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- Poetic and enchanting, a novel full of magic and splendor...
- Unforgettably Enchanting
- Poetic and Graceful in everyway
- Interesting Allegory About Individuality
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Eucalyptus: A Novel
Murray Bail
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
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ASIN: 0156007819 |
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"The idea that Holland's daughter was like the princess locked in the tower of a damp castle was of course false. After all, she was living on a property in western New South Wales."
Once upon a time, on a property in western New South Wales, a man named Holland plants hundreds of varieties of eucalyptus trees, then decrees that only the suitor who can name each and every one of them will be worthy to marry his beautiful daughter, Ellen. Men try and fail: there is the gentle schoolteacher who "had correctly named eighty-seven eucalypts and was doing it well when he went blank at the fatly handsome Jarrah up against the fence behind the house"; and the New Zealander who "came up against, and was defeated by, one of the many Stringybarks..." Old men, young men, commercial travelers, sheep-shearers--even a "smiling Chinaman ... all the way from Darwin." Not one is successful. Then, one day, along comes Mr. Roy Cave, a man renowned in the eucalyptus world, someone who "employed with lip-smacking relish the terms 'petiole,' 'inflorescences,' 'falacte' and 'lanceolate,' and he was also comfortable with 'sessile', 'fusiform' and 'conculorous.'"
Even in so wonderfully fractured a fairy tale as Murray Bail's Eucalyptus, it's obvious that Roy Cave is hardly the stuff romantic dreams are made of. Indeed, despite her father's warning to "beware of any man who deliberately tells a story," Ellen's Prince Charming turns out to be a mysterious young stranger who finds her wandering among her father's trees and spins her tale after tale, each one tied to a different kind of eucalypt. As the weeks go by, Mr. Cave continues to successfully identify every tree on the property, thus drawing ever closer to his prize. Meanwhile, Ellen's other suitor captures first her imagination and then her heart with stories of apprentice hairdressers who fall in love with plain-Jane heiresses; solicitors' daughters involved with married men; and lonely canary breeders who almost find happiness with spinster piano teachers. What all of these off-kilter stories have in common is a theme of missed opportunities, and lovers who realize too late that they were made for each other. Will Ellen, too, end up like one of these the sad-hearted heroines, or will her would-be lover find a way to thwart Mr. Cave's relentless victory march through the Eucalypts to claim her hand?
There is so much to love about Bail's novel that it's difficult to identify exactly which of its qualities make it such a complete delight. Is it Ellen's "speckled beauty ... so covered in small brown-black moles she attracted men, every sort of man"? Is it the detailed descriptions of the landscape? The way Bail uses them to comment on human nature, on the nature of storytelling and of language itself ("a paragraph is not so different from a paddock--similar shape, similar function")? Or is it the wacky charm of the Scheharezade-like suitor's urban tales? ("Still in the vicinity of low-height eucalypts he went on to mention, in a thoughtful voice, how in an outer suburb of Hobart an actuary with a well-known insurance company needed a stepladder to woo a widow who passed by his house every day.") Whatever the source of Bail's peculiar magic, Eucalyptus casts a spell that will carry readers from first page to last and leave them wishing for a thousand and one more stories just like it. --Alix Wilber
Book Description
The gruff widower Holland has two possessions he cherishes above all others: his sprawling property of eucalyptus trees and his ravishingly beautiful daughter, Ellen. When Ellen turns nineteen Holland makes an announcement: she may marry only the man who can correctly name the species of each of the hundreds of gum trees on his property. Ellen is uninterested in the many suitors who arrive from around the world, until one afternoon she chances on a strange, handsome young man resting under a Coolibah tree. In the days that follow, he spins dozens of tales set in cities, deserts, and faraway countries. As the contest draws to a close, Ellen and the stranger's meetings become more erotic, the stories more urgent. Murray Bail's rich narrative is filled with unexpected wisdom about art, feminine beauty, landscape, and language. Eucalyptus is a shimmering love story that affirms the beguiling power of storytelling itself.
Customer Reviews:
Poetic and enchanting, a novel full of magic and splendor..........2007-02-10
`Eucalyptus' is not a novel for everyone. It's long and strangely detailed, more so than almost any other novel I've had the pleasure of reading. That said, if you do have the privilege to read this book then prepare yourself for an experience unlike any other. Murray Bail is first and foremost a master of modern language. His detailed descriptions of his characters and their gorgeous surroundings are one of the biggest and most enticing draws to this novel in the first place. Never have I read a novel that `took' me places like this one. I actually could feel the cool air on my cheeks as I read his descriptions of the Australian countryside.
