Review: Face "One Of The Most Delicious And Sadly Under-Appreciated Books Ever Written"

Book review: The Face in the Frost[This] is, in my humble opinion, one of the most delicious and sadly under-appreciated books ever written. The Face in the Frost, by John Bellairs, was published before The Lord of the Rings made adult fantasy popular, and as such, has been consistently ignored pretty much from the day it was published. Be that as it may, anybody looking for a story that is the perfect balance of shivery-spookiness, wild fantasy, and positively ticklish humor need look no farther than this story.

Bellairs’s quirky humor, unparalleled diction, and brilliant character development set this book on a level by itself. Lovers of weird and unusual words are bound to delight in Bellairs’s prose, which is as bizarre and charming as his characters; and fantasy lovers will love his strange twists on very old ideas.

Despite being relatively unknown today, Bellairs was, in fact, a very gifted writer. Not only is his prose style absolutely unique, his ability to seamlessly blend chilling horror with kooky humor, random historical facts and cutting social commentary is utterly unparalleled. If you’re a writer, you should definitely check him out, and if you’re a reader–well, trust me, you don’t want to miss this one.

Kara O'Brien

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