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Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud (view source)
Revision as of 13:31, 9 June 2013
, 13:31, 9 June 2013no edit summary
This is definitely a scary book, with lots of gory detail about dripping blood, unearthly screams and midnight apparitions, not to mention the very human reasons why these spirits ended up trapped between life and death in the first place. It is tempting therefore to recommend that only readers at the upper end of the confident readers range should tackle it. But young people often take great delight in scenes of grossness and over-the-top horror, and are less moved by them than their more delicate parents. Besides, the constant light humour (not to mention the fact that the book weighs in at nearly 450 pages) acts as an effective balance, and all bar the youngest and most nightmare-prone of children are sure to enjoy it. It's a series which will be the subject of avid discussion in the playground — and at the dinner table unless adults put a stop to it. Simply put, this is one of the best books to come out this year, and it deserves to be widely read.
That same blend of wisecracking fun, adventure and the supernatural can be found in the Bartimaeus stories, by the same author. Bookbag particularly enjoyed [[The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud|The Amulet of Samarkand]] and [[The Ring of Solomon (Bartimaeus) by Jonathan Stroud|The Ring of Solomon]]. And older readers who are looking for more of a high-octane gore-fest will find it in [[CRYPT: The Gallows Curse by Andrew Hammond|CRYPT: The Gallows Curse]] and [[CRYPT: Traitor's Revenge by Andrew Hammond|CRYPT: Traitor's Revenge]]. And those last two are ''definitely not'' for reading at the table!
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