Another entry in the “unfortunate events” genre, kitted out with atmospheric art, unusual book design, and a wonderfully...
The world’s first ambulatory hotel comes a little too close to a powerful witch’s demesne in this sequel to Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye (2015).
A gooey accident involving a pineapple sarsaparilla and an important control panel sets off an escalating chain of calamities that leaves the Warren Hotel in the charge of “Worrin,” a malign shape-shifter who has assumed the identity of its 12-year-old manager, Warren. Adding to the woes, the hotel’s security head, lavishly tattooed witch hunter Beatrice, has fallen into the clutches of Calvina—a witch queen so evil that many of the pages on which she appears are printed white on black. In a double-columned narrative festooned throughout with macabre green-and-black illustrations that thicken the gothic air considerably (particularly as the real Warren, resourceful and intrepid though he may be, is depicted as an uncommonly uglfy lad with gray skin), dismal turns abound, but all are met with fortitude and ingenious stratagems. Weirdness abounds: an apelike but refined “sap-squatch” figures prominently; along with the rest of his motley staff, Warren is thrilled to discover that walking on giant legs isn’t his beloved hotel’s only means of getting around. A visiting journalist is the one dark-skinned character in an otherwise largely white human cast.
Another entry in the “unfortunate events” genre, kitted out with atmospheric art, unusual book design, and a wonderfully homely protagonist. (Horror. 11-13)Pub Date: March 21, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-59474-929-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls.
Three young ghost trappers take on deadly wraiths and solve an old murder case in the bargain to kick off Stroud’s new post-Bartimaeus series.
Narrator Lucy Carlyle hopes to put her unusual sensitivity to supernatural sounds to good use by joining Lockwood & Co.—one of several firms that have risen to cope with the serious ghost Problem that has afflicted England in recent years. As its third member, she teams with glib, ambitious Anthony Lockwood and slovenly-but-capable scholar George Cubbins to entrap malign spirits for hire. The work is fraught with peril, not only because a ghost’s merest touch is generally fatal, but also, as it turns out, as none of the three is particularly good at careful planning and preparation. All are, however, resourceful and quick on their feet, which stands them in good stead when they inadvertently set fire to a house while discovering a murder victim’s desiccated corpse. It comes in handy again when they later rashly agree to clear Combe Carey Hall, renowned for centuries of sudden deaths and regarded as one of England’s most haunted manors. Despite being well-stocked with scream-worthy ghastlies, this lively opener makes a light alternative for readers who find the likes of Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series too grim and creepy for comfort.
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls. (Ghost adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Next to the exhilarating renditions of Rosemary Sutcliff (The Wanderings of Odysseus, 1996) and Geraldine McCaughrean...
An anemic retelling of the epic is paired to crabbed, ugly illustrations.
Breaking for occasional glimpses back to Penelope’s plight in Ithaca, Cross relates Odysseus’ travels in a linear narrative that begins with his departure for Troy but skips quickly over the war’s events to get to the sack of the city of the Cicones and events following. Along with being careless about continuity (Odysseus’ men are “mad with thirst” on one page and a few pages later swilling wine that they had all the time, for instance), the reteller’s language is inconsistent in tone. It is sprinkled with the requisite Homeric references to the “wine-dark sea” and Dawn’s rosy fingers but also breaks occasionally into a modern-sounding idiom: “ ‘What’s going on?’ Athene said, looking around at the rowdy suitors.” Packer decorates nearly every spread with either lacy figures silhouetted in black or gold or coarsely brushed paintings depicting crouching, contorted humans, gods and monsters with, generally, chalky skin, snaggled teeth, beer bellies or other disfigurements. The overall effect is grim, mannered and remote.
Next to the exhilarating renditions of Rosemary Sutcliff (The Wanderings of Odysseus, 1996) and Geraldine McCaughrean (Odysseus, 2004), this version makes bland reading, and the contorted art is, at best a poor match. (afterword, maps) (Illustrated classic. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4791-9
Page Count: 178
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
