet her, to understand her - a pull not even he completely comprehends. Candy, on the other hand, would love nothing more than to free herself from his obsession and riddle out her mysteries for herself.

All in all, you will be at the edge of your seat until the final gripping climax, when a revelation will be unleashed among the people that threatens to overturn the tide of war raging between the Night and Day Hours. Even at the end, you are not totally sure of what you have witnessed, and ponder that perhaps the event did not turn out how you perceived!

Whew! Now that the plot has been touched upon, I can highlight a few of my favorite, less visible, facets of the novel. There are countless undercurrents that will require a second glance (or third, or fourth ...) to fully grasp. One cannot help but dwell upon how good and evil, love and hatred, irony, eroticism, and other topics are portrayed. Barker successfully blurs the line between good and evil, and depicts a required balance that can easily be disrupted and righted again. Not wishing to bore you my delightful readers, I shall not dawdle any more upon my undecurrents and allow you to buy the book for yourself.

Truly, this books is to be appreciated to the highest degree. So, if anyone states that is too fantastic to believe, you know the truth of the matter.

Clive Barker has done an incredible job in writing this book. This book is more imaginative and fantastic than the Harry Potter series. It has everything from wild fantasy, friendship, love, evil, the typical war between good and evil, fairy tale, deception, drama, comedy, etc. I would have given the book 10 stars if that was possible. It is a book which is not to be missed. It grabs you from the start and it is hard to put down. There were supposed to be a number of books to follow this first one and I think he only came out with one sequel. I hope for the sake of the future generations that Mr. Barker will come out with at least a few more sequels.

Passing the island of Gorgossium, the inhabitants of the Parroto Parroto silently glide across the depths of the Izabella, fearing the acrid creatures that spring from the depths of the isle. Suddenly, these grotesque forms with leathery flaps of skin and bones of their skeleton aglow take refuge on the ship, preparing to befoul the catch of the day. As Candy Quackenbush prepares to fight the group of zethekaratchia, she is defeated with one swipe in her foolhardy attempt. But without warning, a strange word erupts from her throat, "Jassassakya-thüm!" All the contents of the ship started to vibrate violently. The zetheks plunged into complete turmoil, two of who were killed and another that escaped. Candy had uttered a Word of Power. Without the knowledge of any Abaratian, how did she ever know a complex magical spell such as that?

Geshrats. Sacbroods. 25 Islands, each representing the hours of day and night. You will soon find out that this eccentric piece of the novel is just a fraction of the marvels to expect from Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker.

It was roughly two months ago, in Minnesota, when Candy Quackenbush strolled into the outskirts of Chickentown following a mysterious golden cloud. Esoterically, she discovered shells and bones of fishes in the middle of Minnesota. She continues through the meadow and awakens the sea through a ball in a dilapidated lighthouse. But it seems that when she indeed reaches the Abarat, Christopher Carrion has a keen interest in this girl and seeks her through the Criss-Cross Man. What would he want with a schoolgirl from Minnesota?

With Malingo the geshrat, Candy explored the Abarat to the Skein, cave of all threads strung together the existence of all things. Walking along the cave, there was an echo beyond the cave. It sounded exactly like...the Criss-Cross Man. Candy had finally met her demise. With a faint glow from the end of the cave, she could see the scar beaten face of her catcher and the rickety bridge that she was now swinging on. Faced with a dilemma, Candy could approach the Criss-Cross Man, or jump to the running river under the bridge with the risk of getting killed. And with that, she plunged with Malingo into the darkness below.

THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC! As a student, I like to read just for the sake of reading, and this book just caught my attention as soon as I laid eyes on it in the bookstore. Once you begin, it's like you're sucked into this black hole and you can't escape until you've finished the book. Clive Barker's depth and talent that he put into this book is mind-boggling. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who would enjoy an abstract world filled with the wonders beyond your imagination.

Beyond Earth is a mysterious realm called the Abarat and in the Abarat all sorts of mystical and optical creatures reside. Candy Quackenbush an ordinary girl from a boring place called Chickentown, is not as ordinary as she thinks she is. One day Candy stumbles onto a one way ticket into the Abarat, the mystical sea of the Isabella. Throughout Abarat she is chased by the evil forces of midnight controlled by Christopher Carrion and his grandmother Mater Motley. When running she stumbles across many types of people, animals, and things and begins to realize, she isn't just Candy Quackenbush and in fact she feels as though she has been to the Abarat before.

Soon after she starts to realize this Carrion sends his right hand man the Criss - Cross Man to kill her and he dies trying. Forced to move she goes right back to her old town and all is revealed about her past and even some of what she must do in the future.

