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Gustav Gloom #1
Gustav Gloom and the People Taker
Enter an exciting new world of shadows from Hugo Award nominee Adam-Troy Castro. Meet Gustav Gloom.
Fernie What finds herself lost in the Gloom mansion after her cat appears to have been chased there by its own shadow. Fernie discovers a library full of every book that was never written, a gallery of statues that are just plain awkward, and finds herself at dinner watching her own shadow take part in the feast!
Along the way Fernie is chased by the People Taker who is determined to take her to the Shadow Country. It's up to Fernie and Gustav to stop the People Taker before he takes Fernie's family.
Featuring a unique cover and beautifully dark full-page illustrations by Kristen Margiotta, Gustav Gloom is sure to be a hit with fans who love a little darkness in their lives.
Fernie What finds herself lost in the Gloom mansion after her cat appears to have been chased there by its own shadow. Fernie discovers a library full of every book that was never written, a gallery of statues that are just plain awkward, and finds herself at dinner watching her own shadow take part in the feast!
Along the way Fernie is chased by the People Taker who is determined to take her to the Shadow Country. It's up to Fernie and Gustav to stop the People Taker before he takes Fernie's family.
Featuring a unique cover and beautifully dark full-page illustrations by Kristen Margiotta, Gustav Gloom is sure to be a hit with fans who love a little darkness in their lives.
232 pages, Hardcover
First published August 16, 2012
56 people are currently reading
1260 people want to read
About the author
Adam-Troy Castro
236 books165 followersAdam-Troy Castro made his first professional sale to Spy magazine in 1987. Since then, he's published 12 books and almost 80 short stories. Among those stories are "Baby Girl Diamond" (nominated for the Bram Stoker Award) and "The Funeral March of the Marionettes" (nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1998). "The Astronaut from Wyoming," a collaboration with Jerry Oltion, appeared in Analog and was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2000, before winning the Seiun (Japanese Hugo) for best translation in 2008.
His "Of A Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs" was nominated for the 2003 Nebula. His original short story collections include Lost in Booth Nine (published by Silver Salamander Press in 1993), An Alien Darkness and A Desperate Decaying Darkness (published by Wildside Press in 2000), Vossoff and Nimmitz (2002), and Tangled Strings (2003). He is also the author of the Spider-Man novels—Time's Arrow: The Present (written in collaboration with Tom DeFalco), The Gathering of the Sinister Six, Revenge of the Sinister Six, and Secret of the Sinister Six—as well as the nonfiction My Ox Is Broken! The Andrea Cort novels include, Emissaries from the Dead, The Third Claw of God, and a third installment currently in progress, tentatively titled The Fall of the Marionettes.
Castro, who married the divine Judi on 25 December 2002, lives in Florida with his wife and four cats: Maggie, Uma Furman, Meow Farrow, and the latest acquisition, Ralphie, an orphan of 2005's hellacious hurricane season.
His "Of A Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs" was nominated for the 2003 Nebula. His original short story collections include Lost in Booth Nine (published by Silver Salamander Press in 1993), An Alien Darkness and A Desperate Decaying Darkness (published by Wildside Press in 2000), Vossoff and Nimmitz (2002), and Tangled Strings (2003). He is also the author of the Spider-Man novels—Time's Arrow: The Present (written in collaboration with Tom DeFalco), The Gathering of the Sinister Six, Revenge of the Sinister Six, and Secret of the Sinister Six—as well as the nonfiction My Ox Is Broken! The Andrea Cort novels include, Emissaries from the Dead, The Third Claw of God, and a third installment currently in progress, tentatively titled The Fall of the Marionettes.
Castro, who married the divine Judi on 25 December 2002, lives in Florida with his wife and four cats: Maggie, Uma Furman, Meow Farrow, and the latest acquisition, Ralphie, an orphan of 2005's hellacious hurricane season.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
February 20, 2013
Thank you, Adam-Troy Castro, for writing a children's book that breaks rules, even rules I agree with, and still makes it work.
The Rules:
1. Oh, look! A book called "Gustav Gloom"! Boys will read it because the main character is named Gustav. Girls will read it because it looks great and, hey, they're used to being COMPLETELY LEFT OUT of all the really fun adventure stories.
(Think I'm exaggerating? Try being a female fan of Tolkien and not having anybody *fun* you can pretend to be unless you're willing to have, like, two scenes *late* in LOTR, or are willing to pretend to be male. Then go read the Harry Potter books and see how many scenes you can find where there are only male characters present, and how many scenes there are only female characters. [Hint on that last one: NONE.] Then go and double-check the statistics about how, yes, in countries that aren't actively killing off their female children, women make up *more* than half the population and like having adventures as much as anyone. Then go light some incense in Lemony Snicket's honor. Then tell me, please, how saying "It's really important that we have male main characters, because boys just won't read female main characters but girls don't mind reading male main characters" is ANY DIFFERENT from saying, "Hey, we *have* to have mostly white characters. We can have a cute black or Latina BFF, but white people just don't feel comfortable unless they're the center of the stage. Sorry, but I don't make the rules. I'm just trying to sell stuff." Tell me how that's any different. I dare you. And yes, I've read editors, writers, and agents saying that first one almost word-for-word.)
So, fine. Adam-Troy Castro calls his book "Gustav Gloom." He lets the reader think for the whole first chapter that Gustav is the main character. By the time said reader finishes chapter two, and then chapter three and chapter four, and realizes that -- wait a minute! The girl who just moved in *next door* to Gustav is the REAL main character! -- it's too late, because the reader is hooked. And if said reader is a guy, he won't lose any Manliness points by reading a book with a female main character, because Gustav is all over the cover and *does* play a perfectly important role.
I love that Castro apparently decided that if people are stupid enough to be sexist, he's going to sell them a book with a female main character anyway, AND HE'S GOING TO MAKE THEM LIKE IT. Because you can't *not* like this book. It's just too fun. Well played, Mr. Castro. Well played.
