Chris Hallatt Wells - King Bones - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Greezy Book Review

When Danny's mum and dad get sent to prison for stealing the Crown Jewels, Danny is sent to live with his Aunty Ratbag in the evil-smelling town of Greezy. It's many years since Aunty Ratbag has been able to practice the ancient art of being evil on a child. Once she was an expert, now she is rusty and needs practice. She thinks she has the perfect victim in Danny. But wandering through the murky churchyard of Greezy ( between the dog food factory and the cat food factory) Danny meets King Bones. And King Bones has a very special mission for Danny: he wants his queen back. She has been buried with her ladies in waiting in a separate chamber. Danny discovers that a famous archaeologist has removed her skull and her crown to display them in the British Museum. King Bones and Danny set out for the rescue!

Everything with Words is a small new independent publisher of children’s books. This is the first book that I've read from this publisher which has a big heart and a great ethos. Some of the money will go to helping street children all over the world which is a great cause and one worth supporting. The publisher's aim is to deliver powerful stories that have an edge of darkness and a plot loaded with danger. Chris Hallatt Wells has kicked this off in a magnificent way. King Bones will be published on the 6th November 2017. 

When I received this book in the post, my instant expectations were very low but how wrong I was. It's a brilliant read full of dark energy. The cleverly worded plot gives this book bags of personality and a little uniqueness, in my opinion. It is a rollicking, hilarious, page-turning narrative that will have you gripped to the bones. Chris understands what keeps children gripped and writes with originality and bucket loads of fun. 

The characters burst from the page with gleeful prose. The plot never lets up and marches the reader down a fantasy path that will have you leaping for cover. Aunty Ratbag is a nasty, vile little lady who will have you fleeing the pages with terror. She is fantastically written, loaded with bitterness, hate and has a tongue like a viper. She makes the plot hum with gentle malice. She is one of my new favourite characters as she really stands out from the crowd. The story is silly, outrageous and has a slight Roald Dahl-esk feel which works amazingly well. It is entwined with both a wicked sense of humour that will have you laughing and marveling at certain aspects together. 

The story is very imaginative. Some of the scenes are surreal and play on your fantasy mind in a big way. You will love the quirky story line of floating apparitions on horseback one minute and a museum full of chaos the next. It all fuels a great sense of adventure. This is a great book to escape into and a joy to read. However, you may need to track a copy down from the internet, probably Amazon. I LOVED THIS BOOK! I am looking forward to the next book, Chris. 

Guest Post By John Clewarth - The Dripping Quill: Reading and Writing for Halloween. Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Today, on Mr Ripley's Enchanted Grizzly Books is a post for Halloween. This has been specifically written by John Clewarth, the author of two brilliant books, both of which will definitely get you in the spirit for this spooky time. So, grab a torch, get underneath the bed covers and give it a read - IF YOU DARE! 


BOO! Don’t you just love to be scared? I know I do – feeling that thrill and rush of the scarycoaster, particularly in the pages of a good book, is a great antidote to the pressures of real life. Halloween is lurking just around the corner, like the shadow of a vampire bat, and what better way to celebrate All Hallows' Eve than with a book that'll have you gripping each and every page with anticipation? 

It’s very difficult to choose top titles because there are so many great ones out there. For example, for the younger ones there are classics such as, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Scared of Anything, by Linda Williams (about a little old lady, walking home in the dark, and despite the best efforts of numerous spooky objects, she is completely unscareable!), and if they’re into witches, there’s the fabulous Room on the Broom – not scary but totally charming.

Middle grade offers up such tempting morsels as, The Ghost Prison by Joseph Delaney (author of the Spook’s Apprentice series) – Billy, the new prison guard starts his job in a far from ordinary prison; or perhaps, Doll Bones by Holly Black which tells the story of a group of friends on an epic journey, who encounter a bone china doll that is more powerful than anyone banked on!

Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan, is a gross-out Young Adult retelling of tales from the Brothers Grimm: delicious! And of course, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is delightfully dark and ideal for this time of year.

These are just a few – and the list could go on and on forever (Google will point you in the right direction!) But, as a writer of spooky books for children and Young Adult myself, I thought it would be fun to share some techniques that I use when I’m writing the kind of material that could turn into a Halloween story. Maybe you could try some of these and see if they work for you too! Let’s say, you want to write a Halloween ghost story – they always go down well…

A good story is a good story; the same rules apply to ghost stories as to any other genre.

Create a likeable character who will be meeting the ghost. This could be the person that the reader identifies with. If we see the story through this person’s eyes and we feel they’re like us, we’ll be scared when they’re scared. 

Don't wait too long to start rattling the chains. In other words, hook the reader quickly with a scary event or at least the foreshadowing of one.

Create an unusual ghost; try to think of a different angle. The ghost could be anybody or anything - it could be the ghost of a dog, or an extinct animal, or any kind of person, with all their personality flaws.

