7.5/10Harvey, a 10 old boy finds himself in a magical place that seems to have everything he ever wanted. A place almost too good to be real...Got this one cause it looked like a great read for Halloween season. Was not disappointed

Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend. Ten-year-old Harvey Swick is invited to Mr. Hood’s Holiday House, a thousand-year-old dwelling that welcomes children to enjoy its rapidly changing seasons, explore its grounds filled with mythical creatures, and partake of the delicious meals prepared by the house cook, Mrs. Griffin. At first, Harvey thinks Holiday House is the best thing that’s ever happened to him, but he soon discovers not all is as

Always a no spoiler/no plot detail review...I wish I would have read this book when I was like 12 or 13, what a very powerful book this would have been to me. But, sadly I only just read it now at age 41 but since I'm still a huge lover of children's fiction (especially dark children's fiction) I still found this story to be every bit as magical and scary as it intended to be.This is my first Clive Barker book that I've finished. I started previous works (Mister B. Gone and The Great and Secret

“The great gray beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive.”From the opening line we're quickly transported into a tale that's equally parts horror, fantasy and fairy tale.The main character Harvey is suffering with dissatisfaction and boredom with his life and is tricked into becoming a visitor to Mr. Hood’s Holiday House a seemingly magical house where bored children can go to take a break from their normal lives, but obviously - things aren't what they seem.This was an easy read with short c...

This is my second read, but I'm doing it decades apart. It's really strange. I kinda feel like I'm Harvey.Not bored. Definitely not as bored as him, or nearly as gullible or enticed by a house of holidays, myth, or changed children. But I do really feel the underscored notion that you really can't go home again.But you sure can wish for it.And if you can pay the price...Ah, honestly, I was always really surprised by how this particular Clive Barker book subverted all my expectations. I mean, the...

“His possessions had gone into a nightmare place, full of monstrous things, and he felt as though a little part of himself had gone with it, down into the dark.”For a children’s book, there are so many things an adult can enjoy and appreciate while learning a lesson or two while reading.Barker did it again.. i loved almost everything i read from him (i say almost because the damnation game really was a miss for me) and he can sure can kill it with a genre like this. The man is a legend. Having a...

”I know a place where the days are always sunny, and the nights are full of wonders.” Said the small man who mysteriously appears in Harvey's bedroom on a blustery rainy day. The day is a day in February, the worst of months. The month that swallows the hope of summer. Before the man can fill further promise, he is gone, but with the words, “Watch for me!” Perhaps it had only been a dream.The man called Rictus does appear again, floating down from a cloud in his puffed-up coat. This time tho

Sooooooooo, I mentioned that I had sworn off Mr. Clive Barker yeeeeeeeears ago- due to squeamishness- Ms. Stepheny called me on it- and said, "PLEASE... PLEASE...PLEASE- read THE THIEF OF ALWAYS before making your final judgement on allllllllll of his work". Okay, Stepheny, I stand corrected- not all of his work is GROSS. In fact I quite enjoyed this blood-less tale. [image error]10-year-old Harvey Swick is bored...bored, bored with school. Bored with the dreary weather, and bored with his day-t...

Harvey Swick is ten years old and bored out of his skull. It's that dreary month of February, Christmas is over and summer is too far in the future for a small boy to contemplate. He just wants to have some fun. Through an open window flies a man in black by the name of Rictus. His smile is all sharp teeth and is as wide as his face, but he has a glib tongue and promises Harvey all kinds of fun. Plenty of playmates, the coolest treehouse ever, and a house that is almost too good to be true await...

Great book to read on a rainy day. What I liked the most (apart from story) are the illustrations. They were really creepy, and reminded me of Neil Gaiman's Coraline, which is one of my favorite books. The story is also similar to Coraline, but it does have its twists. Really fun and fast read, and looking forward to reading more books from this author. The guy knows how to tell a good story.