2. You start this book wondering who exactly Gustav Gloom is, where his parents are, and why he lives in that freaky house. You end it still wondering. If you're me, you've screamed in the past about children's books that start off with a huge teasing question like that but refuse to answer the question until at least book two. If you're me, you've stopped reading series' whose first book you otherwise enjoyed, because you find that particular tease so ubiquitous and annoying. And if you're me, somehow it doesn't bother you at all that even after reading the first book in his series, you still don't know who exactly Gustav Gloom is. That's how good this is.
3. This is a humorous book for middle-school-aged readers. Apparently someone forgot to tell Adam-Troy Castro that these books are supposed to have lots of disgusting bodily references, because *all* middle-school kids find that hilarious. Instead, Castro wrote some actual just plain really funny humor -- intelligent, non-condescending humor that will crack up readers of all ages and make them annoy their nearest and dearest by saying "Let me just read you this one funny part" until they've read the whole book out loud.
Yeah, I liked this book. Can't wait for the next one.
The Rules:
1. Oh, look! A book called "Gustav Gloom"! Boys will read it because the main character is named Gustav. Girls will read it because it looks great and, hey, they're used to being COMPLETELY LEFT OUT of all the really fun adventure stories.
(Think I'm exaggerating? Try being a female fan of Tolkien and not having anybody *fun* you can pretend to be unless you're willing to have, like, two scenes *late* in LOTR, or are willing to pretend to be male. Then go read the Harry Potter books and see how many scenes you can find where there are only male characters present, and how many scenes there are only female characters. [Hint on that last one: NONE.] Then go and double-check the statistics about how, yes, in countries that aren't actively killing off their female children, women make up *more* than half the population and like having adventures as much as anyone. Then go light some incense in Lemony Snicket's honor. Then tell me, please, how saying "It's really important that we have male main characters, because boys just won't read female main characters but girls don't mind reading male main characters" is ANY DIFFERENT from saying, "Hey, we *have* to have mostly white characters. We can have a cute black or Latina BFF, but white people just don't feel comfortable unless they're the center of the stage. Sorry, but I don't make the rules. I'm just trying to sell stuff." Tell me how that's any different. I dare you. And yes, I've read editors, writers, and agents saying that first one almost word-for-word.)
So, fine. Adam-Troy Castro calls his book "Gustav Gloom." He lets the reader think for the whole first chapter that Gustav is the main character. By the time said reader finishes chapter two, and then chapter three and chapter four, and realizes that -- wait a minute! The girl who just moved in *next door* to Gustav is the REAL main character! -- it's too late, because the reader is hooked. And if said reader is a guy, he won't lose any Manliness points by reading a book with a female main character, because Gustav is all over the cover and *does* play a perfectly important role.
I love that Castro apparently decided that if people are stupid enough to be sexist, he's going to sell them a book with a female main character anyway, AND HE'S GOING TO MAKE THEM LIKE IT. Because you can't *not* like this book. It's just too fun. Well played, Mr. Castro. Well played.
2. You start this book wondering who exactly Gustav Gloom is, where his parents are, and why he lives in that freaky house. You end it still wondering. If you're me, you've screamed in the past about children's books that start off with a huge teasing question like that but refuse to answer the question until at least book two. If you're me, you've stopped reading series' whose first book you otherwise enjoyed, because you find that particular tease so ubiquitous and annoying. And if you're me, somehow it doesn't bother you at all that even after reading the first book in his series, you still don't know who exactly Gustav Gloom is. That's how good this is.
3. This is a humorous book for middle-school-aged readers. Apparently someone forgot to tell Adam-Troy Castro that these books are supposed to have lots of disgusting bodily references, because *all* middle-school kids find that hilarious. Instead, Castro wrote some actual just plain really funny humor -- intelligent, non-condescending humor that will crack up readers of all ages and make them annoy their nearest and dearest by saying "Let me just read you this one funny part" until they've read the whole book out loud.
Yeah, I liked this book. Can't wait for the next one.
March 30, 2020
Gustav Gloom was a book I found while exploring the Libby app and since they were pretty quick listen to (with the speed up too) and seeing some reviews on here and being surprised at how many thoroughly enjoyed these books; I decided to jump on the bandwagon.
I have to say this Gustav Gloom is in that top list of mine for a special and unique one of a kind characters. Even Fernie What is special and one who clearly didn't look at Gustav Gloom, the strange, unhappiest boy in the world, and when she goes to chase her cat who's chasing its own shadow, she ends up in the adventure of a lifetime.
While having her adventure and getting to know the kind of person Gustav really is, she comes to find a friend out of him and vice versa when he's surprised she would even consider him one. This story was indeed for a children's book was clever, has great messages, and super original and well executed. And by the end of this book, I'm now excited for book 2 and feel too invested in this series now and too invested with Gustav Gloom and Fernie What! :D
I have to say this Gustav Gloom is in that top list of mine for a special and unique one of a kind characters. Even Fernie What is special and one who clearly didn't look at Gustav Gloom, the strange, unhappiest boy in the world, and when she goes to chase her cat who's chasing its own shadow, she ends up in the adventure of a lifetime.
While having her adventure and getting to know the kind of person Gustav really is, she comes to find a friend out of him and vice versa when he's surprised she would even consider him one. This story was indeed for a children's book was clever, has great messages, and super original and well executed. And by the end of this book, I'm now excited for book 2 and feel too invested in this series now and too invested with Gustav Gloom and Fernie What! :D
December 9, 2021
Knihu odporúčam : deťom, ktoré majú radi záhadnejšie a strašidelnejšie rozprávky (aj dospelým )
Knihu neodporúčam : príbeh obsahuje trošku strašidelnejšie scény, takže ak sa deti neradi boja, toto im nečítajte
Aj napriek tomu, že od dieťaťa mám už ďaleko, nejaké to vnútorné dieťa vo mne stále pretrváva a preto som siahla po tejto knižke. Mám rada rozprávky. Rozprávky sú pre mňa oddych a spomienka na to, že aj keď sme dospelí snívať nie je zakázané. Stále by sme mali v sebe pestovať to naše vnútorné dieťa, ktoré v maličkostiach nevidí všednosť.
Gustáv Chmúrny je naozaj originálna rozprávka. Pripravte sa na štipku strachu, dobrodružstvá, duchov, temnej mágie a priateľstva. Trošičku mi knižka pripomína nožnicovorukého Edwarda a rodinu Adamsovcov. Tieto dva filmy a ich kontext temnej rozprávky milujem, takže táto kniha bola pre mňa jasná voľba.
