Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War Book

The final war is about to begin. In this second book of the Arabat series, Candy Quackenbush, with the help of the forces of Day, must use all their special powers to stop Christopher Carrion and the Army of Night's plot to establish a Permanent Midnight throughout the 25 islands that make up Abarat. Barker lends a dark shadow to what would otherwise be a kind of Dr. Seuss book. The bad guys, Christopher Carrion and Mater Motley are incredibly deep. I found myself wondering is Christopher was really evil or was he like Jessica in Roger Rabbit, "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way?" Was he thrust into the role of "bad guy" by still stronger forces?

I liked this one better than the first, the story seemed to flow smoother, perhaps because I already had some level of familiarity with many of the large cast of characters developed and brought into to this second book. The ending left many threads dangling in the air like leaves on a tree in late fall. I will no doubt begin the third book in the series to learn where those leaves might fall.