Give the ghost motivation for what it’s doing. If it wants to frighten everybody, why? If it needs help, what unfinished business does it have on earth? See of you can come up with something unusual. It could be funny - maybe the person died in the middle of baking a cake and won’t able to rest until he or she sees how the finished product tastes. Perhaps the TV freaks out every time the Great British Bake Off is on! 

Create a fun hero or heroine for your story – why would they want to do battle with or help out the ghost? What will happen if they don’t? And put a deadline on it; perhaps the ghost must be banished before dawn, or something terrible might happen. 

See if you can come up with a twist to the ending. Instead of ending on the ghost’s problem being solved, maybe your character persuades the ghost to get even with a bully (of course you’d have to include the bully earlier in the story!) 

The story has to have atmosphere - the weather and setting help. Never underestimate the power of thunder and lightning and an abandoned old house in a scary story! 

Try not to be too graphic as you try to scare your reader – remember it is what you don’t see that scares you more than what you actually do see: what is that flickering shadow in the corner of your eye, that tapping on the window, that scratching beneath your bed?…

And remember, when writing for children or Young Adults - the secret of scaring them is remembering what it was like to be that age yourself. You need to try to remember what it was you were scared of as a young person, and how much you enjoyed being scared too. I used to love being allowed to stay up late on Friday nights to watch a show called ‘Appointment with Fear’. Even the opening titles were scary! And I always used to try to switch my bedroom light off so quickly that I could get in bed before it went dark (never made it!), just in case that thing in the wardrobe grabbed me before I hid under the duvet. 

And it’s exactly that ‘scary-but-safe’ thrill that I try to create in my own books, for children and Young Adults. Why not give them a try? Firestorm Rising, for Middle-Grade readers, reached the final of The People’s Book Prize (alongside a Neil Gaiman book – wowee!). It’s the story of three friends, who unearth something very strange in a graveyard – on Halloween, of course! Demons in the Dark, for the teen/Young Adult market, is a story of awakening truths that have long lain hidden, and the value of true friendship in the face of ultimate horrors. Either one of these titles would make an ideal Halloween read – but make sure you wrap up warm and leave the lights on! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

About the Author
John Clewarth is a writer for children and Young Adults. His first novel, ‘Firestorm Rising’, is a chilling tale, inspired by a visit to a gothic graveyard one dark, rainy day. His second novel, ‘Demons in the Dark’, is a horror story, broadly aimed written for the young adult market. John believes that horror should be scary but fun, and loves to lace his stories with humour. For further details and sneaky previews of these, along with John’s future projects, please 
visit his website: http://www.johnclewarth.com 
Other links: 
Twitter - @johnclewarth 
Facebook – John Clewarth - Author

Book Review - Brandon Sanderson - The Rithmatist

This book is based on an original idea that the author had around Spring 2007. At this time, Brandon's initial penned title was known as the 'Scribbler' and was based around the world that he aptly calls "gearpunk". However, due to other commitments, he was unable to fix the 'major flaws' (his acknowledgement) that he had encountered until more recently. Thank goodness he did find the time to revisit this book as the overall finished product is definitely worth all of the time and effort that he has invested in it.

In fact, in my opinion, these are perhaps some of the reasons as to why this book is so brilliant. It has had time to mature, just like all things classical. I'm sure that the plot has undertaken many changes and transformations along the way in order to make it the story that we are reading today. This is the book that should put Brandon Sanderson on the UK map as a great young adult fiction writer as well as an epic and well established adult fantasy writer.

This book is a rapid fantasy ride that will grip you. It's very complex and perhaps one of the most imaginative reads that I have come across in quite a long time. The core of the story is based around the Rithmatists, who draw pictures in chalk on the ground. However these take on mysterious and magical powers. You could be mistaken into thinking that this seems quite harmless, but these chalklings can be instructed to injure people . . . especially the wild chalklings. 

The Rithmatists find themselves protecting the Isles from deadly forces until one day they start to mysteriously disappear. A killer is on the loose. It takes Joel (non-Rithmatist) and his unlikely friends to save the day.  This is a breathtaking read with a fantastic storyline. It is full of mystery and suspense that will leave the reader wanting more - much more.

This is quite easily one of the best concepts that I have read in a long time. I was really immersed in the complex structure, which is depicted in detailed diagrams throughout the book, and give an in depth insight into the author's vision. In following this fantastic adventure, many chilling turn of events are introduced.

This book is up with the best fantasy reads this year. The ideas and the development of the setting are very well thought out and detailed. The enjoyable characters, who all add to the sense of mystery, create twists and turns within the story. The fast-paced nature of events and the great injection of "gearpunk", which some might identify as Steampunk, make this book tick all of the right boxes. The ending ties up all of the loose ends in a good way and leaves a teasing glance as to what may come next.

This is definitely a book for your summer reading list if you haven't already read it. If you already have, then I would love to hear what you think.

I'm hoping that time now passes by very quickly until the publishing of the next book in the series. I hope that I'm not going to have to wait another six years............!