Keď sa Franka s rodinou presunú do mestečka zvaného Slnečné terasy, vyzerá to, že to bude nuda. Žiarivé úsmevy susedov, každý dom natretý najpestrejšie farbou a dokonalé predzáhradky. Až na jeden dom. Dom tmavý a strašidelný, ktorý stojí rovno oproti ich domu. Ten okamžite upúta Frankinu pozornosť rovnako ako chlapec, ktorý pripomína skôr ducha ako človeka. Odhodlá sa ho ísť Franka pozdraviť ? A čo sa stane potom ?
Krásna ilustrovaná knižka s dobrodružný príbehom, ktorý sa ukrýva hlboko vo vnútri strašidelného domu.
Knihu neodporúčam : príbeh obsahuje trošku strašidelnejšie scény, takže ak sa deti neradi boja, toto im nečítajte
Aj napriek tomu, že od dieťaťa mám už ďaleko, nejaké to vnútorné dieťa vo mne stále pretrváva a preto som siahla po tejto knižke. Mám rada rozprávky. Rozprávky sú pre mňa oddych a spomienka na to, že aj keď sme dospelí snívať nie je zakázané. Stále by sme mali v sebe pestovať to naše vnútorné dieťa, ktoré v maličkostiach nevidí všednosť.
Gustáv Chmúrny je naozaj originálna rozprávka. Pripravte sa na štipku strachu, dobrodružstvá, duchov, temnej mágie a priateľstva. Trošičku mi knižka pripomína nožnicovorukého Edwarda a rodinu Adamsovcov. Tieto dva filmy a ich kontext temnej rozprávky milujem, takže táto kniha bola pre mňa jasná voľba.
Keď sa Franka s rodinou presunú do mestečka zvaného Slnečné terasy, vyzerá to, že to bude nuda. Žiarivé úsmevy susedov, každý dom natretý najpestrejšie farbou a dokonalé predzáhradky. Až na jeden dom. Dom tmavý a strašidelný, ktorý stojí rovno oproti ich domu. Ten okamžite upúta Frankinu pozornosť rovnako ako chlapec, ktorý pripomína skôr ducha ako človeka. Odhodlá sa ho ísť Franka pozdraviť ? A čo sa stane potom ?
Krásna ilustrovaná knižka s dobrodružný príbehom, ktorý sa ukrýva hlboko vo vnútri strašidelného domu.
January 8, 2013
This book had great promise. Beautiful cover, great illustrations, but the PROSE. Ugh. The prose was so unwieldy at times. I read this book out loud to my five kids and I found it very difficult to get past LONG sentences with six, seven or eight prepositional phrases in them. How can a writer expect to describe gripping action and scary scenes when the sentences are so long, dragging everything down? I know this is a personal style issue and perhaps the author's intention was NOT to be read aloud, but it drove this reader crazy. I would have enjoyed this book so much more if the sentence length was varied, if a heartless editor had removed most of the prepositional phrases and if I understood Gustav's story from the beginning. (For a title character almost nothing is told about him and he put me to sleep.) I wanted to throw the book across the room during the third act, when the heroine has to do something really, really fast and the stakes are high, she GIVES A SPEECH! No. Please. Save the day first, don't go on and on and on. All that to say, my kids did like it, but I'm not going to encourage reading the sequel.
February 10, 2020
This was a very enjoyable read. A little bit scary – but then, everyone knows that real children – especially sensible little girls (not the silly ones that scream at spiders) – like a book that has thrills and just a smidgeon of terror in it.
Fernie and Pearlie What (eminently sensible little girls), their cat, Harrington, and their safety-obsessed father move into a fluorescent salmon coloured house, directly opposite the dark, brooding, shadow-filled house of Gustav Gloom.
Fernie immediately decides that Gustav’s house is much more interesting than her own, and goes over to introduce herself to the pale little boy all dressed in black. However, it is not until Harrington takes it into his head to dash inside the Gloom mansion in the middle of the night, that Fernie has an excuse to go inside – on a cat-rescuing mission. It is soon apparent, that Fernie is in much more need of rescue than Harrington. And, that if Fernie wanted a bit of scariness, then the Gloom mansion has much more to offer than she could have ever hoped for – and much more than she ever wanted.
The house – like the Tardis – is much bigger on the inside, and is filled with impossible, fantastical rooms containing all the ideas of things that never quite became real. One of my favourites was the ‘Too Much Sitting Room’ – where couch potatoes are doomed to end up. But, most importantly of all, this house is chock-a-block full of shadows.
In Gustav Gloom’s world, shadows have a life of their own, and only stay connected to their person (cat, dog etc.) when they want to. Shadows also often have their own personality, and – in the case of Mr Notes – permanently leave their person when that ‘real’ person’s mindset becomes insufferable.
Gustav is a very lonely boy, who is unable to leave his home, and who – until Fernie came over – has never had a real (as in corporeal) friend. After the battle with the People Taker and the Beast, Mr What wants to move away to somewhere safe for him and his daughters to live – which would mean leaving Gustav behind and alone. But, as Fernie points out:
“Some places have earthquakes. Others have hurricanes or avalanches or forest fires or wars. …. It seems to me that every place has something, Dad. We just moved to a place that has one of the stranger things. … I think people always have to decide what dangers they’re willing to live near in order to also live near the people they care about. And I care about Gustav.”
Mr What might be safety-obsessed, but he is also a loving, caring father, and makes the right decision, so that a lonely boy can have three brand new real-life genuine friends.
This book is very well written, by an author with a limitless imagination, who has a real feeling for the way that humans and cats work. It is wonderfully surreal. Probably written primarily for children, but can be enjoyed by all. In this book children are never looked down on, and never wrapped up in cotton-wool, but are invited to experience life and friendship in all their glory – warts and all.
Fernie and Pearlie What (eminently sensible little girls), their cat, Harrington, and their safety-obsessed father move into a fluorescent salmon coloured house, directly opposite the dark, brooding, shadow-filled house of Gustav Gloom.