Abarat was a thriller book with many twists and turns that kept me reading until I finished and even after. The book threw up more than I could even take in, in one read! I was hooked until the end and after that too. I loved this book because of its spectacular form and all the pictures with were really enthralling and new. The main thing I thought that kept this book in my head and kept me focused on only it was its newness. Who in the world would ever dream of a place where your wildest fantasies are actually alive? The Abarat was new and fresh and was an entertaining and fascinating book with its characters and its awesome pictures. The author, Clive Barker, brings together the weirdness of Abarat and normal day life and created something better than both in this book. The best book I've ever read I would insist on anyone reading this book and if you don't like fantasy read this and you might start loving it. The first book kept you reading, the second book will leave you craving more of the Abarat and Candy and her friends.

I liked everything about this book! In all fairness, I am a Clive Barker fan. But, that said, this story is one of my favorites. A whole new land, great characters, a rich engrossing story... it has it all! This is a must read!

This second installment takes us even further into the Abarat in terms of character, motivation and imagination. Finally we start to learn and care about the characters of the series. Candy at last ceases to be a cardboard cut-out girl and becomes something far more fiesty. Relationships are formed and plot-lines are filled out.

Needless to say, the first book left me uncomprehending why Mr Barker had allowed so much of his precious talent to be taken up with something so repetitive of previous works of his (Weaveworld and Imagica)yet watered down for children. But in this volume I really sensed the heart of it, and the heart in it. I think the metaphysical elements are very subtly introduced. I like the way he talks about love in the book and what it can mean in all its forms. I like the way he discusses death and metaphorizes reincarnation. I have always suspected that Mr Barker was a shaman of sorts - a 'world walker', if you will, and this book really suggests to me that even if it is not something he identifies in himself, is most certainly there in his work, as evident as the gentle spiritual lull of the Hawaiian Islands he frequents. It makes me smile to see that he is suggesting quite new-age spiritual concepts in the same way that C.S Lewis suggested Christian ones in his 'Chronicles'.

I got a little bit tired of the whole thing being based around a chase to maintain tension. At times, it seemed as if the chase was purely there just to provide tension and nothing more.

But, after being hugely dissapointed with the first book, I have to say that this is the only criticism I can make. It won me over. I love the way he paints sky. I lovethe way he paints sea. I'm glad I persevered with it.

I found the first book in the series charming, and the second will not disappoint the faithful reader. Candy Quackenbush is a likeable and intriguing character and her adventures are beautifully and vividly painted. In this continuing adventure, she continues to run from the Criss-Cross man and must answer the question why the Lord of Midnight is so determined to capture her.

Abarat is a really enjoyable series. I don't put it on the same level as Narnia or some of the other children's fantasy classics, but it sure is a lot of good fun. Recommended.

i was very very VERY excited when i finally recieved this book, after a wait that seemed to last an eternity for the sequel to Clive Barker's unique and amazing Abarat.

I was very cruelly and harshly let down.

the first Abarat was an amazing story, full of amazing things and places, so far removed from everyday life that it was a wonder to read. The characters were interesting and very well developed, from heroine Candy Quakenbush to villain Christopher Carrion. It captured the imagination and made me beleive that if i jsut walked out of my life, i could find my way to the Yebba-Dim-Day and the Abarat.

but this book...something changed. Candy Quakenbush is no longer a heroine we can respect and care about. in fact, she's become...well...annoying. Malingo, who i utterly loved, became very two-dimensional and alomst as annoying as Candy. John Mischief wasn't funny or loveable, just creepy. almost the worst offence was Christopher Carrion, who was reduced from an interesting, not-quite-anti-hero to a basic run of the mill bad guy who cackles and rubs his hands together often. The sets were boring, the action dissapointing, and the big revelation was not a revelation at all. it was more of a 'well DUH' then an 'oh my GOODNESS!' I honestly didn't care whether Candy drowned, went home, or foudn out her mysterious 'destiny'.

so though Abarat was a fantastic book that i love terribly, this book could be part of a completeley different series. and a lesser, boring one at that.

Clive Barker is an artist and he paints through his words on the canvas of his latest book Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of war. Reading prior review, I must disdain in the support of this person as anything new should be realized that it is a borrowing of something that exists in the world already, only manifested as something new. And in that, to read something like this in the days of contempt of our Government, our Nation from other eyes in the world, I see this book as a step into the imagination that makes things happen through the mind and onto paper and finally into this second book of ART. Granted, you either like it or do not, but the first book was loved by myself, my lover, my mother, my brother and my nephew and niece. I find it hard to understand how someone can complain unjust when they themselves falter on anything new. It exists, whether new or not in relation to anything past, it is something that has been born of the artist that is Clive Barker and in that, I am happy to say, this book is wonderful in it's fantastique and story telling to any age alike. Highly recommended and I compare it to nothing else, but wonderful reading.

Unlike the first ABARAT this book wasn't my favorite. Although, it brings the real Clive Barker out: the darker side of his literature. It was a little bit more intense, and its love elements were a bit too much for me. I WILL continue reading the ABARAT series though. It's still good enough to recomend; the first one is better though!

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Book one was fine. But somehow, I had (and still have) difficulty liking the main character, Candy. I especially disliked (and still do) how she was always able to escape the bad guys' clutches. Over a book's worth and chasing Candy from Hour to Hour and finally, she was oh so easily caught.

