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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Warning: Do not read this book!
... For amongst its strange and alarming contents you will fin:
two extraordinary adventurers ...
a missing magician's diary ...
a symphony of smells ...
and a deadly secret.
But wait, you already know too much! It is too late. I'm afraid nothing will stop you now. Open the book if you must. But, please, tell no one.
This is basically a quest story involving 11 year-olds Cass (a survivalist who carries a backpack of equipment to deal with every kind of emergency) and Max-Earnest (a non-stop talker who wants to be a comedian and whose parents are separated but refuse to divorce). One day, Cassandra discovers a Symphony of Smells (a collection of test tubes containing different substances) which was rescued from an old magician's house. Inside the Symphony of Smells is a coded message asking for help and after discovering that the magician apparently died in mysterious circumstances, Max-Earnest and Cass visit his house to try and discover what happened to him. Their adventures include learning about synaesthesia (a condition that makes people smell colour or see smells), kidnapping, an Egyptian cult and the search for eternal life.
Bosch tries hard to inject fun and it's a shame that it's so distracting. In particular, Bosch frequently interrupts the story to comment on it, warn the reader against carrying on or to provide additional (usually redundant) information. The effect is to slow up the pace and create an artificial sense of tension, which is very frustrating. The characters are two-dimensional, particularly the villainous Dr. L and Ms Mauvais, neither of whom come alive on the page. Bosch tries hard to give Cass and Max-Earnest personality, but it still feels like a checklist of characteristics and while there's some sly humour about psychologists, it's not enough to make either of them interesting. I wish that Bosch had drawn out Benjamin Blake as he does very little in the book, although there's a hint that he'll be more important in future ones. The one thing I did like was Cass's gay grandfathers, which was nicely handled and very believable.
Bosch provides some magic tricks for children to do at the end of the book, which will keep them entertained, but it's a shame that the same can't be said for the story itself. It's the first of a series, but I won't be reading on.
The Verdict:
In trying too hard to create an artificial sense of humour, Bosch has created an artificial, oddly lifeless book that lacks charm. This is a shame because a book about synaesthesia has the potential to be fascinating and it seems that Bosch's intention is to develop a series around it. Unfortunately, I'm not interested in reading more about Cass's or Max-Earnest's adventures.
... For amongst its strange and alarming contents you will fin:
two extraordinary adventurers ...
a missing magician's diary ...
a symphony of smells ...
and a deadly secret.
But wait, you already know too much! It is too late. I'm afraid nothing will stop you now. Open the book if you must. But, please, tell no one.
This is basically a quest story involving 11 year-olds Cass (a survivalist who carries a backpack of equipment to deal with every kind of emergency) and Max-Earnest (a non-stop talker who wants to be a comedian and whose parents are separated but refuse to divorce). One day, Cassandra discovers a Symphony of Smells (a collection of test tubes containing different substances) which was rescued from an old magician's house. Inside the Symphony of Smells is a coded message asking for help and after discovering that the magician apparently died in mysterious circumstances, Max-Earnest and Cass visit his house to try and discover what happened to him. Their adventures include learning about synaesthesia (a condition that makes people smell colour or see smells), kidnapping, an Egyptian cult and the search for eternal life.
Bosch tries hard to inject fun and it's a shame that it's so distracting. In particular, Bosch frequently interrupts the story to comment on it, warn the reader against carrying on or to provide additional (usually redundant) information. The effect is to slow up the pace and create an artificial sense of tension, which is very frustrating. The characters are two-dimensional, particularly the villainous Dr. L and Ms Mauvais, neither of whom come alive on the page. Bosch tries hard to give Cass and Max-Earnest personality, but it still feels like a checklist of characteristics and while there's some sly humour about psychologists, it's not enough to make either of them interesting. I wish that Bosch had drawn out Benjamin Blake as he does very little in the book, although there's a hint that he'll be more important in future ones. The one thing I did like was Cass's gay grandfathers, which was nicely handled and very believable.
Bosch provides some magic tricks for children to do at the end of the book, which will keep them entertained, but it's a shame that the same can't be said for the story itself. It's the first of a series, but I won't be reading on.
The Verdict:
In trying too hard to create an artificial sense of humour, Bosch has created an artificial, oddly lifeless book that lacks charm. This is a shame because a book about synaesthesia has the potential to be fascinating and it seems that Bosch's intention is to develop a series around it. Unfortunately, I'm not interested in reading more about Cass's or Max-Earnest's adventures.