Fernie immediately decides that Gustav’s house is much more interesting than her own, and goes over to introduce herself to the pale little boy all dressed in black. However, it is not until Harrington takes it into his head to dash inside the Gloom mansion in the middle of the night, that Fernie has an excuse to go inside – on a cat-rescuing mission. It is soon apparent, that Fernie is in much more need of rescue than Harrington. And, that if Fernie wanted a bit of scariness, then the Gloom mansion has much more to offer than she could have ever hoped for – and much more than she ever wanted.
The house – like the Tardis – is much bigger on the inside, and is filled with impossible, fantastical rooms containing all the ideas of things that never quite became real. One of my favourites was the ‘Too Much Sitting Room’ – where couch potatoes are doomed to end up. But, most importantly of all, this house is chock-a-block full of shadows.
In Gustav Gloom’s world, shadows have a life of their own, and only stay connected to their person (cat, dog etc.) when they want to. Shadows also often have their own personality, and – in the case of Mr Notes – permanently leave their person when that ‘real’ person’s mindset becomes insufferable.
Gustav is a very lonely boy, who is unable to leave his home, and who – until Fernie came over – has never had a real (as in corporeal) friend. After the battle with the People Taker and the Beast, Mr What wants to move away to somewhere safe for him and his daughters to live – which would mean leaving Gustav behind and alone. But, as Fernie points out:
“Some places have earthquakes. Others have hurricanes or avalanches or forest fires or wars. …. It seems to me that every place has something, Dad. We just moved to a place that has one of the stranger things. … I think people always have to decide what dangers they’re willing to live near in order to also live near the people they care about. And I care about Gustav.”
Mr What might be safety-obsessed, but he is also a loving, caring father, and makes the right decision, so that a lonely boy can have three brand new real-life genuine friends.
This book is very well written, by an author with a limitless imagination, who has a real feeling for the way that humans and cats work. It is wonderfully surreal. Probably written primarily for children, but can be enjoyed by all. In this book children are never looked down on, and never wrapped up in cotton-wool, but are invited to experience life and friendship in all their glory – warts and all.
October 25, 2021
Máte chuť na poriadnu dávku rozkošnosti?
V tom prípade vám môžem len odporúčať Gustáva Chmúrneho a zlodeja ľudí, ktorý si získal moje srdce. Už anotácia znela veľmi sľubne, bola som pripravená na podivuhodnú mačku, tiene, ktoré sa správajú inak ako ich majitelia, zvláštneho chlapca, na ktorého sa budem báť po tme čo i len pomyslieť, no k tomu všetkému som dostala ešte aj milučký zážitok vo forme žiarivých očičiek, napínavého deja a nečakaného odhalenia.
Musím povedať, že ide o jeden z tých najčarovnejších príbehov, čo som kedy čítala. Celú dobu som mala na tvári široký úsmev, doslova som sa vyžívala v v jednotlivých scénkach a najviac som si zamilovala postavu vždy opatrného otca, ktorý sa o svoje dve dcéry tak neuveriteľne bál, až im kázal pri prechode cez cestu pozerať sa aj hore, keby tam náhodou núdzovo chcelo pristáť lietadlo, a ktorý sa živil tým, že varoval ľudí, do akého nebezpečenstva sa môžu dostať – teda bol profesionálnym ustráchancom (vedeli ste, že si môžete vypichnúť oko visačkou na matraci?). Celkom mi pripomínal mňa. :D
Nádherný zážitok, veľa sa nasmejete, možno sa občas aj zľaknete, keď po vás pôjde zlodej ľudí alebo vás vlastný tieň, no v prvom rade si užijete príbeh. Jediná výčitka a to mierená vydavateľstvu – prečo u nás ešte nevyšlo zvyšných 5 častí? O takomto čase som ich už chcela mať v košíku.
V tom prípade vám môžem len odporúčať Gustáva Chmúrneho a zlodeja ľudí, ktorý si získal moje srdce. Už anotácia znela veľmi sľubne, bola som pripravená na podivuhodnú mačku, tiene, ktoré sa správajú inak ako ich majitelia, zvláštneho chlapca, na ktorého sa budem báť po tme čo i len pomyslieť, no k tomu všetkému som dostala ešte aj milučký zážitok vo forme žiarivých očičiek, napínavého deja a nečakaného odhalenia.
Musím povedať, že ide o jeden z tých najčarovnejších príbehov, čo som kedy čítala. Celú dobu som mala na tvári široký úsmev, doslova som sa vyžívala v v jednotlivých scénkach a najviac som si zamilovala postavu vždy opatrného otca, ktorý sa o svoje dve dcéry tak neuveriteľne bál, až im kázal pri prechode cez cestu pozerať sa aj hore, keby tam náhodou núdzovo chcelo pristáť lietadlo, a ktorý sa živil tým, že varoval ľudí, do akého nebezpečenstva sa môžu dostať – teda bol profesionálnym ustráchancom (vedeli ste, že si môžete vypichnúť oko visačkou na matraci?). Celkom mi pripomínal mňa. :D
Nádherný zážitok, veľa sa nasmejete, možno sa občas aj zľaknete, keď po vás pôjde zlodej ľudí alebo vás vlastný tieň, no v prvom rade si užijete príbeh. Jediná výčitka a to mierená vydavateľstvu – prečo u nás ešte nevyšlo zvyšných 5 častí? O takomto čase som ich už chcela mať v košíku.
March 22, 2018
This is the first book in a (four?) book series. I own the first four at least. I read a chapter a day to my kids. They really enjoyed it. this is a middle grade horror. I love spooky middle grade. They are creepy and cute at the same time. My favorite thing about the book was the vocabulary. I love reading books with advanced vocabulary because it helps my kids think of other words to use in sentences. Plus introducing new words gives me more time to teach my kids something by discussing its definition and how could use it in a different sentence.
This story has two main characters. Fernie What and Gustav Gloom. Both look to be around ten years of age.
Fernie has a older sister Pearlie and a safety inspector father. They three moved to Sunnyside Terrace across from Gustav Gloom and his scary shadow house.
One night Fernie’s cat, Harrington, ran across the street and slipped in the opened front door. Fernie gave chase. When she entered the house, it was anything like she had ever seen or could have believed.
