Review: House of Dark Shadows
The nice young man in the big brown truck brought me a package today, and this time it was something I could open before Christmas. The folks at Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers sent me a copy of Robert Liparulo’s book, House of Dark Shadows.
First, a quick note about Thomas Nelson and their program. The publisher is a Christian group, and I let many titles pass by without requesting them because they are too stridently religious for my tastes. However, they have a number of secular (or nearly-secular) titles that do catch my eye, and I’m glad for the chance to read review copies. There have also been some controversial words written in the blogging world because the TN book review program requires bloggers to write & publish a 400-word review on their blog as well as on any commercial site before requesting another book. From my perspective, taking 10 minutes to type up a quick review is a fair price to pay for receiving new hardback books directly from their company. They have nice customer service too – a picture book I’d requested got lost in the mail and is now back-ordered, but after a brief email exchange they quickly sent me today’s book to read while I wait for the picture book.
Back to the book.
House of Dark Shadows is a mystery/horror/thriller/fantasy novel aimed at young adults. The main character, Xander, is a 15 year old boy. I found it fun to read a YA novel again, since I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction in my spare time and a lot of Clifford and Berenstain Bears with the kids! One thing that had me laughing were all the current-day references to movies and TV, as well as things like calling a toy lightsaber old. My last YA read didn’t even mention cell phones, so I was feeling old as I read this one.
The book starts out a little slowly, because there’s a prologue from thirty years in the past, and then the first few chapters alternate between the family of protagonists and the dark, menacing presence watching them. But it soon picks up the pace. At first, it feels like a horror novel, but the horror never gets too strong. The family has just moved and buys a new house that immediately feels strange to 15-year-old Xander. The house makes all kinds of odd things happen, sounds being distorted and a linen closet that leads out of the house. About halfway through the book, Xander and his 12-year-old brother David find a hallway full of doors, which are each a shifting portal to another time and place. (This isn’t much of a spoiler, as it’s spelled out on the back of the book, too.)
It’s at this point that the book takes a turn more to the action/fantasy feel. The boys each have a turn opening a portal and diving in. Xander is transported to the Roman Colosseum where he finds himself fighting for his life. David makes a trek into the jungle and faces off against both tigers and men. The portals each have an antechamber full of equipment or clothing suitable to the place the portal will lead, so the kids have some idea of what they’re getting into. I found myself thinking of the Magic Tree House books (favorites of my six-year-old) as I read this section, not least because the description of the Roman Colosseum was one of the few places in the book where I felt the pace slow down to explain things to a younger reader.
The pace picks back up and the story turns back to horror/mystery as the dark and menacing presence comes into the house and takes away their mother. The book ends here, on a tricky cliffhanger (“NOT The End…”) and the series continues with the kids and their father exploring portals to try and rescue their mother. The third book in the series is about to be released.
I enjoyed spending BabyGirl’s naptime curled up on the couch reading this book. There were a few moments that weren’t smooth – the slow beginning, the overly-careful explanation of other times and places, and one typo that jumped off the page (they could see the dust moats – yikes, that sounds like the disaster under my bed! whole moats full of dust!) – but it was a quick and engaging read. Thanks!
December 29th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Oh, the hours I’ve spent inside the Coliseum,
Dodging lions and wastin’ time.
– Bob Dylan, “When I Paint My Masterpiece”