Abarat: Absolute Midnight

Clive Barker has a truly unique imagination. Abarat can be best summed up as Narnia on acid. It is a hidden world full of the fantastical, but Mr Barker does not rely on standard fantasy tropes with a wild array of fantastical creatures and places. The very idea of Abarat where each island represents a different hour of the day is very different to the standard. This creativeness is almost overflowing - there is so much pouring out of the authors pen that the pace is breathless. The different islands are intriguing and I almost wish that the book would slow down a bit to allow me to enjoy this amazing whimsical world he has created.

The story itself betrays its YA ambition through its black and white characterisations. The villains are a little one dimensional, but the sheer fun and inventiveness of the world more than outweigh this

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 better. Still, this was a fun continuation of the story. There were some nice surprises. But the sudden love match that Candy gets involved in seems to come completely out of the blue. And the ending really makes you wonder where the author will go in book four.
This is also quite literally the heaviest book I've ever read. It's about three pounds at least. The pages are thick and sturdy and frequently feature the authors own artwork. The artwork is by turns creepy and phantasmagoric. I wonder how long the wait will be until book four gets published?

SUMMARY: A journey beyond imagination is about to unfold. . . . It begins in the most boring place in the world: Chickentown, U.S.A. There lives Candy Quackenbush, her heart bursting for some clue as to what her future might hold. When the answer comes, it's not one she expects. Welcome to the Abarat.