That’s all the synopsis I want to reveal. The reason I gave this book 4 stars is because of the run on sentences. I’m sure it’s for dramatic effect, but... I’m reading this out loud to my children and unlike a shadow... I need to breathe.
Currently reading book 2.
This story has two main characters. Fernie What and Gustav Gloom. Both look to be around ten years of age.
Fernie has a older sister Pearlie and a safety inspector father. They three moved to Sunnyside Terrace across from Gustav Gloom and his scary shadow house.
One night Fernie’s cat, Harrington, ran across the street and slipped in the opened front door. Fernie gave chase. When she entered the house, it was anything like she had ever seen or could have believed.
That’s all the synopsis I want to reveal. The reason I gave this book 4 stars is because of the run on sentences. I’m sure it’s for dramatic effect, but... I’m reading this out loud to my children and unlike a shadow... I need to breathe.
Currently reading book 2.
October 20, 2018
This was a fun middle grade story, perfect for this spooky mood that October brings. I thought the main idea of shadows being able to separate from their physical counterparts was unique and entertaining, but found that the plot was very slow and linear. I was hoping for more to happen, but won’t be investing further into the serious to find out.
October 19, 2012
This book was like a piece of Halloween candy -- made to look spooky, but really very sweet and delightful. Against the setting of a gloomy old house full of shadows, a creepy villain and an even creepier uber-villain is set a friendship between a lonely, isolated boy (Gustav) and the new kid in the neighborhood, Fernie. Perfect for kids from 9 to 90.
October 21, 2012
A fun read for kids or adults. This book is both great reading and beautifully illustrated and I believe a true classic in the making. try for yourself.
September 15, 2012
This was a sad case of a book having a story but no plot.
August 25, 2021
Yup, I'm 48 and I read books for kids. And it was delightful. Great world building, characters I cared about, spooky, irreverent voice. Like if Gaiman's The Graveyard Book had been edited by Christopher Moore.
October 26, 2022
"Her whole life had been ruined just because she happened to move in across the street from Gustav Gloom."
This was a disappointment. The storyline sounded so fun, but the writing is awkward, rambling in a bad way, and the action sequences are confusing. This book had a lot of potential but ultimately fell flat.
This was a disappointment. The storyline sounded so fun, but the writing is awkward, rambling in a bad way, and the action sequences are confusing. This book had a lot of potential but ultimately fell flat.
October 4, 2025
one of the most formative books of my younger years :))
October 31, 2019
A very interesting, intriguing, entertaining read.
March 6, 2023
fun and imaginative!
Marvelous and very creative.
A wonderful beginning to a very clever series!
Kudos to Mr. Castro for a joyful romp!
Marvelous and very creative.
A wonderful beginning to a very clever series!
Kudos to Mr. Castro for a joyful romp!
December 23, 2012
This is a wonderful creepy book and I love love Fernie. With her red hair pulled up wearing green Werewolf pajamas and Frankenstein monster slippers, she is just so adorable. I even love Gustav who is sad, wears a black suit with a black tie and looks like he should be at a funeral. You just want to hug him really tight. I can see why Fernie and Gustav are drawn to each other. Even Gloom Mansion with its mysterious shapes that arise from the floor or through walls and many rooms and hallways gives this book a very haunted feel. I think there is something so creepy about the shadows and the way that they can move around and interact with the characters and the library of shadow books of ideas and books that never were written. But the People Taker, who goes out each night hunting for people that he can" take", and his Beast who helps. Man are they just down right evil. When he starts talking in his reptilian tones, I get the shivers down my spine. Overall, a wonderful story with beautiful black and white illustrations by Kristen Margiotta. My copy is the hardcover, which on my copy has a little cutout (where Gustav is standing in the image above) and you see his shadow. So, when you turn the page you see the image above. I'm very happy to hear that there are more books planned in this series (looks like 4) which I will definantly be looking for. 5/5 Book for me.
Just for the record, copy of the book provided by Penguin publishing and won at Charlotteslibrary.blogspot. A big thank you to both.
January 2, 2013
I thought this had too much description and not enough plot, but I know it will be popular with some readers.
July 10, 2021
Fernie What and her older sister Pearlie love scary movies, books and stories, even though their father is a professional worrier, paid to spot anything with even the smallest chance of causing injury. Show the girls a haunted house, and they'll be excited. Show him one, and he'll be on the lookout for collapsing staircases and rusty nails sticking out of boards. So when they move into a new house, literally across the street from a scary old mansion, it's dead certain that one or both of the girls will end up exploring the place – especially after Fernie befriends the strange, sad little boy who lives there: a boy named Gustav Gloom.
Gustav never leaves the grounds of the Gloom mansion, a dark, turreted place surrounded by swirling mists. When Fernie chases her cat into the place in the middle of their first night in the neighborhood, she finds out that it's even stranger and spookier on the inside. It's haunted not by ghosts, but by shadows that have become separated from the people (and cats) who cast them. It has a library full of books that could have been written, but never were; a gallery of famous statues, striking awkward poses that the original sculptors missed; a Too Much Sitting Room where anyone who sits on the chairs becomes a permanent part of the upholstery; a jungle-like bedroom alive with the shadows of every dinosaur who ever lived; and yes, a bottomless pit with an evil being named Lord Obsidian at the other end.
You won't meet Lord Obsidian in this book, which is a relief, because the minion of his that you do meet is bad enough to cause nightmares. His name is the People Taker, and he's been taking people and doing things to them too horrible to put into words for far longer than he's been working for Lord Obsidian. But now, the People Taker has made an unprecedented arrangement with his lordship, taking nine people for Lord Obsidian for every one that he keeps for himself. Whatever either of them would want from those people, Fernie has in spades – putting her and her family in freakish danger. But there's also something about Fernie that brings out the power of friendship in Gustav, strange and lonely boy that he is. They've just started getting to know each other, and already they prove that they'll both risk a lot to save each other from the People Taker, his terrifying Beast and the fate that awaits anyone who falls into the pit.