The story is not one I would have generally been interested in, but I'm always open to new things and after hearing good things about this novel I decided to give it a read. The prose of the book revolves around a wealthy man named Holland and his beautiful young daughter Ellen. Ellen is a catch among catches and her father is stressed about losing her to the arms of another man. His daughter is all he has besides his plants. In fact, Holland has every eucalyptus plant on his property and so in a scheme to deter any man from his daughters hand he proposes a contest, and the winner would earn his daughters hand in marriage.
The contest consists of naming every eucalyptus plant in Holland's garden. Holland to me is a very interesting character; the most interesting in the book, for his actions and his motives are so real, so human while still utterly extreme. Most likely he feels that no one will ever be able to win this contest and thus he will never lose his daughter. Ellen on the other hand slowly begins to loathe her father for what he's doing to her and as one man in particular continues his road towards becoming her suitor she's filled even more with contempt. She begins to hate the very thing that her father loves, the eucalyptus.
As Ellen secludes herself from her father and the local competitors she comes across a man unlike any other she has the privilege to know. This stranger takes a liking to Ellen, but not in an aggressive or expected way. Instead he spins for her mysterious and enchanting stories as they walk her father's gardenlike estate. This stranger wins over Ellen's heart but as the contest dwindles to a close it looks like she may end up in the wrong mans arms in the end.
`Eucalyptus' may be hard for some to swallow, let alone digest, but it's so beautifully written and elegantly described that one is spellbound page after page. Murray Bail knows how to tell a story, and he does so with such expertise that the faults lying within his plot are soon forgiven. The ending is far from what I expected, but it's sure to please the average reader. Anyone who fancies themselves on the romantic aspects of modern literature will be absorbed in the chemistry between Ellen and her strange romantic interest, and any parent will find themselves understanding Holland's own plight as he prepares for his daughters departure into womanhood.
What is so tantalizing about this novel is that it becomes so much more than just your average love story. It's a story about love, trust, loyalty and devotion and it expresses these facets and personality traits with the most structured and impressive choice of words it's almost like reading poetry. Bail is a fascinating writer who has accomplished quite a bit with this novel. I can only expect even better things to come from this man.
Unforgettably Enchanting.......2006-08-06
A story of old fashioned medieval type courtship that's as magical and simple as a fairy tale.
Not so once upon a time, there was a widower called Holland, who had a vast planation of eucalyptus off in New South Wales. (" It was west of Sydney, over the ranges and into the sun-about four hours in a Japanese car")
He is obsessed with his eucalypts as he is protective with his only daughter-Ellen, a 19- year old ethereal beauty who has captured men not only around New South Wales, but as far as New Zealand, Tasmania and Darwin. (Her "speckled" beauty is so captivating it turns loud mouthed men into stuttering lambs and the very first male who saw her naked died)
Holland always cautions his daughter to "beware of any man who deliberately tells a story. You're going to come across men. like that. I want you to listen to me. There's no real reason for you to be going into town. But leaving that aside, its worth asking, when a man starts concocting a story in front of you. Why is he telling it? What does he want?"
Tired of all these men hovering around his daughter, Holland one day decides to hold an auction/contest. Whoever can correctly name ALL the species of eucalyptus tress in his plantation is free to marry his daughter.
Hundreds of men, young lads, even old men come and try their hand/brains/memory at the conquest. As with other fairy tales, many tried, but failed. Meanwhile, Ellen is getting less and less impressed with the pursuit for her hand. She doesn't know anymore if the men are more interested in the conquest, or herself.
The men grew weary and soon hundreds trickled into dozens, until the only suitor left was a Mr. Cave, a eucalyptus expert from Adelaide. Day by day, Mr. Cave continues to succeed, and Holland seems to be getting along well with his prospective son-in-law. Soon it was obvious that it was only a matter of days until Ellen would be given away..that is until, one day, Ellen stumbles upon a stranger resting on one of their trees.
This stranger, who was unlike all the other suitors, appeared to be uninterested in Ellen, and, just as her father forewarned her, seems to draw her in his numerous tales of just about anything. In the meantime, as Mr. Cave draws closer and closer to becoming the successful suitor, Ellen gets drawn deeper and deeper by this nameless storyteller.
Just who exactly is this mysterious storyteller that has captured the normally aloof Ellen?
