The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick

[Jeremy]

The Book of Dead Days is a fast-paced, gripping page-turner. The story takes place in the 18th century in a nameless European city. Valerian, a magician who performs magic tricks in a theater for a living, has a servant boy named Boy whom he took under his care from the streets several years ago. Valerian is a cruel master who scolds and beats Boy frequently and rarely shows him any affection, but for some reason Boy stayed on with his master. During the few days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the so called Dead Days, Valerian becomes increasingly agitated with each passing day, and he takes Boy and a girl named Willow on a desperate and obsessive hunt for The Book of Dead Days, which he claims will help him avert certain death on New Year’s Eve. The search led the threesome through bizarre and frightening places in the city and beyond: the cemetery, a lab where gruesome animal transmutations are performed, the catacombs beneath a church, culminating in a breathless chase in the dark tunnels and waterways beneath the city, where the secrets held within the Book of the Dead Days are finally revealed. Why is Valerian fated to die on New Year’s Eve at midnight? Can he be saved? How will he be saved? What role does Boy play? The end of the book leaves many questions unanswered, paving the way for a sequel. This is a highly original story. The author writes with simple and limpid prose that evokes the dark atmosphere very effectively and describes the scenes, characters and their actions in vivid detail. It is such an engaging and compelling read that most avid readers will undoubtedly finish it in one day. I highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys Young Adult fantasy.

 

[Jeremy]

Review of Witch Hill by Marcus Sedgwick

Another children’s fantasy novel by the author of The Book of Dead Days. This is an earlier effort, and it lacks the complexity and intensity of his later masterpiece, but it is nevertheless a fun and engaging read. Jamie is a boy haunted by thoughts of a recent house fire, in which he was unable to save his little sister. Ridden with guilt, he was doing poorly in school, and so he was sent to live with his aunt in a village to get away for a while. However, while living in his aunt’s house, he begins to have nightmares about an evil, foul old witch, who chases after him across the hill in his dreams. At the same time, a scouring of the hill behind the house reveals a sinister ancient drawing on the hill that originally gave the hill its name of Crownhill, only the drawing is not that of a crown. Does the witch really exist, or is she a part of Jamie’s too active imagination? There are one or two genuinely scary moments in the book when Jamie comes face to face with the witch in his dreams. The book is quite short, about 150 pages, so it can be finished in no time at all, and it leaves several mysteries unresolved. Recommended for those who enjoy children’s fantasy and fans of Sedgwick.

 

[Halo]

Nice reviews, Jeremy. The Book of Dead Days sounds quite interesting. I have read at least two Sedgwick books, The Dark Horse and Floodland, and was rather disappointed with them both. (Witch Hill rings a bell, so I might have read that one too, but I obviously wasn't very impressed with it if I can't remember!)

Floodland is, for me, far outclassed by the superior Exodus, by Julie Bertagna, which deals with a similar storyline of a world flooded by global warming.