This is a stange, super-dark fantasy for kids. You know it's for kids because of the cute illustrations depicting waifish children – one, a pale, thin boy with a black suit and black hair that sticks straight up; the other, a vivacious girl in werewolf pajamas and Frankenstein's monster slippers. Also, it decorously avoids stating outright what kinds of things the People Taker does to the people he takes. (It keeps putting "take" in italics, which I suppose is meant to make you shiver.) Gustav's home brims with bizarre and often threatening concepts, and exactly who or what he is becomes a puzzle that you'll still be picking at when you reach the end of the book. The book also packs in some endearing family moments, a goodly number of laughs (the first time I laughed outloud was in its second paragraph) and a unique fantasyscape that hints at many fascinating possibilities yet to be revealed.
This is the first of six "Gustav Gloom" books. Subsequent books in the series are titled (Gustav Gloom and the) Nightmare Vault, Four Terrors, Cryptic Carousel, Inn of Shadows and Castle of Fear. Castro, a Florida-based sci-fi/fantasy/horror writer who (if the dedication of this book is to be believed) counted the late, great Harlan Ellison as a personal friend, is also the author of the Andrea Cort space mysteries, the satirical chapter books Z is for Zombie: An Illustrated Guide to the End of the World and V is for Vampire: An Illustrated Alphabet of the Undead, some Spider-Man graphic novels, lots of short stories and novellas (many of them featuring the zany duo of Vossoff and Nimmitz) and several other books, with and without such co-authors as Jerry Oltion. His short stories have some intriguing titles, like "Just a Couple of Ruthless Interstellar Assassins Discussing Real Estate Investments at a Twister Game the Size of a Planet" as well as the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated stories "The Funeral March of the Marionettes" and "The Astronaut from Wyoming."
Gustav never leaves the grounds of the Gloom mansion, a dark, turreted place surrounded by swirling mists. When Fernie chases her cat into the place in the middle of their first night in the neighborhood, she finds out that it's even stranger and spookier on the inside. It's haunted not by ghosts, but by shadows that have become separated from the people (and cats) who cast them. It has a library full of books that could have been written, but never were; a gallery of famous statues, striking awkward poses that the original sculptors missed; a Too Much Sitting Room where anyone who sits on the chairs becomes a permanent part of the upholstery; a jungle-like bedroom alive with the shadows of every dinosaur who ever lived; and yes, a bottomless pit with an evil being named Lord Obsidian at the other end.
You won't meet Lord Obsidian in this book, which is a relief, because the minion of his that you do meet is bad enough to cause nightmares. His name is the People Taker, and he's been taking people and doing things to them too horrible to put into words for far longer than he's been working for Lord Obsidian. But now, the People Taker has made an unprecedented arrangement with his lordship, taking nine people for Lord Obsidian for every one that he keeps for himself. Whatever either of them would want from those people, Fernie has in spades – putting her and her family in freakish danger. But there's also something about Fernie that brings out the power of friendship in Gustav, strange and lonely boy that he is. They've just started getting to know each other, and already they prove that they'll both risk a lot to save each other from the People Taker, his terrifying Beast and the fate that awaits anyone who falls into the pit.
This is a stange, super-dark fantasy for kids. You know it's for kids because of the cute illustrations depicting waifish children – one, a pale, thin boy with a black suit and black hair that sticks straight up; the other, a vivacious girl in werewolf pajamas and Frankenstein's monster slippers. Also, it decorously avoids stating outright what kinds of things the People Taker does to the people he takes. (It keeps putting "take" in italics, which I suppose is meant to make you shiver.) Gustav's home brims with bizarre and often threatening concepts, and exactly who or what he is becomes a puzzle that you'll still be picking at when you reach the end of the book. The book also packs in some endearing family moments, a goodly number of laughs (the first time I laughed outloud was in its second paragraph) and a unique fantasyscape that hints at many fascinating possibilities yet to be revealed.
This is the first of six "Gustav Gloom" books. Subsequent books in the series are titled (Gustav Gloom and the) Nightmare Vault, Four Terrors, Cryptic Carousel, Inn of Shadows and Castle of Fear. Castro, a Florida-based sci-fi/fantasy/horror writer who (if the dedication of this book is to be believed) counted the late, great Harlan Ellison as a personal friend, is also the author of the Andrea Cort space mysteries, the satirical chapter books Z is for Zombie: An Illustrated Guide to the End of the World and V is for Vampire: An Illustrated Alphabet of the Undead, some Spider-Man graphic novels, lots of short stories and novellas (many of them featuring the zany duo of Vossoff and Nimmitz) and several other books, with and without such co-authors as Jerry Oltion. His short stories have some intriguing titles, like "Just a Couple of Ruthless Interstellar Assassins Discussing Real Estate Investments at a Twister Game the Size of a Planet" as well as the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated stories "The Funeral March of the Marionettes" and "The Astronaut from Wyoming."
August 10, 2018
Quirky. No other word to describe this doom and gloom book with a comedic edge. First the good part. The prose.
Example 1
“Some conversations are like leaky motorboats, running out of fuel before you even leave the dock.”
Example 2
"Gustav took to being hugged about as well as a tree would, except that a tree would not have given the impression that it might have preferred to run away. Nor would a tree have made as many attempts to figure out what to do with its arms."
That’s just purely fun reading for me. I loved the setting and character building at the beginning. Gustav Gloom lives in a gloomy mansion in the middle of a perfect neighborhood. Everything on his property is black. The house. The trees. The lawn. The birds. Gustav looks out at the world with his sad face, black clothes, and black hair sticking straight up. According to the neighbors, something must be done about the Gloom property.
Now for the bad part. The plot. It’s a crazy, muddled mess. It begins when Fernie’s cat runs into the Gloom house. She gives chase and ends up in a nightmare. On the inside the house stretches on for miles. There’s a library with all the books never written. A hall with statues in embarrassing poses. A room with dinosaurs. And that just scratches the surface of all the bizarre things going on in this house. The two main pieces of the plot were the pieces that confused me. There is a People Taker and his sidekick Beast that lurks around the place ready to nab people and throw them in a pit for Lord Obsidian. Confusing. Then there is this thing with your shadow where it can separate from you. There are shadows running all over the place in this house. Confusing.