I just found out that there were plans of a movie adaptation of this book, starring Russel Crowe and Nicole Kidman. But the production was halted due to "creative differences" between the director and Crowe and, perhaps from Bail, who was reportedly not very satisfied with Kidman portraying his 19 year old muse.
Save for the frequent scientific information on eucalyptus, Bail's narration is beautiful, and wraps around you, almost entangles you in inside a web of stories. These stories inside the stories unfolds gracefully the identity of the indifferent stranger. And will spark your insight as to why those who truly love us are often unoticed. Recommended.
Poetic and Graceful in everyway.......2006-02-23
I picked this novel up at a bargain book store while on vacation with my wife, mostly because I had just read that Russell Crowe was in talks to star in the film adaptation and I have to watch and or read anything 'Russell Crowe'...Since then the film has been scrubbed and Crowe has moved on to other things, but I am so glad that I have purchased this wonderful book. While at first I admitt that I was not interested at the plot (a wealthy father holds a contest for his daughters hand in marraige) and I was merely reading the book just to say that I had, I slowly became obsessed mostly because of Bail's beautiful writing style. His descriptions of the Australian surroundings will suck you into each chapter. One review stated that the charactors were wooden. Maybe if you aren't reading it right. The charactors are fully alive and strong, each and everyone...except the stranger who appears to be very illusive, but thats the point of his charactor. Ellen, the young girl being autioned off if it were by her plant obsessed father hates her fathers plan so much she even states that she hates the eucalyptus...this is because even the word reminds her of her dispair. Her father Holland is the most interesting character in the book because he really made me think alot while I was reading, trying to decern his emotions. Why would he do this to his daughter, and while the answer may be simple (he doesn't want to lose her and feels it would be impossible for anyone to win the contest) I feel that there may be more to it than that. The ending was not what I expected, and it was very settling to say the least. I was happy with this novel in the long run. I would recomend this to anyone with an open mind who wants to read a beautifully written and masterfully crafted love story unlike anything their ever read.
Interesting Allegory About Individuality.......2004-12-12
On the surface, Eucalyptus seems to be a fairy tale about a confined "princess" who can only be freed by a "prince" that names all the trees on her property. If one stops at that level, they will probably dwell on the frequent descriptions of eucalyptus that tend to break the story's narrative flow and the characters that seem a little too sparsely defined. Yet, beyond that basic reading of the text, there is a surprising depth to this book. To put it simply, Eucalyptus is a very interesting and challenging allegory about appreciating individuality.
Bail establishes his allegory by showing how his main characters have been primarily defined through speculation and assumption. For example, he depicts how Holland is subjected to conjecture regarding both his relationships and his past. Additionally, Bail describes some assumptions that were present when Holland and his wife first met. Given the prominent role that supposition played in shaping his life, Holland decides that the only man who can have his daughter is one who proves he can see past stereotype in order to appreciate a person's individuality. Holland attempts to achieve this objective by having his naming contest act as a surrogate for determining if a person can recognize uniqueness. However, Ellen goes beyond her father's intentions when she falls in love with a man who recognizes the eucalyptus' individuality by relating a story that reflects each tree's character. This man doesn't even have a name, thereby reinforcing Ellen's ability to see beyond a person's "title" to that which truly defines them as an individual.
By having his heroine fall in love with a person who recognizes each tree's "story" and not just their name, Bail makes the point that individuality is not just a person's title. Instead, he shows that individuality is tied to the experiences and stories that make up a person's existence. The fact that Bail conveys this point with elegant language and interesting trivia just makes the book richer. These elements make Eucalyptus much deeper than a simple fairy tale. In the end, the book is a fascinating examination of what determines individuality and the true way to acknowledge it.
Hmm...........2004-10-15
I guess if you want to enjoy this novel, you must read it as a fairytale. I had the most trouble believing 1) Ellen's father could get all the Eucalyptus species successfully growing on his property and 2)The surreal descriptions of the trees, which from a poetic perspective, are the best part of the story .
In the end, I didn't like this novel. The ending was unresolved, anticlimaxed and irrelevant to the flow of the rest of the story. This is one novel where the trees are given far more poetry, colour and life than the 'wooden' human characters. I guess it's only right then that Nic Kidman will be playing the female lead the the cinematic adaptation.
Book Description
The ailing Duke of Rochester finds himself on his death bed with no legitimate heirs. Concocting a plan to 'legitimize' them all upon his death, he instructs his butler extraordinaire, Reeves, to find the duke's unsanctioned children and "civilize" them.
