What do you think?
Rate this book
Invisible Fiends #4
Doc Mortis
The fourth thrilling book in this darkly funny, horror series Darren Shan called ‘deliciously nightmarish’. The first book, Mr Mumbles, is shortlisted for the Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children's Books Kyle wakes up in hospital – which is strange, because he doesn't remember being ill. And that's not all. He's also deliriously flitting in and out of the Darkest Corners, and in the shadow version of the hospital the surfaces aren't clean, and the sharp instruments aren't used for healing. It's Kyle's most terrifying experience yet, and it's about to get much, much worse. The doctor will see him now… The fourth installment of this darkly comic horror series
288 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2011
8 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 11, 2020
4 stars.
".... today's the day the Teddy Bears have their piiiiicccccnic"
My second favourite of the series! Definitely enjoyed the horror hospital theme in this. Reminded me of creepy asylums which I absolutely LOVE!
".... today's the day the Teddy Bears have their piiiiicccccnic"
My second favourite of the series! Definitely enjoyed the horror hospital theme in this. Reminded me of creepy asylums which I absolutely LOVE!
August 18, 2011
So, before we get started on this, I'd just like to say that I haven't read any of the other books in this series, but despite that, I could follow the story really easily, and there was enough of a recap of the other books (you know like they do, where they drop hints about what happened previously) that I could pick up enough information about it to not be confused. Which was good. Being confused is not fun.
I really liked the idea behind the series, that all these imaginary friends came back with a vengence, but they only thing I want to nitpick about is what sort of kids are coming up with these people as imaginary friends? Like, I get that they were turned evil by living in the Darkest Corners, but still, if my kid was talking about an imaginary friend whose description would match that of a creepy old man in a trenchcoat (you know what I'm getting at there) or an evil doctor (seriously, Doctor + under average height + generic eastern European accent = EVILL. I know these things. I've seen The Human Centipede (something I'm surprised our very own Mr Mortis didn't try! ;p)
But that was my only real issue with the book. And even that was because I think too much... But everything else was great! It was really fast paced, and I raced through it, desperate for Kyle to have something good happen to him! Seriously, the DAY AFTER he gets attacked by this other guy, he gets stuck in a hospital with this psycho doctor who wants to cut him up and all sorts! And this Doctor was seriously mental. Some of his 'masterpieces' were just horrifying! (The Gallery, Tentacle baby- thing, WOBBLEBOTTOM. Dude, Wobblebottom is scary. Bloody scary.) I just hope Kyle gets a bit of a break.
But one really good thing about it was Mr Mumbles. I haven't read the first book, but I'm gathering Mr Mumbles was being all Vengence-Must-Be-Done-Kill-The-Boy, but he was a bit better in this book. It added a few shades of grey, because it opened up a whole new box of reasons why these imaginary friends turned out the way they did, and it was good to see one who hadn't yet been tainted by the Darkest Corners.
Doc Mortis is a scary, fast paced book that will have your heart racing with fear for Kyle, and wondering how on Earth he'll ever get out of the Darkest Corners.
I really liked the idea behind the series, that all these imaginary friends came back with a vengence, but they only thing I want to nitpick about is what sort of kids are coming up with these people as imaginary friends? Like, I get that they were turned evil by living in the Darkest Corners, but still, if my kid was talking about an imaginary friend whose description would match that of a creepy old man in a trenchcoat (you know what I'm getting at there) or an evil doctor (seriously, Doctor + under average height + generic eastern European accent = EVILL. I know these things. I've seen The Human Centipede (something I'm surprised our very own Mr Mortis didn't try! ;p)
But that was my only real issue with the book. And even that was because I think too much... But everything else was great! It was really fast paced, and I raced through it, desperate for Kyle to have something good happen to him! Seriously, the DAY AFTER he gets attacked by this other guy, he gets stuck in a hospital with this psycho doctor who wants to cut him up and all sorts! And this Doctor was seriously mental. Some of his 'masterpieces' were just horrifying! (The Gallery, Tentacle baby- thing, WOBBLEBOTTOM. Dude, Wobblebottom is scary. Bloody scary.) I just hope Kyle gets a bit of a break.
But one really good thing about it was Mr Mumbles. I haven't read the first book, but I'm gathering Mr Mumbles was being all Vengence-Must-Be-Done-Kill-The-Boy, but he was a bit better in this book. It added a few shades of grey, because it opened up a whole new box of reasons why these imaginary friends turned out the way they did, and it was good to see one who hadn't yet been tainted by the Darkest Corners.
Doc Mortis is a scary, fast paced book that will have your heart racing with fear for Kyle, and wondering how on Earth he'll ever get out of the Darkest Corners.
January 14, 2013
A really good book i can't wait to read the other books in the series! :)
January 23, 2013
a very scary book!
Read
March 18, 2013Best one in the series yet, I had nightmares! Absolutely amazing
January 14, 2023
I read books 1-3 when I was a child. It was probably over a decade ago and it was my favorite book series!
