Days of Magic, Nights of War

Plot

Candy Quackenbush and her Geshrat friend Malingo keep moving through the islands of Abarat, trying to stay ahead of the bounty hunter Otto Houlihan. As they travel, Candy starts showing magical powers and slowly realizes her link to Abarat goes far deeper than she thought. Meanwhile, Christopher Carrion, the Lord of Midnight, is getting ready to blanket the whole archipelago in endless night. He is breeding creatures called Sacbrood, planning to use them in an attack that will let the monstrous Requiax rise from under the Sea of Izabella.

At the carnival island of Babilonium, Candy and Malingo get split up. Malingo teams up with some of Candy’s allies to search for the missing adventurer Finnegan Hob, who was once engaged to Princess Boa. Candy gets caught and is taken to Carrion’s fortress. Back in Chickentown, the spirits of Diamanda and her husband Henry try to get the town ready for a convergence between the two worlds.

Candy’s friends rescue her, but then she finds out that the Fantomaya placed Princess Boa’s soul inside her. This discovery puts Candy at the heart of the fight for Abarat’s future. Carrion confronts his grandmother Mater Motley for hiding the truth about Candy and ends up badly hurt. After that, Mater Motley seizes control of Gorgossium and starts building her power, leading into the events of Absolute Midnight.

Background and publication

The second Abarat book, Days of Magic, Nights of War, arrived in September 2004 from Joanna Cotler Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. Clive Barker both wrote and illustrated this novel. Its first American hardcover edition continues the series’ signature style, weaving numerous full-color paintings into the story. The Library of Congress cataloged this first edition, ISBN 0-06-029170-2, as volume two of the Abarat series.

Reception

The sequel was considered more plot-driven than the first book, with a climax praised for its cinematic scale, though some character work and the author's habit of spelling out emotions drew criticism. It tied for the 2004 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers and was a finalist for the 2005 British Fantasy Award (then the August Derleth Award). In the 2005 Locus Award poll, it ranked fifth in the young-adult category.