''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 novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...

, 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 state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, in the strange fantasy world of Abarat. ''Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War'' is followed by, ''

Absolute Midnight ''Absolute Midnight'' is the third book in the ''The Books of Abarat, Abarat'' series by Clive Barker. It is a dystopian fantasy-adventure which follows the story of Candy Quackenbush and her journeys through the world of the Abarat. The book ...

'', 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 for Best Work for Young Readers is a discontinued award presented by the Horror Writers Association The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing prof ...

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 for ...

''. 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 ''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 fo ...

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 is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). 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 fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

, travels as a

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

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 ( 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 an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

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

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

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 reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

s, whom he blames for his fianceé'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 In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

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 anima ...

, 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 philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

, 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, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

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