''Days of Magic, Nights of War'' (2004) is the second book in a series of five by author

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1980s with a series of short stories collectively named the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading horror author ...

, called ''

The Books of Abarat ''The Books of Abarat'' are a series of young adult fantasy novels written and illustrated by English writer and visual artist Clive Barker. The series is intended to contain five books, three of which have been published from 2002 to 2011. T ...

''. This volume contains the adventures of Candy Quackenbush an ordinary girl from

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, in the strange fantasy world of Abarat. ''Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War'' is followed by, '' Absolute Midnight'', which will be followed by a fourth and fifth book to complete the saga. The book tied with Steve Burt's ''Oddest Yet'' for the 2004

Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers The Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been pr ...

Plot summary

The entire book is spread out over eight weeks of time, compared to the two or three in Book 1, titled simply ''

Abarat ''Abarat'' (2002) is a fantasy novel written and illustrated by Clive Barker, the first in Barker's '' The Books of Abarat'' series. It is aimed primarily at young adults. The eponymous Abarat is a fictional archipelago which is the setting f ...

''. The book picks up several weeks after the original had left off; Candy Quackenbush and Malingo the Geshrat (a character introduced in the first book) have traveled from Hour to Hour to evade the bounty hunter Otto Houlihan. Christopher Carrion's whereabouts are revealed only in the second quarter of the book, wherein he plots with the Sacbrood in the Pyramids of Xuxux. Sacbrood are terrifying insects of all shapes and sizes which Christopher Carrion has been breeding in order to help him create Absolute Midnight. Under the cover produced by the Sacbrood, he expects, the destroyers called the ''Requiax'' will emerge from under the Sea of Izabella (which surrounds the Abarat) and annihilate everything they see, giving Carrion the opportunity to re-organize the world according to his will. Candy begins to develop powers of great magic, with which she frees the mysterious beings called ''Totemix'' from their imprisonment in the Twilight Palace on the island of Scoriae. Malingo, separated from her on the

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

island of Babilonium, joins with others of Candy's acquaintance to form a force of resistance against the armies of Midnight. Candy is eventually captured by Letheo, the lizard-boy servant of Christopher Carrion, and taken to the island Efreet. The enchantress Diamanda, having died of an encounter with a

monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

, travels as a

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

to the human world, where she finds her also ghostly husband Henry and with him works to prepare Candy's home town for the

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

resulting from its imminent meeting with the Abarat. When this meeting occurs, Henry's opening of the

factory farm Intensive animal farming, industrial livestock production, and macro-farms, also known as factory farming, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to mass animal husbandry designed to maximize production while minimizing co ...

which is the town's only industrial outlet is used as a comment on the variety-deprived lives of chickens raised in such factories. This book introduces readers to new characters including Finnegan Hob, the would-be husband of Princess Boa, who is discovered by other characters in search of himself. Having persuaded him to give up his vendetta against the Abaratian

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

s, whom he blames for his fiancée's death, the seekers travel to Efreet, where Candy is held prisoner by Christopher Carrion. They rescue Candy and at her request return her to the human world, where she intends to hide from the Abarat's perils. The two worlds meet in a dramatic

climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

, wherein it is revealed by the magician Kaspar Wolfswinkel that Princess Boa's

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

is contained within Candy's

body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anim ...

, having been placed there by the Fantomaya in obedience to the belief that Princess Boa, or her

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

, could halt the Abarat's progressive degradation and revitalize the Abarat as a whole. Christopher Carrion clashes with his grandmother Mater Motley, having learned that she had concealed Candy's dual

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

from him, and is severely wounded in the process (whether he dies or not is unclear). Candy and most of the major characters return to the Abarat when it is withdrawn from the human world. There, Mater Motley assumes control of Gorgossium Island, where she executes all of Christopher Carrion's living supporters. The remains of Kaspar Wolfswinkel's six hats, the source of his power, are left in the human world.

References

External links

The Beautiful Moment - The Official Clive Barker Website for All Ages
- official site celebrating the work of Clive Barker for younger readers - features Abarat and The Thief of Always.
Revelations - The Official Clive Barker Online Resource
- includes a full bibliography, filmography and frequently updated news. {{Clive Barker 2004 British novels 2004 fantasy novels Novels by Clive Barker Young adult fantasy novels British young adult novels Abarat HarperCollins books Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers winners