The Great And Dangerous by Chris Westwood
Jan. 8th, 2012 12:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
We have a list too and your name is on it …
Ben Harvester and Becky Sanborne are clocking off after a normal shift at the Ministry of Pandemonium, guiding the souls of the newly-dead to the afterlife. But the enemy are still smarting after their catastrophic defeat at Halloween and are keen for revenge. A freak tornado that destroys Becky’s house is only the start. When thirteen souls are stolen following a bomb explosion on Bad Saturday, the Ministry staff know that it heralds an all-out war with the Lords of Sundown. But little does Ben suspect how far their influence spreads.
It’s a couple of weeks after the events in THE MINISTRY OF PANDEMONIUM and Ben and Becky continue to work shepherding the recently deceased to the afterlife and away from the evil Lords of Sundown. But while the Lords of Sundown have suffered heavy losses, they are not defeated and it’s not long before they hit back. Sending a tornado to destroy Becky’s house and stealing 13 souls after a bomb explosion is just the start of it. Becky and Ben also find themselves ostracised at school after a malign influence exerts itself over the teachers and students and it soon becomes obvious that there’s a mole in the Ministry who’s giving information to the Lords of Sundown.
As Ben, Becky and Mr October struggle to do their job amid a growing atmosphere of mistrust and bureaucracy, Ben discovers that the Lords of Sundown have a special revenge planned for him and it involves his mother …
Chris Westwood’s sequel to THE MINISTRY OF PANDEMONIUM is a fast paced dark fantasy read set in a vividly imagined world.
I really liked the determination of the Lords of Sundown to make the war against the Ministry personal by taking it straight to Becky and Ben’s families and to their school. These aren’t cosy villains or comical buffoons – they’re vicious, evil and dangerous and they’re completely without mercy. A scene where Professor Rictus prepares to carry out debauched medical experiments on Ben is particularly chilling. While this is all contextualised, it may be too much for younger or more sensitive readers. In addition older readers may suss some of the baddies’ plans early on as they’re quite telegraphed, although Westwood still packs in some good twists and turns.
Ben’s first person voice remains, for the most part, spot on with Westwood. The only places where it didn’t quite work for me was the sections where Ben narrates events that he hasn’t been party to. In addition, because it’s a densely plotted story with a heavy population, I could have done with a character list to keep everyone distinct.
The book ends on a devastating cliff hanger and I’ll be interested to see how Westwood resolves it in the concluding book of this trilogy. All in all, this is a well written, fast-paced and darkly thrilling read with plenty of chills and some wonderful world building that any child aged 9+ would enjoy.
The Verdict:
The second in Chris Westwood’s dark fantasy middle grade trilogy is a well written, fast paced and darkly thrilling story that sees its main characters really put to the test by the forces of evil in scenes that may be too much for younger or more sensitive readers. The book ends on a devastating cliff hanger and I’m really looking forward to seeing how Christ Westwood concludes the tale.
THE GREAT AND DANGEROUS will be released in the UK on 1st March 2012. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
Ben Harvester and Becky Sanborne are clocking off after a normal shift at the Ministry of Pandemonium, guiding the souls of the newly-dead to the afterlife. But the enemy are still smarting after their catastrophic defeat at Halloween and are keen for revenge. A freak tornado that destroys Becky’s house is only the start. When thirteen souls are stolen following a bomb explosion on Bad Saturday, the Ministry staff know that it heralds an all-out war with the Lords of Sundown. But little does Ben suspect how far their influence spreads.
It’s a couple of weeks after the events in THE MINISTRY OF PANDEMONIUM and Ben and Becky continue to work shepherding the recently deceased to the afterlife and away from the evil Lords of Sundown. But while the Lords of Sundown have suffered heavy losses, they are not defeated and it’s not long before they hit back. Sending a tornado to destroy Becky’s house and stealing 13 souls after a bomb explosion is just the start of it. Becky and Ben also find themselves ostracised at school after a malign influence exerts itself over the teachers and students and it soon becomes obvious that there’s a mole in the Ministry who’s giving information to the Lords of Sundown.
As Ben, Becky and Mr October struggle to do their job amid a growing atmosphere of mistrust and bureaucracy, Ben discovers that the Lords of Sundown have a special revenge planned for him and it involves his mother …
Chris Westwood’s sequel to THE MINISTRY OF PANDEMONIUM is a fast paced dark fantasy read set in a vividly imagined world.
I really liked the determination of the Lords of Sundown to make the war against the Ministry personal by taking it straight to Becky and Ben’s families and to their school. These aren’t cosy villains or comical buffoons – they’re vicious, evil and dangerous and they’re completely without mercy. A scene where Professor Rictus prepares to carry out debauched medical experiments on Ben is particularly chilling. While this is all contextualised, it may be too much for younger or more sensitive readers. In addition older readers may suss some of the baddies’ plans early on as they’re quite telegraphed, although Westwood still packs in some good twists and turns.
Ben’s first person voice remains, for the most part, spot on with Westwood. The only places where it didn’t quite work for me was the sections where Ben narrates events that he hasn’t been party to. In addition, because it’s a densely plotted story with a heavy population, I could have done with a character list to keep everyone distinct.
The book ends on a devastating cliff hanger and I’ll be interested to see how Westwood resolves it in the concluding book of this trilogy. All in all, this is a well written, fast-paced and darkly thrilling read with plenty of chills and some wonderful world building that any child aged 9+ would enjoy.
The Verdict:
The second in Chris Westwood’s dark fantasy middle grade trilogy is a well written, fast paced and darkly thrilling story that sees its main characters really put to the test by the forces of evil in scenes that may be too much for younger or more sensitive readers. The book ends on a devastating cliff hanger and I’m really looking forward to seeing how Christ Westwood concludes the tale.
THE GREAT AND DANGEROUS will be released in the UK on 1st March 2012. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