"The great grey beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive."Harvey Swick is a 10-year-old boy who is bored with his life - he's tired of school, homework and the winter months. That is, until a creature tells him all about a place called the Holiday House, where you can have anything you wish for and it is Christmas every evening.It's not very often that I read a book that completely changes my outlook on life. It happens once in a blue moon, but when I do find these books they are extra specia...

Oh, you’re a horror fan? Read Clive Barker.Steph, check out Clive Barker. You’ll love him.Have you read any Barker? He’s brilliant!These are all things that were being said to me for the last few years. I took note. Then I saw Stephen King saying that Clive Barker is the future of the horror genre. Well, if I am going to listen to anyone I am going to listen to Stephen King. Everyone knows this.I took the encouragement of some of my goodreads friends and went with it. I decided to go with the Th...

So, when I reviewed Coraline, I mentioned that, in terms of "Young-person-casts-off-illusions-and-outwits-a-vastly-more-powerful-otherworldly-entity-and-comes-to-appreciate-the-realities-of-life" stories, I thought this book was vastly superior. So I jumped onto Bookmooch to see if anyone had a copy. Lo and behold, a nice person in Israel was giving his copy away, so I snagged it. And I stand by my judgment.Plus, this book has one of the best opening lines I have ever read: "The great, gray beas...

Harvey Swick is bored out of his mind. Bored of life, bored of school, bored of everything. One day, Harvey makes a wish for things to change. All he wants is a little bit of fun and excitement in his dull life. Little did he know, someone was listening, someone that was willing to grant him his wish. During a dark and stormy night, a mysterious man named Rictus pays Harvey a visit. He tells him of a magical place called the Holiday House, where all his wishes and desires can be brought to life....

Edit 5: I now have a first edition thanks to a bookstore selling old books and it is in perfect condition thank you world.Edit 4: My love for this book knows no bounds because I managed to get this hard copy of the graphic novel. Signed and hand-numbered (there were only 500 of these going out).Edit 3: Did I just buy the ebook of this? Yes I did. Gotta be safe in case I lose the paperback copy. <3333“The great gray beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive.”The most fabulous opening line I’ve

This story felt ... old. Not in a bad way (like a story that aged badly) but as in how the story was structured, what it was about etc. It felt like a classic children's story. Maybe it should be.One dreary February day, there is Harvey, a boy bored half out of his mind - which explains why he isn't the brightest candle on the cake. You see, just when he's sure he'll have to die of boredom, someone comes a-flying (no, not Mary Poppins) and offers him a trip to the Holiday House / the House of Al...

I remember being a kid and being bored, and it is THE WORST. It wasn't just the boredom, it was the feeling of needing something but having no idea what. Awful. It will ruin your life. And that is how you become me. I don't really have much to say about this book. It's my second Barker, and vastly different than the first of his that I'd read (The Hellbound Heart). I liked this one well enough, and it's a quick read (or would have been if I didn't have this need to make new levels in Mario Maker...

The Thief of Always follows Harvey Swick, a boy bored with the mundanity of life and the slow tick of time, as he enters Mr. Hood’s Holiday House. The Holiday House brings every pleasure imaginable to the lives of the children that find it, but at a cost. Child-friendly Clive Barker is as imaginative as the gore-infested Clive Barker that I love. I wish I had read this as a child.

To me The Thief of Always is Clive Barker at his absolute best. It comes very close to beating The Hellbound Heart and that’s saying something because that book is one of my all time favourite novels. And this one comes pretty damn fucking close! It’s the most delicious blend of horror and fantasy and coming of age all rolled into one magical package and I ate it right up. Barker truly excels when he writes for a more young adult audience and the proof of it is clear in this story. I was complet...

The great gray beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive.A 10-year old boy seeks to conquer the monstrous ennui particular to his age, and finds something far more terrifying in this timeless fantasy horror fable. The story doesn't break new ground; it stays rooted in horror tradition and delivers a simple and solid tale. For comparison, Stephen King's The Eyes of the Dragon is a meatier story, and Neil Gaiman would have inserted endless whimsy. Barker, though, doesn't fancify any of it, stick...