The Thief of Always

This is one of those stories that reminds me of an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? except it wouldn't fit into a 24 minute show. This would need to be several episodes.

Harvey is an easy character to connect with. Haven't we all been that 10 year old kid in February who hates the dreary gray days of winter and it is going to be forever before spring break gets here? Once you hear of an opportunity to do something fun, you're going to jump all over it, even if you don't realize there is a catch until much later.

It was hard for me to put this book down once I started, though it's a short read. There are a few elements of horror but nothing overly scary, and thankfully Barker did not only use a trope of “the power of love” as the way for the evil to be defeated. It is more of seeking actual justice and exposing what is really going on.

Still, the Holiday House sounds like a fun place to visit. At least until you learn the price of your stay.

Finished this in one go - it was a quick and fun read. This graphic novel is an adaptation of a book that's targeted at younger audiences than most of Clive Barker's other works. I've never even seen a copy so I can't vouch for how closely this adaptation follows that. It follows a boy named Harvey Swick and what happens when he seeks to escape from what seems to endless boring days. I recommend this to adults and children alike.

Fans of Caroline by Neil Gaiman might like this one. I picked this up because I'm looking for new dark fantasy favorites and I suspect Barker might be my guy, but Imajica is too daunting for me at this point. I wasn't expecting a YA/children's story, since this is shelved as adult fiction at my library. It was fine. Not sure which Barker I'll pick up next.