Absolute Midnight
by Clive Barker
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2011
592 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
"I know that many of you here have waited years for this Hour," Mater Motley said, using that 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."
And so begins a new chapter in the epic story of sixteen-year-old Candy Quackenbush and her journeys through the world of the Abarat, where every hour is an island in one eternal day, and nothing is as it seems.
Candy travels through the Abarat from island to island and across the sea with an unlikely band of friends: the escaped prisoner Malingo the Geshrat, the quarrelsome John Brothers, who all share the same body but never the same opinion, and the many other colorful characters they meet along the way.
The problem is that trouble finds Candy wherever she goes. And soon she discovers a secret plot, masterminded by the diabolical Mater Motley, who is obsessed with becoming Empress of the Islands. Her method is simple. She will darken the skies, putting out the suns, moons, and stars. She will bring absolute midnight.
Grades 7-12
"All in all, fans will revel and newcomers will be baffled." - Kirkus Reviews
"While the first books focused on introducing the abundant characters and settings, this plot moves ahead at full speed. Still, the ride is tempered by serious moments, especially those of Candy's introspection, as well as humorous ones." - Booklist
"Absolute Midnight is the most action packed chapter in the Abarat saga so far. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next or how the book was going to end... I just hope I don't have to wait seven more years for the next book." - The Book Pirate
"[T]his new third book was darker, more profound, and more brilliant than I could have ever anticipated." - CSI Librarian
This information about Abarat was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Clive Barker is the bestselling author of twenty-two books, including the New York Times bestsellers Abarat; Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War; and The Thief of Always. He is also an acclaimed painter, film producer, and director. For twelve years Mr. Barker has been working on a vast array of paintings to illuminate the text of The Books of Abarat, more than one hundred and twenty-five of which can be found within this volume.
Mr. Barker lives in California. He shares his house with seven dogs, three cockatiels, several undomesticated geckos, an African gray parrot called Smokey, and a yellow-headed Amazon parrot called Malingo. Follow him online at www.clivebarker.info.
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