This is one of the later books in Bellairs’s Johnny Dixon series, and one I never read as a child. I don’t know if it just isn’t as good as the others, or if the fact that I have no nostalgia for the story makes a difference, but I didn’t like it as much as most of Bellairs’s work.
When Professor Childermass’s brother dies, he leaves a cryptic rhyme and a series of instructions in his will, leading the Professor, Johnny, and Fergie to stay in his broken-down mansion for the summer. While there, they have some mysterious and sinister experiences, and uncover a malign plot to end the world.
These books, unlike some of the other juvenile and young adult fiction I read, are really strictly for children. Although they aren’t a bad way to occupy an idle hour, there’s really nothing in them that would appeal to an adult whose never encountered them before, except perhaps the charm of the 1950’s setting. As a child, Bellairs’s books scared me and my roommate (and childhood best friend) to death, but no one over the age of ten would feel the slightest twinge of anxiety. They’re ideal for seven- or eight-year-olds, though!
PoodleRat
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