Books › Days of Magic, Nights of War
Days of Magic, Nights of War
First published 2003 · 574 pages
A kaleidoscopic plunge into a surreal archipelago where dark magic, whimsical horrors, and hidden destinies collide.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into a fever dream painted in vivid, hallucinatory colors. The experience is a masterclass in dark whimsy, balancing the breathless wonder of discovering a sprawling, magical archipelago with the creeping dread of an encroaching, nightmarish war. The prose is intensely visual, conjuring bizarre creatures and surreal landscapes that are equally beautiful and grotesque. It moves at a brisk, urgent pace, pulling you through a kaleidoscopic world where every hour has its own distinct, atmospheric flavor. Beneath the fantastical surface, it is a deeply emotional journey about leaving behind a gray, mundane existence to embrace a terrifying but vibrant destiny. It will thoroughly delight readers who love their portal fantasies laced with a distinct, macabre edge.
- Mood
- surreal
- kaleidoscopic
- menacing
- wondrous
- Tone
- imaginative
- macabre
- earnest
- whimsical
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- duality of light and dark · escaping the mundane · embracing a hidden destiny · loss of innocence
- The writing
- Lush, highly visual, and richly inventive, painting grotesque and beautiful imagery with equal care.
- The arc
- Moves from disorienting awe to a fierce, resolute courage in the face of encroaching darkness.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave dark, surreal fantasy with an Alice-in-Wonderland edge and a touch of macabre horror.
Content notes
- fantasy violence
- grotesque imagery
- mild body horror
- parental neglect
About the book
Candy Quackenbush, a sixteen-year-old girl, is bored with her life and is desperate for something new. She lives in Chickentown, Minnesota, has a drunkard father, and is often made fun of by other kids. One day at school, a strange image enters her head, and she draws it in a textbook. When her teacher notices, she is furious, and Candy has the sudden impulse to simply walk out of school. She wanders around town before coming to a vast field with an old lighthouse, and wonders why there would be a lighthouse where there is no sea for thousands of miles. She soon has her answer. Candy is thrust into the Abarat, a fantastic archipelago of twenty-five islands: one for each hour of the day, plus one extra: the mysterious Time Out of Time. Candy feels as if this place is familiar to her, and makes many friends, but all is not well: Christopher Carrion, Prince of Midnight, is pursuing her. Candy must find her place in this strange new world.
Description from Open Library.
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