Reeves's first assignment is the duke's oldest illegitimate son, wounded–war–hero–one–time–pirate Tristan Llevanth. Wounded after the Battle of Trafalgar, Tristan sits in his gloomy house and waits for life to pass him by. Unfortunately, his bothersome neighbor, the delectable widow Prudence, has other plans. Reeves wants to mold him into a real duke while Prudence wants Tristan to keep his wandering sheep on his own property. Tristan, for his part, wished to do neither. When Reeves notices a flair of interest in Tristan's eyes whenever the now–destitute Prudence is about, he hires the lady on the spot to teach Tristan the manners he so sadly needs.
Lessons turn into kisses which turn into a hot searing passion that even the threat of losing a fortune cannot disrupt. And eventually, Tristan realizes that in love, as in all things, if one needs the answer, all one must do is just ask Reeves.
Customer Reviews:
WEAK!!!.......2007-09-30
I really loved the story line... there was so much potential, so much bought up that never went any were... I was soooo let down!
Cheerful But Average Story.......2007-07-15
The late Earl of Rochester sent his efficient butler Reeves to find his two illegitimate twin sons, Tristan and Christian, who disappeared when they were ten years old when there mother was arrested for treason. The Earl knew he was dying without a legitimate heir so he sends Reeves out to find and civilize his sons. The eldest son, Tristan was pressed into merchant service as a youth and then later became a pirate and then war hero, fighting alongside Nelson himself. Tristan now is retired living in a cottage with a war injury and his retirement nestegg is being slowly depleted because all of his old crew have come to live with him having nowhere else to go. When Reeves tracks him down and tells him if he is willing to become a gentlemen to impress the trustees he can have the title and a fortune which will ensure the welfare of his men for their entire lives. Tristan struggles with his decision not wanting anything of his father because he did not help their mother or his brother and him but he relents knowing that the funds will help his men. He is also intrigued to find that his brother is alive and Reeves knows where to find him. Reeves enlists the help of Prudence, a widow living next door, to help teach Tristan manners. Tristan is wildly attracted to the widow and she to him, but she knows that nothing can come of a relationship because her late husband was part of a money scandal before he died and nobody in society would accept her. As they begin the tutoring, Tristan and Prudence give into their physical attraction, but will it be enough to make it.
This story was not bad, it was just average. I would have liked to known more about the other illegitimate children that the Earl had besides Tristan and Christian also. It never seems like you really get to know much about the characters, just that something is missing from this story. Its not bad, its just missing that extra special element that makes a book so hard to put down.
I'm ambivalant............2007-06-04
While I found the cutesy title of the book a bit too saccharine -I decided to give it a try anyway as I've read good reviews for the authors previous books.
This first book in a series started very well with an intriguing back story about twin brothers who were born on the "wrong side of the sheet" to an earl and who find themselves orphaned at 10 when there mother dies in prison-wrongly accused of treason.
Fast forward to chapter 2-20+ years later to the story of Tristian and Penelope. The book left me ambivalent-while there were parts of "clarity" within the book-between the main characters and secondary characters-it was too often seasoned with choppy, far fetched and repetitive writing as to make the book hard to get through.
Overall the book seems hastily put out, and very poorly edited (I found several obvious grammatical errors, misspellings and even one twin being referred to as the other!)
While I loved the fact that the H/H are older, and experienced from other relationships-I didn't like the authors tendency to keep having their inner dialog go over yet again why they could not marry-when the reasoning was not even plausible to begin with.
The ending of the story is 360 degrees from what the characters were trying to accomplish throughout the book and made for an immature, silly end.
I'm trying the other twins story right now and I hope it will be better than this one.For those like me with limited book budgets- I would only recommend this book used or from the library.
3 stars.
Nobody should have to read dialog this stupid.......2007-03-30
The very first scene between Pru and Tristan contains some very forced, contrived, dialog. Then a few chapters later, their sex scene even contains forced, contrived, and ill-timed dialog.
This story has a great premise. There is tempting sub-plot potential with his twin brother, but it falls flat. Maybe it is too much of a stretch that Tristan's country neighbor, with the sheep in her front yard, is also the high-born lady that he feels he's not cultured enough for.
But for me the show-stopper was the absolute lack of nuance in this story. You can see immediately where it is going from the opening scene, and that makes it not worth reading.