It’s a mess of a plot if you ask me. So much going on and no real satisfaction with the ending. Good writing. Bad plot. In fact, I can’t even begin to figure out where book 2 can go. Gustav can’t leave the house and I have no desire to go back in there. But. It has an amazingly cute cover, so kids might be enticed to give it a go.
Example 1
“Some conversations are like leaky motorboats, running out of fuel before you even leave the dock.”
Example 2
"Gustav took to being hugged about as well as a tree would, except that a tree would not have given the impression that it might have preferred to run away. Nor would a tree have made as many attempts to figure out what to do with its arms."
That’s just purely fun reading for me. I loved the setting and character building at the beginning. Gustav Gloom lives in a gloomy mansion in the middle of a perfect neighborhood. Everything on his property is black. The house. The trees. The lawn. The birds. Gustav looks out at the world with his sad face, black clothes, and black hair sticking straight up. According to the neighbors, something must be done about the Gloom property.
Now for the bad part. The plot. It’s a crazy, muddled mess. It begins when Fernie’s cat runs into the Gloom house. She gives chase and ends up in a nightmare. On the inside the house stretches on for miles. There’s a library with all the books never written. A hall with statues in embarrassing poses. A room with dinosaurs. And that just scratches the surface of all the bizarre things going on in this house. The two main pieces of the plot were the pieces that confused me. There is a People Taker and his sidekick Beast that lurks around the place ready to nab people and throw them in a pit for Lord Obsidian. Confusing. Then there is this thing with your shadow where it can separate from you. There are shadows running all over the place in this house. Confusing.
It’s a mess of a plot if you ask me. So much going on and no real satisfaction with the ending. Good writing. Bad plot. In fact, I can’t even begin to figure out where book 2 can go. Gustav can’t leave the house and I have no desire to go back in there. But. It has an amazingly cute cover, so kids might be enticed to give it a go.
March 28, 2025
This gem of a book was an absolutely delightful listen, and is included in subscription right now on Audible UK. I searched for it after reading ATC's short story Hide and Shriek in Games That Creatures Play, and which was also an incredibly fun Lovecraftian story.
Between the whimsically hilarious narrator with quips reminding of Harry Potter's narrator, the heartwarming characters, tight pacing, and genuinely tense moments, I listened to it in one go. The unique worldbuilding creates interesting conflict and major plot unpredictability, and I say this as someone who usually dislikes children's books because they're too simple and unoriginal. Also unusually for a children's book, the protagonist has a personality of her own that factors into solving the plot, and when you find out her shadow does love her, it's absolutely understandable why.
The audible narration was of unusually high quality as well, with a nice clear sound, good volume, and a stereo effect that makes you think the narrator is in the room with you. I'm pretty sure I'm buying the rest of the series if it's not free to listen.
Between the whimsically hilarious narrator with quips reminding of Harry Potter's narrator, the heartwarming characters, tight pacing, and genuinely tense moments, I listened to it in one go. The unique worldbuilding creates interesting conflict and major plot unpredictability, and I say this as someone who usually dislikes children's books because they're too simple and unoriginal. Also unusually for a children's book, the protagonist has a personality of her own that factors into solving the plot, and when you find out her shadow does love her, it's absolutely understandable why.
The audible narration was of unusually high quality as well, with a nice clear sound, good volume, and a stereo effect that makes you think the narrator is in the room with you. I'm pretty sure I'm buying the rest of the series if it's not free to listen.
February 23, 2021
Gustav Gloom is a strange and unusual boy. He lives at the darkest and creepiest house on the block. No one knows much about him or his house until the What family moves in across the street. Fernie What follows her cat onto the grounds of Gustav Gloom’s house and gets trapped in the house by the dark creatures and weird rooms that inhabit the Gloom household.
The cover and inside art is very eye-catching and are what intrigued me.
There are so many usual and imaginative characters and the rules that they seem to follow. I found an issue with those rules because Gustav would first tell the rules of a creature or room and then those rules always seem to get broken. It just did not make sense as to why there were rules in the first place.
My inner child was attracted to this series because of the art and theme. The actual story missed the mark for me. I don’t know if I will continue with the series.
The cover and inside art is very eye-catching and are what intrigued me.
There are so many usual and imaginative characters and the rules that they seem to follow. I found an issue with those rules because Gustav would first tell the rules of a creature or room and then those rules always seem to get broken. It just did not make sense as to why there were rules in the first place.
My inner child was attracted to this series because of the art and theme. The actual story missed the mark for me. I don’t know if I will continue with the series.
January 17, 2022
Fernie What moves across the street from a very strange mansion. There's a little boy named Gustav Gloom who lives there, and she sees him playing with the shadow of a dog. Fernie is curious about the boy but must leave to help her dad and sister unpack. That night, her cat chases his own shadow and Fernie chases after her cat…into the strange mansion.
There’re shadow people, shadow dinosaurs, and a library with books never written. There’re rooms with statues never carved, and then there’s the beast and the people taker. Fernie has a very strange night. She makes a new friend and discovers the world is a lot more interesting than she knew.
Gustav Gloom isn’t a ghost, nor is he a living boy, he isn’t a shadow. Not sure what he is. Perhaps the story will be revealed later in the series.
I liked the shadow world and all the weird things in the mansion. I am intrigued with the premise and curious to see where the author takes it. I’ll give book 2 a try.
There’re shadow people, shadow dinosaurs, and a library with books never written. There’re rooms with statues never carved, and then there’s the beast and the people taker. Fernie has a very strange night. She makes a new friend and discovers the world is a lot more interesting than she knew.
Gustav Gloom isn’t a ghost, nor is he a living boy, he isn’t a shadow. Not sure what he is. Perhaps the story will be revealed later in the series.
I liked the shadow world and all the weird things in the mansion. I am intrigued with the premise and curious to see where the author takes it. I’ll give book 2 a try.
October 3, 2020
Fernie What, sister and dad move into the house across the street from Gustav Gloom and his mysterious, shadow-infested house. Mr. What is a safety consultant responsible for railings and warning signs galore. The kids would like to have some excitement. When Fernie's cat chases its shadow into the Gloom house she follows.
What ensues is encounters with shadow creatures including the [evil] People Taker and his Beast. Meeting up with Gustav. Then the people taker changing from going after her because of opportunity to targeting her specifically.