I would wait every single day for the translation of the 4th book, I checked online and visited my local bookstore regularly and had to give up after a while because it wasn’t as easy to get my hands on an english book back then as it is now.
This year I decided to continue the series and I was a little bit scared that, with a decade in between, I wouldn’t love it as much as I used to.
But I got back into the world so quickly and enjoyed my read, it was like my younger self met Kyle again!
I still love the series and I’m so happy that I got to experience it as a child and that I get to do it now as well!
I would wait every single day for the translation of the 4th book, I checked online and visited my local bookstore regularly and had to give up after a while because it wasn’t as easy to get my hands on an english book back then as it is now.
This year I decided to continue the series and I was a little bit scared that, with a decade in between, I wouldn’t love it as much as I used to.
But I got back into the world so quickly and enjoyed my read, it was like my younger self met Kyle again!
I still love the series and I’m so happy that I got to experience it as a child and that I get to do it now as well!
October 19, 2017
not my favourite but what a brilliant wee series this is!
August 2, 2011
Firstly I am quite flabbergasted that this series has not come to my attention before now. I am a bit of a closet horror fan, so I was extremely excited to be given the opportunity to read this. I thought it might just be OK, but I loved it. Every gruesome, gory, dark, evil word of it!
This book is part of a series, but I read it as a standalone. I like to see whether books can stand out on their own even though they are part of a series and this one definitely stood the test. I loved the idea behind the series, where your childhood imaginary friends are sent to the Darkest Corners when you forget about them and how they come back to haunt you a lot darker than they were. Such a refreshing and original storyline.
From the first chapter, you find you don't have time to catch your breath, as Kyle, just recovering from his last horrific encounter, is thrown head first, straight back into the next dangerous situation. Within a few pages, Kyle finds himself in the hospital of his worst nightmares. A hospital that would kill you rather than cure you. This is an evil place where loving and kind imaginary friends from your childhood are mutilated and turned into nastier images of their former selves. The imaginary friends go through some rather horrific and painful transformations at the hands of Doc Mortis, who is really rather gruesome and seemed to ooze evil out of every pore, especially as he takes such great pleasure in mutilating his helpless victims.
As the story progresses, you find that each chapter leaves you on a cliffhanger, keeping you so hooked you have to carry on reading the next chapter. I could not put this book down and came very close to holding my breath too long as I willed Kyle to safety, but even that was not to be as the ending left with a huge cliffhanger.
Kyle is just amazing as he doesn't seem to let all the things that happen to him, actually effect his motivation to rid the world of the evil Doc Mortis. At one point he confronts a character from his past and the turn around in events was quite surprising.
I loved the little boy, I.C. in the book. I found him adorable and funny. I was intrigued by his story and how he came to be in the Darkest Corners.
As you can tell, I really really enjoyed this one and I hope to get my hands on the rest of the series. This is definitely a book I will keep for my permanent collection.
This book is part of a series, but I read it as a standalone. I like to see whether books can stand out on their own even though they are part of a series and this one definitely stood the test. I loved the idea behind the series, where your childhood imaginary friends are sent to the Darkest Corners when you forget about them and how they come back to haunt you a lot darker than they were. Such a refreshing and original storyline.
From the first chapter, you find you don't have time to catch your breath, as Kyle, just recovering from his last horrific encounter, is thrown head first, straight back into the next dangerous situation. Within a few pages, Kyle finds himself in the hospital of his worst nightmares. A hospital that would kill you rather than cure you. This is an evil place where loving and kind imaginary friends from your childhood are mutilated and turned into nastier images of their former selves. The imaginary friends go through some rather horrific and painful transformations at the hands of Doc Mortis, who is really rather gruesome and seemed to ooze evil out of every pore, especially as he takes such great pleasure in mutilating his helpless victims.
As the story progresses, you find that each chapter leaves you on a cliffhanger, keeping you so hooked you have to carry on reading the next chapter. I could not put this book down and came very close to holding my breath too long as I willed Kyle to safety, but even that was not to be as the ending left with a huge cliffhanger.
Kyle is just amazing as he doesn't seem to let all the things that happen to him, actually effect his motivation to rid the world of the evil Doc Mortis. At one point he confronts a character from his past and the turn around in events was quite surprising.
I loved the little boy, I.C. in the book. I found him adorable and funny. I was intrigued by his story and how he came to be in the Darkest Corners.
As you can tell, I really really enjoyed this one and I hope to get my hands on the rest of the series. This is definitely a book I will keep for my permanent collection.
January 16, 2013
My favourite book in the INVISIBLE FIENDS series, which is saying a lot seeing as how every book is brilliant.
Just when poor Kyle thinks his life battling the horrors of the Darkest Corners couldn't get any worse, he finds himself trapped on the other side. And the Doctor's calling...
You'll never be able to listen to "Teddy Bear's Picnic" without shuddering again.
Dave
Just when poor Kyle thinks his life battling the horrors of the Darkest Corners couldn't get any worse, he finds himself trapped on the other side. And the Doctor's calling...
You'll never be able to listen to "Teddy Bear's Picnic" without shuddering again.
Dave
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews