Abarat

Just because it's young adult doesn't mean it isn't good. I like his young adult novel "Thief of Always" better, but since the story isn't finished yet (I believe there are 4 books intended), and #2: "Days of Magic, Nights of War" just came out, I'm willing to hold my reservations. Fun, good reading. Nice artwork inside the hardcovers. I assume you just picked up the mass market paperback of Abarat #1?

Thief of Always is a different, stand-alone story.

Abarat is a 4-novel series. It was originally pitched, and sold (I believe), as a film series to Disney. I believe the films are in that nether-world of non-produced films. Each of the Abarat hardcovers has about 150 color paintings by Barker himself.

Clive Barker has been wanting to do a book like this for the last decade. I believe his first idea was to do a Weaveworld for children. Harper Collins only published The Thief of Always after he took an advance of $1. They just didn't have any confidence in a Barker book for a younger audience. After he painted hundreds of oil paintings, he had Harper Collins come to his house and he sold them on Abarat by showing them the art and telling them the story.

It's too bad you just got the paperback, Floyd, because the art work is what drew me into the first one. The first volume was a good start to the series, but things really take off in volume two. It's just way more imaginative than the first volume was. It took some time to set up the ideas of this other world in the first book, but the creatures and worlds visited in the second make it much more complete. The movie is going to based on the first two books and there is someone working on the script right now.

Actually the paperback also has all the paintings too. I've read the first one a couple times but I haven't gotten the second one yet.

If the books are successful as Disney hopes they're thinking of doing an entire Abarat land at one of their theme parks.

But the last young adult fantasy novel Disney bought with plans like these never worked out so who knows?

Hey, Floydian. I just remembered that you live in Chicago. There is going to be an exhibit of Abarat paintings coming soon. These paintings are really something and I was planning on going to Chicago for this myself. Sadly, a huge car repair bill has kind of put a crimp in my plan. Here are the details from Clive Barker’s web site.
http://www.clivebarker.com/html/visions/new/new.html

Where: The Museum of Contemporary Art
Robert B. and Beatrice C. Mayer Education Center
220 E. Chicago Ave.; Chicago, IL

ART EXHIBIT: Clive Barker’s Abarat
This exhibit makes public, for the first time ever, a selection of Clive Barker’s Abarat paintings.

When: Wednesday, October 27 – Sunday, November 14

Hours:
Wednesday – Sunday, 10:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m.;
Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Admission: FREE

I just picked up the second book yesterday. I was actually pissed off after discovering the Abarat 2 cardboard display with all the books at THE VERY BACK of a Barns and Noble, right next to the entrance to the restrooms. It wasn't even near the children's book section, what the fuck? Anyway, don't bother getting the paperback edition, without the paintings, you're only getting half the book. I will be attending the Chicago art Exhibit and hopefully meeting up with Clive for the book signing at the gallery. That will be the third time I've had the chance to see him in person, and hopefully I'll get a third drawing as well!

Even though these are supposed to be "children" books, they aren't. Clive has too perverse and monstrous an imagination to leave it at that even when he's trying to play it nice for the kiddies. As an example, I've read the first ten paes of Abarat 2, let me describe something that happens in it..

Christopher Carrion lets the monsters (weird electric eel type creatures) that live in his brain, out. They feed on the fear of a random mine worker that Carrion has corned, which kills him in turn. Doesn't really sound like kid stuff right there.

The sad thing about these books, the Abarat will probably always shadow the drab retarded bullshit of the Harry Potter series and be considered as Clive's attempt to cash in on the Potter fans. But it's not like that at all. Clive is going leaps and bounds beyond the generic Harry Potter stuff. I have a bad feeling a lot of parents might not let their kids read these books to begin with because of Clive's life style and history with perverse horror....regardless, it's their loss. These books are amazing and I can only hope enough people gain interest in them to see them made into hollywood blockbusters.

Yeah, Clive Barker is going to be at the museum. The paintings are the main reason I wanted to go to Chicago, but that would have been cool to get my copy of Abarat 2 signed. After he is done with all four volumes, he is going to take the paintings around the country so I'll have to hope I get to see them then. You'll have to call ahead to see if they still have room for you, Floydian. Here is the date and info from his web site.

10/30 6:00 PM
Chicago Humanities Festival
Museum of Contemporary Art
220 E. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL
Reservations required for this event.
Call 312-661-1028 ext.32