Really fast read. Gustav is the boy resigned to live alone within the confines of the gate surrounding his enormous house who learns for the first time what it is to have a human friend. 4 of 5 stars. I love the characters, but I'm not a fan of horror.
What ensues is encounters with shadow creatures including the [evil] People Taker and his Beast. Meeting up with Gustav. Then the people taker changing from going after her because of opportunity to targeting her specifically.
Really fast read. Gustav is the boy resigned to live alone within the confines of the gate surrounding his enormous house who learns for the first time what it is to have a human friend. 4 of 5 stars. I love the characters, but I'm not a fan of horror.
June 22, 2018
I liked this book but not as much as what I normally rate 3 stars.
It is imaginative and thrilling.
Favorite passage:
"You have ffffound a library of all the ideas that never came to be; all the great books never written, all the dangerousssss visions never imagined, all the great inventions that poor men could have built and made themselves rich. Why, that very book you just looked at has what would have been the greatest poem ever written, until some sssssilly man knocked on the poet's door, interrupted his day, took up his time, and put all those great lines right out of his brilliant head and back into the world of shadowsssss. Can you imagine that, Fffffernie? Can you even guesssss what elssssse is hidden here?"
p.67
It is imaginative and thrilling.
Favorite passage:
"You have ffffound a library of all the ideas that never came to be; all the great books never written, all the dangerousssss visions never imagined, all the great inventions that poor men could have built and made themselves rich. Why, that very book you just looked at has what would have been the greatest poem ever written, until some sssssilly man knocked on the poet's door, interrupted his day, took up his time, and put all those great lines right out of his brilliant head and back into the world of shadowsssss. Can you imagine that, Fffffernie? Can you even guesssss what elssssse is hidden here?"
p.67
November 17, 2017
2.5
Gustav Gloom is boy who lives in a house of shadows and monsters. He is something in between being a living boy and a shadow himself, adopted, as he was, and raised by the shadows. (The events which lead to such an occurrence are never really given, and is sort of left as the whole "story for another time" kind of thing.)
Because of his circumstances he cannot leave the yard of the house. Luckily for him, a new family moves in across the street with two daughters quite keen on shadows and mysterious houses. One of the daughters, Fernie, wanders into the house chasing after her cat, and adventures ensue. Can Gustav and Fernie navigate the horrors of the house, and perhaps become friends in the process?
It's a cute book, and I read it quickly, but it didn't exactly wow me in any way. Nothing really scary, though maybe some parts might be for the youngest set. Has some nice little messages about accepting people's differences and whatnot.
I'm ambivalent about continuing the series. I might pick up another next October, but I'm not overly fussed about it.
Gustav Gloom is boy who lives in a house of shadows and monsters. He is something in between being a living boy and a shadow himself, adopted, as he was, and raised by the shadows. (The events which lead to such an occurrence are never really given, and is sort of left as the whole "story for another time" kind of thing.)
Because of his circumstances he cannot leave the yard of the house. Luckily for him, a new family moves in across the street with two daughters quite keen on shadows and mysterious houses. One of the daughters, Fernie, wanders into the house chasing after her cat, and adventures ensue. Can Gustav and Fernie navigate the horrors of the house, and perhaps become friends in the process?
It's a cute book, and I read it quickly, but it didn't exactly wow me in any way. Nothing really scary, though maybe some parts might be for the youngest set. Has some nice little messages about accepting people's differences and whatnot.
I'm ambivalent about continuing the series. I might pick up another next October, but I'm not overly fussed about it.
August 18, 2020
When you move in across the street from a towering, all-black house surrounded by black mist and occupied by the saddest looking boy in the world (who wears an all-black suit with a black tie), what could possibly go wrong? In search of her cat, Fernie finds herself inside this mysterious house that is like no other house on earth. It is filled with shadows, impossibly shaped and large rooms, and nothing makes any sense. The shadows, it turns out, aren't all that kind, and the main occupant of the house is called The People Taker. For those who love entering new (and scary!) fantasy worlds with courageous and clever kid heroes, try out this first book in the series.
December 31, 2020
4.5 ⭐
Surprisingly good! It is hard to get surprised when you've read so many fantasy books to compare each new book with.
It started with a monster house vibe and gave a little Neil Gaiman along with Tim Burton vibes but no, it broke those barriers and came out giving a Adam Troy Castro vibe, marking his own style. Kristen Margiotta's illustrations were beautiful and perfect, they helped make this book stand out.
Reasons why you should not read this book:
- If you hate wild imaginations
- If you like following rules even if it comes to fantasy and don't like children much
- If... I don't know, hate dark blue colour? I can't think of any other reason why not 😂
Surprisingly good! It is hard to get surprised when you've read so many fantasy books to compare each new book with.
It started with a monster house vibe and gave a little Neil Gaiman along with Tim Burton vibes but no, it broke those barriers and came out giving a Adam Troy Castro vibe, marking his own style. Kristen Margiotta's illustrations were beautiful and perfect, they helped make this book stand out.
Reasons why you should not read this book:
- If you hate wild imaginations
- If you like following rules even if it comes to fantasy and don't like children much
- If... I don't know, hate dark blue colour? I can't think of any other reason why not 😂
April 16, 2019
I bought this on the recommendation of a 4th grader, and it turned out to be a lot better than I expected. Sisters Fernie and Pearlie are thrilled when their new house turns out to be directly across the street from what is obviously some kind of haunted house, and the mind boggling home of the title character. It had a bit of a rocky start (waaaay too much explaining, like Lemony Snicket but not quite as clever), but once Fernie chased her runaway cat into Gustav's "home," I had to see what would happen.
March 18, 2024
#gustavgloomandthepeopletaker is book 1 of 6. I honestly forget where I go this book but it looks right up my alley. It’s for early-ish readers and has some illustrations. It’s about Frannie What who moves into her new house with her sister,dad and cat. Across the street is a mysterious house inhabited by a weird boy. One night when her cat runs into the house across the street Frannie follows and falls into a wild world of monsters, shadows and what could have beens. It took me awhile to read and I’m not sure why. It was enjoyable and I like the concept.
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