In a subtle subversion, Barker quietly begins to intimate that the "dark lord" may not be the problem at all: it may be the ambitious, urbane Rojo Pixler, capitalist extraordinaire, whose cheery brand the Commexo Kid is spreading through Abarat with all the vigour of Starbucks.īut though the intricacies of the political machinations are well done, and there is plenty of foreshadowing to keep us coming back, Abarat is not a book in which plot is paramount. But in fact, nothing is so simply moralistic in Barker's universe. The story appears to revolve around Candy's impending struggle with Christopher Carrion, Lord of Midnight, and his attempts to establish eternal night. The narrative takes the reader to some of the 25 islands of Abarat: each of them, in a mystical way, is an hour of the day, and one is the time outside time. A foundation of ethical seriousness is established, which is not too badly undermined by intimations of Candy's "destiny" - an annoying trope impossible to pull off except at the cost of the characters' agency.įor the most part, people will read this book for the setting, and for the monsters. The moral and philosophical stakes are raised: actions have consequences in what must be a real, though alternate, world. By introducing Candy to what we have already seen, the solipsism of childhood is undercut: there is no room for this to be only a dream. What is inevitably lost is the first astonishment - the sense of awe as we step out of the Kansas house with our child-avatar into a Technicolor Oz.īut something is also gained. In other words, we do not fall down a rabbit hole into the magic kingdom with our protagonist: we know about the magic already, and have to wait for her to catch up. being the object of the villain’s obsession (how this is an exciting prospect for many readers who want to deal with dangerous things in stories.Unlike most classics of this kind, Abarat starts with a prologue in the fantasyland itself, tracking an incomprehensible conversation between three of its inhabitants, before we meet Candy. Here are some of the things I’m already writing about: (And as always, minors are not welcome.) Source: abarat christopher carrion candy quackenbush fanfiction fanficĪm plugging away on the Candy/Carrion ship manifesto (ie making a list of the things that are fun about it for people who are inclined to such ships, especially people who relate to Candy) and looking to hear if there are any themes I am missing in discussing. I’ve told you over and over: there’s nowhere left to run!” -Christopher Carrion, Days of Magic, Nights of War, Chapter 43: The Dark Denied “Why are you putting off the inevitable? Give in, little girl. He explains to her what “love” really is, in his warped and scathing view, and why it is so dangerous to people like them both. Incensed and intrigued by her escape attempts, Carrion indulges in a kind of cruelty that he knows will force Candy to think about him as often as he thinks about her. Set during “Days of Magic, Nights of War,” Christopher Carrion drags Candy Quackenbush back into The Dead Man’s House after their showdown on the rooftop instead of letting her fall. Use the AO3 tags to make sure this is suitable for you. Explicit, Dark Abarat fanfiction about Carrion and Candy.
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