Review: Drum "Occasionally Predictable, But Quite Gripping Nonetheless"

Book review: The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie

The late John Bellairs was one of the best fantasy/horror authors ever-- and probably the best that wrote for kids. He had a very thorough, scholarly knowledge of occult beliefs that gave his books a great deal of verisimilitude, and he tempered it with a gentle, folksy elegance in his prose and a sharp memory for the little details of childhood that made his books warm and comfortable even when they were terrifying.

However realistic and frightening his evils may have been, they never stood a chance against his homey and familiar goodnesses. After his death in 1991, a longtime fan named Brad Strickland began completing some of Bellairs's unfinished manuscripts -- and unfortunately, for the most part he hasn't done them justice. Perhaps the manuscripts were early drafts, and there wasn't much he could do with them, but in any case, the first two Strickland-completed books lacked much of the Bellairs grace. This time around, however, Strickland has come impressively close to getting it just right.

The Drum, The Doll and the Zombie features Johnny Dixon and Professor Roderick Childermass, the stars of Bellairs's gothic horror series which also includes The Curse of the Blue Figurine. This time they're facing voodoo magic in the form of a drum that can summon the spirit of Baron Samedi, and a witch who'll do anything to get it from them. The story is occasionally predictable, but quite gripping nonetheless; the voodoo is as carefully drawn and believable as Bellairs's magic always is; and the writing feels almost exactly like Bellairs's to me -- suffering only from a certain rushed feeling, as if either Bellairs or Strickland were in a hurry to get the less action-packed parts of the story over with. Fans of scary stories will definitely enjoy it.

Evan Hunt
copyright © 1996 Notes From the Windowsill
Used with permission.