The Thief of Always: A Fable [Hardcover]

Clive Barker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1992 | ISBN-10: 0002241447 | ISBN-13: 978-0002241441 | Edition: 1st Uk Edition

Mr. Hood's Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles, a blissful round of treats and seasons, where every childhood whim may be satisfied... for a price!

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When a 10-year-old boy wishes to be delivered from a boring afternoon, a creature takes him to the Holiday House. "Barker masterfully embroiders this fantasy world with a mounting number of grim, even gruesome details," wrote PW, "in a tale that manages to be both cute and horrifying." Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-- What teens could resist an opening line like "The great gray beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive"? Harvey succumbs to the lure of instant pleasure, and lives to battle his way back to the real world twice , in order to regain all that he has lost. Lots of white space and full-page black-and-white illustrations invite readers to harken back to their younger days and the pleasures of folk and fairy tale collections. A candidate for reading aloud, this new twist on the fable genre may lead to independent writings or a new appreciation of the form. Layered with both supernatural elements and a large dose of horror, this one will entice fantasy fans to broaden their reading interests.
- Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 229 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Publisher; 1st Uk Edition edition (1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0002241447
• ISBN-13: 978-0002241441
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,163,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clive Barker for a younger crowd? Yes, its true!, May 27, 2003

By 

Schtinky "Schtinky" (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Thief of Always (Paperback)

I have always been a fan of horror, and this was the book I actually read to my son that finally started him on his own road of reading for pleasure. A young boy is unhappy with his life; he doesn't like school and doesn't like his parents, and wishes for a place where he can play all day long and have no responsibilities. He finds that place when creepy Rictus leads him through the mists to a place he has always dreamed of. Kindly old Mrs. Griffin runs a quaint little house, cooking marvelous meals for the boys and girls with her cats. Harvey soon finds that this place is magical, every morning is Spring, every afternoon Summer, every evening is Autumn, and every night Winter. The children play in the warmth of summer, have Halloween every evening, and Christmas every night. He makes friends with Wendell and Lulu, and meets some freakish inhabitants. But when he finally finds the lake with the strange fish, and witnesses Lulu changing, that he realizes this wonderful place is a trap and he cannot leave. He seeks a way out, and with the help of Mrs. Griffin's cats he makes it through the misty barrier, only to find that for every day that passes in the House, a year passed in the outside world. Harvey must set things to right again, and that means returning across the misty barrier and confronting the dreaded Mr. Hood. A very enjoyable read, and surprisingly good to read to older children, especially those who may be unhappy with school. Sometimes, you get what you wish for, only to find out its not what you really wanted....

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clive Barker is a literary genius!, June 25, 2001

By 

Christopher M. Lonergan (the US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Thief of Always (Mass Market Paperback)

The Thief of Always was the first novel by Clive Barker I ever read, having before known of him only as the man behind such movie greats as Hellraiser (which was a Barker book first). Anyway, it totally blew me away, and Barker is now one of my top authors, and the book is now one of my favorites (which is saying a lot because I'm quite an avid reader). The story centers around a ten-year-old boy named Harvey Swick, who becomes bored with his life and begins to wish the days away. In answer to his prayers, he is taken to a mysterious place called the Holiday House, supposedly built for children who want to have fun. Questions come up in Harvey's mind about what is really going on behind the House's happy-go-lucky exterior, and he is pulled into a horrific adventure beyond his wildest dreams (or nightmares).

I won't give anything more about the story away, you'll just have to read it for yourselves. But there are many pros in this novel, and not one con as far as I see it. The plot is unique and interesting, so much so that you won't want to put it down. It is certainly not slow-paced, and although it is almost 300 pages long it is almost over as soon as it begins, which is really the only bad thing about it. But as soon as you finish you can't help but want to read it again.

The characters are in depth and believeable, the bad guys are majorly cool, unique, and interesting. And they aren't the kind of villians that are super-strong and seemingly impossible to beat, even the worst of them has believeable weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone, and I can assure you that it won't be a disappointment.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great representative of Barker, December 22, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Thief of Always (Mass Market Paperback)

Ten-year-old Harvey lives the most boring life on Earth; until
someone comes and offers him a special room at the
Holiday House. Harvey meets several friends there, and seems
to enjoy himself, but he soon discovers he can't escape.
The only one at the House who knows how to get out advises
Harvey, but when he finally exits the terrible dimension, he
realizes 30 years has passed in the outside world, when only
30 days passed in the Holiday House. Harvey has to find a way
to finally get rid of the House forever.
This is one of my favorites. It is Clive Barker's only
book for children, and he did an exceptionally good job.
It takes a wild imagination to write a work of art like this,
and Barker definitely has at least that. This book held me
transfixed the whole time, and not for one instant did I have
the urge to put it down. I'm very surprised that it's not as
popular as I would have thought, but I highly recommend it to
anyone who would like to read an excellent book and maybe get
a bit of a scare. I hope you enjoy it!