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by Michele Fry, Scholar's Blog
The Lurkers
by Charles Butler
Charles Butler's brand new book, The Lurkers (out October 27th), is a disturbing tale of a group of strange and
dangerous beings who have no physical presence in our world, apart from one, named Galder, who is only half in our world.
When Verity sees a weird semi-visible figure near her brother John one day, her brother tells her that it is only Galder,
who is a harmless Lurker. John
likes Galder, who gives him everything he wants whether it's a bigger bedroom, Bristol Rovers winning a football
semi-final 6 - 1 against Chelsea, or a host of school friends visiting and praising John.
However, the Lurkers are far from harmless; they feed on the human imagination and Galder is using John's brilliant young
mind to become more solid and independent. Galder and his fellow alien beings intend to take over the minds of humanity, so
they starting infecting people with the belief that the End Is Nigh in order to take control of them. Only Verity can stand
against the Lurkers, because she cannot lie, even to herself, since her name is also her nature. But is Verity's knowledge
of what the Lurkers intend sufficient for her to save not only her brother, but everyone else as well?
I found this book very hard to put down—as is always the case with Butler's books. He writes totally believable
characters and tense, intriguing narratives that make me want to sit and read non-stop. You can read the first chapter at
the Usborne website but be warned, one
chapter will not be enough...
The Foreshadowing
by Marcus Sedgwick
Marcus Sedgwick's The Foreshadowing is an historical fantasy set during the First World War. Seventeen-year-old
Alexandra, known to her family as Sasha, gets premonitions of the future. The first happened when she was five and she
foresaw the death of her friend Clare, shortly before she died of TB. Sasha buries the memory of her premonition of
Clare's death for twelve years until the War reignites her skill/curse. Sometimes the premonitions come in the form of
dreams, as when she dreams of the death of her brother Edgar's friend, George Yates, in the War. The next morning his
name is on the Roll of Honour in the Times. Sometimes they come in the form of visions when Sasha touches something or
someone. Since there is no one to whom she can talk about her visions, she tries to ignore them, and continues to ask her
father if she can become a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurse at the hospital where he works as a neurasthenia
(shell-shock) specialist. He finally agrees, but Sasha finds herself having even more premonitions as she helps to nurse
the soldiers being treated at the hospital.
Sasha also continues her private tuition and is learning about Greek History when she and her tutor group begin reading the
Iliad. Sasha learns of Cassandra, daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, who is given the gift of
Prophecy by the god Apollo, and when she does not return his love, he curses her gift so that no one will ever believe any
prophecy she makes. Sasha, like Cassandra, sees her "gift" as a curse because no one in her family will discuss it
with her, not even her favourite brother Tom. Then one day Sasha dreams of Tom being shot, and she sets off to the Front
with little money and some stolen papers, in an attempt to find and save her brother, despite the fact that the Western
Front is a vast area and she has little idea where his battalion is stationed.
This is a haunting and moving book that has been well researched and conveys the atmosphere and historical facts of life
during World War One in a thoughtful manner. Sedgwick, in an author's note, mentions several books that he found useful in
researching the book, and he has used the material well and wisely. In the fourteen years that I have been interested in the
First World War, I have read a number of modern novels set during this period, and The Foreshadowing is one of the
most engaging of them. Sedgwick also fits in the references to Greek History and the Iliad in a seamless manner.
The only disconcerting thing about this book, and it's only a slight thing, is that the chapters are numbered in reverse
order from 101 to 1. I'm not going to explain why Sedgwick has done this as the book makes it clear.
The Intruders
by E.E. Richardson
The Intruders is E. E. Richardson's second novel. It is a horror story about a group of four children, siblings
Joel and Cassie Demetrius, and their new stepbrothers, Tim (who's a little younger than Joel) and Damon (who's a little
older than Cassie) Wilder, who move into an abandoned, rather derelict, house with their parents Amanda and Gerald
(who aren't yet married). The house been empty for most of the time since it was built, by a Patrick Sanderson,
who became totally obsessed with building his perfect house. Whilst he's still building the house he marries a local widow,
who moves in with her two sons.
Years later, the Wilder and Demetrius families are in the process of settling down, although this isn't made easier by the
fact that Cassie hates the Wilders, something that she makes very clear to all of them. She considers them intruders and
doesn't want her mother to marry Gerald Wilder. However, things start to become a little weird around the house: both Joel
(from whose point of view the story is told) and Tim begin experiencing nightmares, hearing voices and seeing things. Then
there's the way Cassie's room is turned upside down (she automatically blames the Wilders) and the way in which the rubbish
bags full of newly scraped wallpaper are slashed to bits and scattered about the huge garden. Finally Joel manages to
convince Cassie that something is going on, but since neither she nor Damon are affected by the activities of the ghost(s),
they don't take the younger boys very seriously.
Damon and Cassie agree to hold a séance in the attic at midnight, and it
goes badly, although the children learn that the ghost cannot escape from the house. Finally Amanda and Gerald go out for a
meal together, and Cassie and Damon set up another séance, this time in the big main room downstairs. Unfortunately a
thunderstorm arrives and the house begins to be bombarded, partly by the storm, and partly by the elemental power of the
ghost. Joel and Tim have worked out that the ghost is the eldest of two boys who were trapped in the attic; they go up to
the attic to speak to the ghost, but Joel is thrown bodily across the attic, and Tim falls off the ladder after the ghost
knocks it down. The house is still under attack, with all the windows blown in and rain pouring through the damaged front
door. Finally the four take refuge in the cellar, where they make a grisly discovery after Joel manages to work out just
who the ghost is and why it is trapped in the house.
I'm not a fan of horror books or movies, so I found this book a rather challenging read. I wouldn't recommend reading it in
the dark, particularly if you've got a vivid imagination! It's the sort of book that's best read in broad daylight,
preferably outside in the sunshine.
The Foreshadowing, by Marcus Sedgwick. Wendy Lam Books, 2006. ISBN: 0-3857-4646-6.
The Intruders, by E.E. Richardson. Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2006. ISBN: 0-3857-3264-3.
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