Not terribly interesting.......2006-12-21
The Earl of Rochester died without a legitimate male heir, but he tried to correct this by manipulating the facts regarding his illegitimate sons. He then charged his butler, Reeves, to find and shape the most likely son to be the new Earl.
First son is Tristan Llevanth, an ex-pirate diamond in the rough, but all around good chap who is busy caring for his former subordinates and having tussles with his neighbour. This is, of course, the love interest - widowed Patience Thistlethwaite.
All is set for Patience and Reeves to push, pull and drag Tristan into the shape of an Earl.
This sounds interesting in the usual way, but it's not. The whole premise of the English laws of inheritance is manipulated into oblivion.
Alas, I could not help but compare this to a far finer book using the same idea of a father trying to redress the law of primogeniture to his preference - "Mr Scarbourough's Family" by Anthony Trollope. Possibly not a fair comparison, but the plot immediately called it to mind.
It's not a bad book, just not terribly good. The characters go through the motions. Neither hero nor heroine catch hold of the reader's sympathy.
Average customer rating:
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Her Master and Commander
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739463543 |
Average customer rating:
- very mature horror
- Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull
- The Spell of the Sorcerser's Skull
- "Scary and Suspensful"
- A very haunted clock
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The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull (Johnny Dixon)
John Bellairs
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0142402656 |
Book Description
John Bellairs, the name in Gothic mysteries for middle graders, wrote terrifying tales full of adventure, attitude, and alarm. For years, young readers have crept, crawled, and gone bump in the night with the unlikely heroes of these Gothic novels: Lewis Barnavelt, Johnny Dixon, and Anthony Monday. Now, the ten top-selling titles feature an updated cover look. Loyal fans and enticed newcomers will love the series even more with this haunting new look!
Customer Reviews:
very mature horror.......2005-03-02
for a children's story, this is very mature horror. in this book by horror genius, john bellairs, we have the classic good vs. evil. there are also elements of satanism, roman catholicism countering the satanism, latin incantions, holy water, its...yeah pretty heavy stuff for grade schoolers. its still quite worthwhile to read, as i read them as a child and loved them. yes, they are terrifying, but they are extremely well written, in an easy flowing narrative that makes it simple for children to follow. enjoy these classic additions to children's gothic horror (a...strange genre indeed).
Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull.......2004-12-09
At the begining of the I wanted to read a different book because it was really boring.More towards the end of the book It started to get WAY better.Over all I thought it was a really good book.
The Spell of the Sorcerser's Skull.......2004-12-08
AT FIRST THE BOOK,WAS FAIRLY INTERESTING.THEN DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK IT STARTED TO GET TO BE LIKE SNORESVILLE.THEN IN THE END OF THE BOOK IT STARTED TO BE WHERE I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO READ DURING READING TIME.OVER ALL IN THE END I THOUGHT IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD BOOK.
"Scary and Suspensful".......2003-02-19
In the book The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull is about Johnny and one of his best friends Professor Childermass. When Professor Childermass is taken away by an un-named force, Johnny has to go and save him. Johnny takes Fergie (his best friend) and Farther Higgins along with him not even knowing what he was getting himself into. The three men follow all of the clues that the professor may have left at the place where the disappearance happened. They finally get to an island where their troubles run thick.
I liked this book because it was very suspenseful and it made you want to read on and on so that you could find out what happened next. I also liked this book because Johnny has to go through a lot and it shows how much of a friends he is to Professor Childermass.
A very haunted clock.......2002-11-03
Grownups remain out of sight for the most part in this spooky addition to the Johnny Dixon mystery series by John Bellairs. Crusty old Professor Childermass (a series regular) vanishes early on, to be replaced by crusty old Irish-American priest, Father Higgins, who brandishes a silver crucifix and rescues Johnny in the nick of some very frightening situations.
Johnny is a shy, likeable boy who tries to act brave in spite of thinking himself a coward. His lower lip quivers almost continuously as he and his friend Fergie set out to find the missing professor. (He has every reason to be nervous in a story that reminds me of "The Haunted Doll's House" by that master of horror himself: M. R. James). For reasons that remain a mystery until the last few pages, our youthful hero is plagued by a tiny human skull and an ominous jack-o-lantern after his friend, Professor Childermass disappears.
As skeletons, demons, and a haunted clock all conspire to make Johnny's life miserable, Fergie and Father Higgins pitch in to help him. The climax to "The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull" takes place on a remote rock off the coast of Maine, appropriately named 'Cemetery Island.'
