- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: Collins Educational; School edition edition (1 Feb 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0003303373
- ISBN-13: 978-0003303377
- Product Dimensions: 18.6 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,516,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
‘A dashingly produced fantasy.’ The Daily Telegraph
Product Description
The horror story your students have been asking you for! The only children’s story by the master of horror.
The story: Harvey Swick is lured into the world of the Holiday House. Everything seems perfect at first, but then Harvey begins to realise that there is a price to pay – the Holiday House has a sinister side.
Themes: myth and symbolism, families, time, growing up, adulthood versus childhood, imaginative use of language
Horror
Male central character
KS3/KS4 (S1-S4)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
There is a price to be paid, of course, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by Mr. Hood's wonders, does not stop to consider the consequences. It is only when the House shows its darker face - when Harvey discovers pitiful creatures that dwell in its shadows - that he comes to doubt Mr. Hood's philanthropy. The House and its mysterious architect are not about to release their captive without a battle, however. Mr. Hood has ambitions for his new guest, for Harvey's soul burns brighter than any soul he has encountered in a thousand years.
First published back in 1992, 'The Thief Of Always' was Barker’s first novel aimed predominantly at the children's fiction market. The vocabulary of the novel is simple and the structure of the sentences is of a plainer style than usual Barker work, due to the main market being targeted at 8 yrs old and onwards. Barker also wanted to appeal to 40-year-olds in the same way that C.S. Lewis does to so many. For the 8-year-olds, 'The Thief of Always' is an adventure about a kid who goes to a house that seems to promise everything but has a dark, terrible secret. And to an adult, it's a story about the problems of time and childhood, and what you give away in the moments of your youth that you can never get back again. It delivers the same kind of effect that you get with 'Alice In Wonderland' or 'The Halloween Tree' - books that are wonderful tales, where even as a child you sense that there's something going on beneath the surface which you can't quite grasp, and once you go back as an adult, you find it to still be fresh. The tale brings forth a classical feel of a fairy tale, but at the same time with modern resonance.
Throughout the 230 pages that the novel occupies, Barker has produced beautifully inked illustrations of the novel's events. The illustrations are simply black on white ink drawings. They were done in this way mainly due to the fact that the novel will sell most copies as a paperback (cheaper for the kiddies), so therefore simple black and white studies will reduce nicely for this purpose.
The story is a thoroughly enjoyable read, with its simplicity at one level and underlying questions and implications at a deeper level. The storyline is involved and inspiring, allowing the reader to delve into their own imagination. Well worth picking up and reading, you won't be disappointed!
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read this book when I was about 12. I am now 20 and recently re-read "Thief of Always" and enjoyed it just as much. The idea of escapism becomming a trap, your possesions turning into dust and your future being withheld are all sinister concepts. This is simply a brilliant, well-crafted book.
Format:Paperback
Excellent book of which which I had an old copy amd was looking to replace. Of course Amazon is the for me.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not so much written as crafted
I don't read a lot of horror and am not often impressed by the genre, but this book is wonderful. It is beautifully written - and even now, a good many years since I read this book... Read more
Published on 21 May 2009 by Sir Furboy
My favourite book of all time
I have read this book at least once a year since I was 12 (I'm now 25!) and I never get bored of it. It really is aimed at all ages and really is a magical book. Read more
Published on 5 July 2008 by R. Seferaj
Time is short...
Bored with his dull everyday existence a young boy finds himself in the house of the mysterious Mr Hood where all his dreams come true...but only at a price. Read more
Published on 4 April 2007 by Jane Aland
So superb
This is essentially a childs book, but as an adult, I cannot believe how much I loved this book. Harvey Swick is an irresistible character,who puts in your mind easily just how... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2006 by AE Hunter
Good
Very easy reading. I read it in about 4 sittings. Short and too the point. I love his character development and his ideas are sheer brilliance as per usual. Read more
Published on 22 May 2004 by "drummermcd"
An Introduction
I was introduced to Clive Barker with Weaveworld, but would recommend The Thief of Always to younger fantasy/horror fans as an introduction to Clive Barker's unbelievable... Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2001
Fantastic!
I could not put this down! This is a spellbinding, macabre fairytale. Clive Barker's descriptive style alone paints a vivid picture of Mr Hood's eerie world, and the accompanying... Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2001
got me into the world of reading
i didnt read anything really until i found out that clive barker came up with hellraiser. so i had to read something of his and i loved its the only book so far that ive read... Read more
Published on 3 April 2001
I think the book is a good one but is a bit boring
The book is a good one but the begining is a bit boring but at the end gets a bit better and is full of action and mythical with Carna and Mr Hood(which is the house)and also all... Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2000
Magical
If you have ever known what it feels like to want somthing more, yet not quite not know what or why read this book. Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2000
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