Marr, which means to ruin or damage the perfection or attractiveness of something, and it’s mentioned that Marr is not very attractive, resembling a slug and having the power to make humans into monsters for a short period of time. Rictus' – One of four servants of Hood's. Rictus is six inches taller than Harvey, wears gentlemen's clothes, a tall brim hat, and wears spectacles. He's very thin, has yellowish skin, and has a grin that can stretch wider than any grin, resembling the bizarre Cheshire Cat from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Rictus's name means "a fixed grimace or grin." I absolutely loved this book! Clive Barker does an amazing job of creating such interesting characters. The Holiday House is described with such detail that I felt like I could picture it in my head. This story reminds me a little of the Brothers Grimm or of The Wayward Children series. It's dark, creepy, but enchanting to read.

So... That's all. I probably would have liked this a bit more had I read it when I was in the target age range, but still, it's a good story.

Goodness gracious, this book was amazing. Thanks to that special someone for letting me read it (aka Ghirardelli).

For me, that's a characteristic of fiction that I have always been drawn to, even as a child. I would compare it to the tone of say Alice in Wonderland, or even Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. got to do what you've got to do! It took about three months to write, probably another couple of months to do fixes on, and then I gave it It is the best place Harvey has ever been, and it takes him about a month to realize that something is not... quite right. Why would the mysterious Mister Hood do this for children? And what happened to the children who had come before? And what's the deal with that cold, deep pond full of big, creepy fish? Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Joan Rubie (née Revill), a painter and school welfare officer, and Leonard Barker, a personnel director for an industrial relations firm. Educated at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School, he studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool University and his picture now hangs in the entrance hallway to the Philosophy Department. It was in Liverpool in 1975 that he met his first partner, John Gregson, with whom he lived until 1986. Barker's second long-term relationship, with photographer David Armstrong, ended in 2009. Rictus stole a bit of Hood's magic as insurance. However, he gloats about this right on top of the ruins, which promptly reform into Hood's hand, and forces him to release the magic, leading to Hood's One-Winged Angel form.Lotus-Eater Machine: The House functions as one. Hood uses illusions and magic to keep children happy, making them want to stay. However this miraculous place worked, it seemed real enough. The sun was hot, the soda was cold, the sky was blue, the grass was green. What more did he need to know?”

This book comes with a lovely publishing story. When he wrote “Thief of Always,” Barker was well known as a frightmaster He’d never written a book for kids. So… The Holiday House is truly a place of miracles. The food is better than you've ever eaten and there are enough toys and games and costumes and masks to keep any child happy for the rest of their lives. And in every day there are four seasons - a perfect green spring in the morning, a blazing wonderful summer in the afternoon, an evening full of woodsmoke, pumpkins and fallen leaves, and every night is a white Christmas with a present for each boy and girl. Truth be told, I wasn't too much a fan of Harvey's. I mean, he must have known that that phone call home was bogus, but he didn't care. This level of stupidity just means that you deserve what is coming, no matter how steep the price for your own stupidity is (no, the age is no excuse either). *lol* But he certainly did make up for it and show some cleverness at the end. ;) Witch of the West. That's why she is the victor. I think that's actually a misrepresentation of the way that power works in the world.

another book for kids or doing a comic? I would always choose the book for kids. That's just about trying to get my stories out to the The Thief of Always has taught me to not wish my days away and to live in the present. I also need to appreciate what I have because things can be there one minute and gone the next. Figuring he doesn't have any other enticing options, Harvey agrees and off he goes with Rictus. After arriving at the property he finds other children there already and befriends two of them, Lulu and Wendell. Horrible Judge of Character: Harvey's longing to escape from his boring everyday life leaves him vulnerable to the manipulations of the Obviously Evil Rictus. To be fair, Harvey grows increasingly suspicious of the Holiday House over time, and eventually takes down its master.