The Last Siege by Jonathan Stroud
May. 10th, 2009 11:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
A chance encounter on the snowy slopes of a castle moat throws together three lonely teenagers: Emily, Simon and the enigmatic Marcus.
Spurred on by Marcus, the three break into the ruined castle, spending a night there to experience the power of occupation. But their re-enactment spirals out of control and a very real siege ensues, becoming a frenzy of nightmarish action and dark, psychological games.
Readers who come to this book expecting something in the vein of Stroud’s wildly successful Bartimaeus Trilogy will be disappointed but only because there is no magic and no fantasy in this tale and the structure is much more straightforward. It’s essentially an adventure story with psychological overtones.
While sledging near a ruined castle, Emily meets Marcus, a boy from another town who has cycled over specially to see the castle. Soon they are joined by Simon, the youngest son of a family who are no stranger to the police and whose brothers bully Emily. Marcus persuades Emily and Simon to put aside their differences and join him in breaking into the castle so they can have a look around. As the three of them explore, they form a tentative friendship, one that’s cemented after they’re discovered by the castle’s unpleasant caretaker, Harris. At Emily’s suggestion, they agree to go back to spend the night, but their illicit stay sparks a chain of events that culminate in the three of them locked in a siege with the authorities, who are rapidly closing in.
Stroud handles his material with the competence that you would expect. Emily, Simon and Marcus are depicted in broad strokes, perhaps too broad in the case of Marcus given that he is the psychological lynchpin to the story. There is plenty of action and running about and Stroud gives the castle in which the plot takes place a character of its own. The plot takes place in the depth of winter and Stroud is clever with his use of snow and the cold in order to move the story forward.
The main criticism of the novel is that it feels as though it finishes a chapter too early and Stroud doesn’t show any of the fall-out from the events. Saying that, there is character development in the case of Emily in particular, who develops from a somewhat introverted girl with no friends, to one who develops personal courage and loyalty to two boys within the space of a few days.
The Verdict:
People looking for a repeat of The Bartimaeus Trilogy will be disappointed, but they are missing out on a competently told story that’s an enjoyable enough read. If it’s not as good as the Bartimaeus Trilogy then that’s only because it’s such a hard act to live up to and it’s no reason to give this a miss.
A chance encounter on the snowy slopes of a castle moat throws together three lonely teenagers: Emily, Simon and the enigmatic Marcus.
Spurred on by Marcus, the three break into the ruined castle, spending a night there to experience the power of occupation. But their re-enactment spirals out of control and a very real siege ensues, becoming a frenzy of nightmarish action and dark, psychological games.
Readers who come to this book expecting something in the vein of Stroud’s wildly successful Bartimaeus Trilogy will be disappointed but only because there is no magic and no fantasy in this tale and the structure is much more straightforward. It’s essentially an adventure story with psychological overtones.
While sledging near a ruined castle, Emily meets Marcus, a boy from another town who has cycled over specially to see the castle. Soon they are joined by Simon, the youngest son of a family who are no stranger to the police and whose brothers bully Emily. Marcus persuades Emily and Simon to put aside their differences and join him in breaking into the castle so they can have a look around. As the three of them explore, they form a tentative friendship, one that’s cemented after they’re discovered by the castle’s unpleasant caretaker, Harris. At Emily’s suggestion, they agree to go back to spend the night, but their illicit stay sparks a chain of events that culminate in the three of them locked in a siege with the authorities, who are rapidly closing in.
Stroud handles his material with the competence that you would expect. Emily, Simon and Marcus are depicted in broad strokes, perhaps too broad in the case of Marcus given that he is the psychological lynchpin to the story. There is plenty of action and running about and Stroud gives the castle in which the plot takes place a character of its own. The plot takes place in the depth of winter and Stroud is clever with his use of snow and the cold in order to move the story forward.
The main criticism of the novel is that it feels as though it finishes a chapter too early and Stroud doesn’t show any of the fall-out from the events. Saying that, there is character development in the case of Emily in particular, who develops from a somewhat introverted girl with no friends, to one who develops personal courage and loyalty to two boys within the space of a few days.
The Verdict:
People looking for a repeat of The Bartimaeus Trilogy will be disappointed, but they are missing out on a competently told story that’s an enjoyable enough read. If it’s not as good as the Bartimaeus Trilogy then that’s only because it’s such a hard act to live up to and it’s no reason to give this a miss.
