Auf ein Miniaturbild klicken, um zu Google Books zu gelangen.
Lädt ... The Wrath of the Grinning Ghostvon Brad Strickland
Keine Lädt ...
Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
Gehört zur ReiheJohnny Dixon (12) Ist enthalten in
When a malevolent creature tries to claim his father as its latest victim, thirteen-year-old Johnny Dixon and Professor Childermass risk their own lives trying to save him. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
Aktuelle DiskussionenKeineBeliebte Umschlagbilder
Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)303Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Social ProcessesKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
Bist das du?Werde ein LibraryThing-Autor. |
In a sense, the book feels almost like Strickland is going through the motions, checking in each box needed to make sure that the reader knows that this is a Johnny Dixon book: the Professor makes a "gooey" chocolate cake, the Professor's nose is described as resembling an overripe strawberry, Brewster, a supernatural character impersonating an ancient Egyptian deity not seen since The Trolley to Yesterday makes a reappearance, and so on. To a certain extent, it seems as though Strickland felt that he needed to make sure each of these signature elements was included for the reader to think that this was a "real" Johnny Dixon adventure. I almost got the feeling that I was reading the literary equivalent of a "paint-by-numbers" picture.
This wouldn't be so disappointing if the story itself was better. The story centers on Johnny's father, whose spirit is abducted by an evil spirit bent on taking control of his body (transforming Johnny's father from a mostly absentee Air Force officer father to a completely absentee father). With the help of Professor Childermass, Fergie, and Brewster (impersonating a Thunderbird), Johnny travels into the spirit realm to defeat the evil villain and bring his father back. One of the primary weaknesses in the story is that the question as to why the evil villain chose Johnny's father in particular is never explained, even though Johnny, with the experience he and Professor Childermass have amassed dealing with supernatural threats, is one of the worst possible choices for a being from beyond to mess with. From a storytelling standpoint, it is obvious that if the villain picked someone Johnny didn't know, the story wouldn't work, but by having this unexplained choice as the centerpiece of the book, the contrived nature of the plot becomes glaring. The villain is also fairly bland and poorly defined: he is evil simply because he is evil. His minions are his minions simply because they are his minions. There is no background to the villain that gives him any kind of goal or reason for being other than to simply spread nastiness about.
Overall, if one were a huge fan of the Johnny Dixon series and really wanted to read more adventures featuring Johnny, Professor Childermass, and Fergie, then this might be worth picking up. On the other hand, a fan would probably get more enjoyment out of going back and reading the earlier books again instead.
This review has also been posted to my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. ( )