I don't know if there'll be a book 3. Will there? But I probably won't get it. Not when one of the most intriguing characters (and my most favorite) got killed off! :(

This is a fantasy about young Candy Quackenbush from Chickentown, Minnesota who accidentally enters into another world known as Abarat. It is a good vs. evil type of story where the villain Christopher Carrion tries to capture Candy and turn Abarat into a world of never-ending midnight. This is the second book in the Abarat series and it was necessary for me to read the first book in order to understand the second. There is some recapping in the second book but not enough to get a real grasp of the situation, and since there are only 2 books in the Abarat series, the author probably intended it that way. Clive Barker is an adult book author who is making the crossover into Young Adult novels and he also painted all of the over 200 paintings in both books. I have to admit that I struggled through both books, although I enjoyed the second one more than the first. I think there would probably be a cult-following of the books by some kids, but I found the characters to be so foreign and the world so different that I couldn't identify with it at all. The characters were of an odd Dr. Seuss-type variety (in an bad way) and the story reminded me of a kind of Alice-in Wonderland. The setting consists of islands each set in a different hour of the day, which I found to be an intriguing idea, but for the world to be as small as it was (based on travel times), I would have expected it to be more populated or for the inhabitants to have visited all of the islands and be more familiar with them than they were. Overall, I give it a rating of "extremely strange".

Because I actually like the storyline and the idea as a whole, I went on to the second book, and against my better judgement, the third, hoping the writing would improve. It hasn't. At all. And now I'm trapped because there are so many unanswered questions throughout and at the end of each book that if I don't go on to the next, wondering will drive me crazy.
I REALLY don't get it. Barker has a good reputation as a writer, so I hope that is as a result of this just being a terrible example of his writing that runs for an entire series. If that's not it, I worry that all the reviews have been written by people who have never had the pleasure of reading a well written story. There are sentences that go on for the length of a paragraph, where not only do I get confused, but apparently so did Clive because he seemed to forget what he was saying and leave them unfinished. Unfamiliar words appear at random as though we should know what they are, but in checking the text, they have not appeared previously and so we are just left to wonder. You're not suppose to have to do research in the middle of your fiction novel in order to continue. The whole series is an example of terrible writing and gaping holes in the text that annoy and distract the reader.

This book was so exciting. I just simply loved it. It is the second book in the Abarat series and furthers Candy's adventures in the Abarat. Old characters return, such as: John Mischief, Malingo, and all of the other characters, as well as awesome new charaters: Finnegan Hob, Letheo, and some others. It was really exciting and I found it really hard to set down. It didn't take me very long to read and I love it so much, i just an't wait for the next one to come out. I love ABARAT.

I have loved Clive Barker's unique and interesting stories for many years. I have read Imajica three times over, always returning to it every few years. So, I was incredibly excited when Abarat was released.....fusing Barker's amazing art work with his equally amazing story telling talents.

Sadly I found the first volume, and moreso, this second volume of Abarat to be tiresome to read. I understand that it is pitched at a young adult market, but even so, the actual story is just so boring and predictable. I found myself not caring whether Candy discovered her true destiny, or what adventures lay in wait for her and Malingo. My only impetus for finishing the book was to better understand what was being presented in the vivid, awe inspiring illustrations.

I have to agree with a previous reviewer, and hope that Barker returns to more interesting stories....I have been eagerly awaiting the Third Book of the Art for a long time.....

This book is fantastic. There is no other word to describe it. From the moment I read the first page of book one, I was hooked. I felt like I was in the world of Abarat. Better then any other fantasy series, in my opinion, including Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia. Brilliant.

This book was absolutely terrific. I loved it. I really couldn't put it down. I received the first book as a Christmas gift two years ago, and I fell in love with it. This one was just as good as, if not better than, the first book! I can't wait for the last two books!

It's a must read for EVERYONE!

This book continues the journey of Candy Quackenbush. The artwork of Clive Barker is yet again amazing and colorful. You will get so sucked into this story that you will not be able to put the book down

This book lacks essential pieces of a story. The world is beautiful and very well-described. Side characters are vibrant and catchy. Some scenes are even poignant.

Yet the main character is a mess. There's no consistent motivation, nothing interesting about her, she's special for no reason, does stupid things that aggravate and annoy the reader instead of being understood, and she even is the reason for random flashbacks to why she's so special (this happens more than three times).

B 3/4 of the story, you barely know what the villain wants, you have no idea why the main character is worth caring about, and no idea why it's about her instead of the more interesting ones.

Where do I even begin.... Clive Barker uses simple language to describe disturbingly complex ideas. The Abarat series is a diamond of the imagination and deserves to be a central part of any serious fiction book collector's collection. Barker does an excellent job of including original artwork when the ideas are too complex to easily explain. If you are buying this for a family item, the content is not always for very young kids -- I would not read it to anyone under the age of 11. If they can handle Harry Potter, they can handle the bizarre and wonderful islands of Abarat.