The book is set in the nostalgic early 1950s (Johnny's father is a fighter pilot in Korea), but you won't have much time to feel nostalgia. You'll be too busy feeling scared. One of the reliable features of John Bellairs's adolescent fiction is that he doesn't try to make his ghosts cuddly or mawkish, like so many so-called 'teen-age horror' authors.
Customer Reviews:
A classic I can't wate for a rerelase.......1997-12-10
Loved this book it is a shame he stopped wrighting
Don't bother.......1997-09-18
Let's all hope this one stays out of print. It was horrible! No creativity, poor writing. A dark chapter in Ace's histor
Average customer rating:
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The Sorcerer's Skull
David Mason
Manufacturer: Wildside Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
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ASIN: 1587150638 |
Customer Reviews:
Old Favourite.......2001-06-30
This was first published by Lancer in 1970 as science fantasy. (It includes modern technology as a subset of magic.) The wicked Myrdin Velis needs his skull transported back home, and twists the hero's arm into doing so. I liked Myrdin's approach to the problem of supporting his life style, he pays in gold pieces that are new, shining and quite real. I also like the answer to the problem of why sorcerous technology hasn't simply taken over from swords; the good sorcerers are enviromentalists, and feel everyone else should live the simple, rural lifestyle. The wicked sorcerers, of course, have no time for this claptrap, and simply treat the world and its inhabitants as a combined hunting preserve and amusement park. The only real revolutionary, in favour of radical and far reaching social change, is Myrdin. He makes the status quo seem very good indeed. After a series of adventures, Owen, the hero, transports Myrdin's skull back home, and then of course must assist in his elimination. The requirement of Myrdin and Owen to hold to a strict, magically enforced exchange of services is a bit artificial, but it makes the plot work. This is the advantage of magic as part of the background. I must admit I think this is probably the best of David Mason's books. If you like sword and sorcery, I strongly recommend it.
Average customer rating:
- A Johnny Dixon mystery by John Bellairs
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The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 9994763369 |
Customer Reviews:
A Johnny Dixon mystery by John Bellairs.......2004-10-25
Grownups remain out of sight for the most part in this spooky addition to the Johnny Dixon mystery series by John Bellairs. Crusty old Professor Childermass (a series regular) vanishes early on, to be replaced by crusty old Irish-American priest, Father Higgins, who brandishes a silver crucifix and rescues Johnny in the nick of some very frightening situations.
Johnny is a shy, likeable boy who tries to act brave in spite of thinking himself a coward. His lower lip quivers almost continuously as he and his friend Fergie set out to find the missing professor. (He has every reason to be nervous in a story that reminds me of "The Haunted Doll's House" by that master of horror himself: M. R. James). For reasons that remain a mystery until the last few pages, our youthful hero is plagued by a tiny human skull and an ominous jack-o-lantern after his friend, Professor Childermass disappears.
As skeletons, demons, and a haunted clock all conspire to make Johnny's life miserable, Fergie and Father Higgins pitch in to help him. The climax to "The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull" takes place on a remote rock off the coast of Maine, appropriately named 'Cemetery Island.'
The book is set in the nostalgic early 1950s (Johnny's father is a fighter pilot in Korea), but you won't have much time to feel nostalgia. You'll be too busy feeling scared. One of the reliable features of John Bellairs's adolescent fiction is that he doesn't try to make his ghosts cuddly or mawkish, like so many so-called 'teen-age horror' authors.
Product Description
First 4 paperbacks in The Cenotaph Series. Cenotaph Road - Sorcerer's Skull - Worlds of Mazes - Iron Tongue
Book Description
Have trouble hearing? Ears ringing? Room spinning? Dizzy? Find out quickly if your medications may be the culprits! "Ototoxic Drugs Exposed" reveals the shocking truth about the specific ear-damaging effects of more than 920 drugs and chemicals. Just as importantly, it reveals the factors that can put your ears at higher risk and explains how you can help reduce this risk in order to help protect your ears from the sneak attacks of prescription drugs.
Books:
- Exact Revenge
- Falcon Saga (Arabesque)
- First Rider's Call (Green Rider, Book 2)
- Gai-Jin
- Gardenias for Breakfast: A Women of Faith Novel (Gunn, Robin Jones)
- Hairstyles Of The Damned (Punk Planet Books)
- Havana Bay: A Novel
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- I Say a Little Prayer: A Novel
Books Index
Books Home
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