The people of the village are superstitious and coat their houses in tar on St Andrews Eve to ward off the evils of winter until the spring comes. Peter doesn’t understand why his father has done this, nor why his father carries a long battered box everywhere they go, and why he is forbidden to know its mysterious contents. But when a band of gypsies comes to the village Peter’s hard existence is turned upside down. Here we go again. To all of you who love this book, I'm sorry. For me one description sums this books up.....: There is a little bit of romance in this book, but it isn’t in a Twilight way as I previously mentioned. No hostage/human loving. And it isn’t even an important theme. More of a sub-plot.

We’ve found one,” Sofia said. “Are you-?” “I’m all right,” Sofia said. “Hurry. We have to try.” She got to her feet. “Come on!” It was so hard. What they were doing was so hard, and the ferocity of the snowstorm only made it harder. The Raven Mysteries are full of humour and mad-cap action, which is quite different from your novels for older readers. Was this a conscious decision of yours when setting out to write this series? Great question, impossible to answer. So many amazing things to go and see – the building of the pyramids, a Viking boat putting out to sea, Man Utd winning the European Championship in 1968…I knew right from the first chapter that this was going to be my eerie-fest of the month. I mean honestly, the story starts with… well. You’ll just have to find out. Marcus is the winner of many book prizes, most notably the Printz Award (Midwinterblood), the Booktrust Teenage Prize (My Swordhand Is Singing), and the Blue Peter Book Award. His books have been shortlisted for over thirty other awards, including the Carnegie Medal (five times), the Edgar Allan Poe Award (twice) and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize (four times). In 2011 Revolver was awarded a Printz Honor. It was a single line, the first line in the book in fact. I'd had it for ages but didn't know where I was going to use it until the character of Edgar came along: "I suspect I may have fleas again". I read this years ago when I borrowed it from a library. I can remember thinking what a brilliant book it was, and I can also remember going the next day to get the sequel from the library. I decided to read it again to see if I thought it was still as good.

I love music, both listening to it and playing it (I'm a drummer). A day without music is not a proper day... I also love travel and try to travel as much as I can manage. Effective gothic horror with a mystical touch. In 17th-century Europe, young Peter and his alcoholic father, Tomas, have settled down for longer than their transient life usually allows. They live in a vast forest, cutting wood for nearby villagers, but are always estranged. An eerie sense of menace haunts the area. Two bizarre and gruesome murders in a short time couldn’t be due to wolves, but Tomas insists that whispers of supernatural danger are mere superstition. Then, because one victim was unmarried, Peter’s friend Agnes is forced into a Wedding of the Dead and stowed away for 40 horrifying days of symbolic mourning. Visiting her cabin secretly, Peter confronts the chilling truth: Undead corpses are rising from graves, killing and recruiting more and more humans. Led by new friend Sofia and her Gypsy caravan, Peter and his historically unreliable father find that their only hope lies in a singular old sword and an ancient song with lyrics confronting the emotional essence of the zombie-vampires. Underlying tenderness, overt chills. (author’s note) (Fantasy. YA) One of the things I enjoyed about his writing is the way he instantly brings the reader into the terror of the characters. They are not well liked in the village of Chust and are considered to be outsiders. Peter is used to his own company because they have moved around a lot and his father Tomas is a taciturn man. Peter knows his father is troubled by something but as usual he is unwilling to share.

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stars. This book already deserves all the stars for presenting vampires as the terrifying, dangerous, non-seductive monsters that they are.

During a fierce winter, young Peter and his father Tomas, itinerant woodcutters, settle in the forest outside the tiny village of Chust. Strange doings have disturbed the sleepy town: mutilated cattle, bloodied sheep, and unexplained deaths. The villagers react in superstitious ways Peter doesn’t fully understand: They paint their doors with tar, smear their windowsills with garlic, sing a nonsensical folksong at funerals, and perform weddings between young maidens and the recently dead. As the murders multiply, Peter begins to realize that his own father—tormented by a past he will not share with his son—is one of the few who fully understand what is happening. Furthermore, Tomas may hold the key to stopping the horrors, if only he can find the courage to fight. He is currently working on film projects and graphic novels with his brother, Julian. He has judged numerous books awards, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Costa Book Awards. Yet when Peter discovers the truth about his father’s forbidden box, the dead rise from their graves – looking for a sword. I found this book slow. The characters were dull and the plot was predictable. The author’s writing style was more middle grade and less adult, which is not the standard I’d expect for a gothic novel. With that being said, I enjoyed learning about the mythology and starting point of vampires. The tone of the novel was beautiful and I think I would enjoy more from the gothic genre *if* it were written with more depth and adventure. The characters need to be fleshed out and the speech between them needs to be seriously upgraded beyond the level of a 9 year old. As the book progresses Peter learns more about the undead and about the real reason he and his father have moved around a lot.This was an unexpected outcome for this novel, but I’m glad to finally be able to say that I’ve read it, and I can sell the duo to someone who may enjoy them more.