Gustav Gloom and the Cryptic Carousel

Gustav Gloom #4

by Adam-Troy Castro, Kristen Margiotta (Illustrations)

Gustav and Fernie begin their journey to the Shadow Country to save their fathers!

Fernie and Gustav leave the safety of the Gloom Mansion and begin their long journey to the Shadow Country to save their families from the evil Lord Obsidian. Aided by the magical Cryptic Carousel, Fernie and Gustav travel to lots of exotic locations as they try to locate the Shadow Country, meeting a few new foes along the way.

Featuring a unique paper-over-board cover and beautifully dark full page illustrations by Kristen Margiotta.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Paranormal, Mystery, Horror, Supernatural, Childrens

248 pages, Hardcover

First published August 14, 2014

About the author

Adam-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.

Reviews

[Melissa Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the Gustav Gloom series, so I’m going to be short with my review, so as not to spoil anything. This book was a lot more fun to read than the previous one.

In this story we delve more into Gloom’s family. We learn more about his grandfather Lamuel Gloom who started this who “shadow” fiasco. We get to see some of his inventions.

We continue to see how brave Fernie and Gustav are. I love how they are always there for each other. We also see the sisterly love between Fernie and her big sister Pearlie. I’m a softy and I of course got chocked up while reading out loud to my kids.

We are nearing the end of the series. Only two more to go. Can’t wait to pick up book 5.

[~Bellegirl91~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was just as fun and clever. Fernie and Gustav go in search of some particular people and rescue them from The Dark Country but in order to get there undetected is on The Cryptic Carousel built by Gustav's grandfather that takes one to many worlds.

So the two friends embark on a new and dangerous adventure and quest that could mean never returning to the real world ever again. But then someone unexpectedly shows up at the What family home and I'm now HOPING this someone plays a role in the last two books which I'll be listening to back to back now that my county library FINALLY has book 6 on audiobook on the Libby app and I can listen to it! So now's time to start book 5 and then the final book of Gustav Gloom 😥

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning of book three, Gustav was going to rescue his father. Lord Obsidian orchestrated a jailbreak for four criminal shadows and they caught three of them plus the People Taker, but Pearlie and Mr. What fell into the Pit. Now it's a rescue mission for three instead of one.

They talk to Hieronymus Spector and decide going directly to Dark Country will lead to capture. The shadow gives Gustav a hint to find the carousel, built by his grandfather, which is really a vehicle for traveling between dimensions. On the test run they find there are countless places other than just Earth and the Dark Country. Looking for the instruction manual they release a storm leading to an adventure where they have to escape from Silverspinner.

Like book 3 this leaves with work still to be done. Fast, fun read. I really like Fernie and Gustav. Young Adult. Creepiness edging towards horror. If you liked the other books you'll like this one. Four stars. The epilogue has a nice teaser.

[Astoria (Jax) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gustav Gloom and Fernie What just continue to sparkle as interesting little adventurers; even at the end of book 4. They showcase that two kids can be completely different and still manage a fantastic little friendship. If my nieces were old enough to read or sit still enough to listen to a story, I'd definitely be reading these to them.

[Alysa H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, I liked it and my daughter liked it slightly more. It was a little odd to see Fernie and Gustav adventuring in a land so far from the Gloom house and its environs, and yet not make it to their desired destination. Made this installment feel like filler, though there were some fun bits.

[Drucilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars. The prose and art are still great, but I feel like the book ends too soon. Gustav and Fernie have only just made it to the Dark Country when the book ends. Hopefully, the next book won't feel like this.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery. Secrets. Intrigue. Amusement. Talking gorillas. Giant spiders. All of these make up the ingenious story that is the fourth Gustav Gloom book.

To save their families from the Dark Country, Fernie and Gustav embark on the Cryptic Carousel, an enhanced version of the most spectacular rocket ship ever. When a mysteriously shadow is accidentally freed aboard the carousel, Gustav and Fernie’s find themselves stranded on a strange world home to dangerous creatures, including a really horrifying spider woman(which the illustrations of are both amazing and terrifying). Gustav and Fernie must journey across the weird land, get back to the carousel, and avoid becoming spider food if they ever want to make it to the Dark Country. Not as easy as it sounds.

This book was sooooooo funny. My favorite part was the discussion about not being eaten and the theoretical conversation that might ensue if they did get eaten. I crack up so hard when I read it.

When I read about Gustav, I desperately wish he was real. He’s cute. Charming. Serious. Kind. Logical. Funny.

“I never laugh. I don’t even smile.”

That sentence makes me smile. And his last question to Hieronymus Spector? I can’t even describe how much that blew my mind.

Readers are so enveloped in the story by this time that even if they wanted to leave, they couldn’t. I’m guessing. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to leave the marvelous world of Gustav Gloom. Unless you’re one of the characters living there. And then there might be times you’d want to leave. But for those of us who remain outside the pages… well, we can just enjoy the pleasure of reading it!

[Akoss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was by far my least favorite of the series.

I'm not a big fan of long sentences but in the first three books it was done with such cleverness it didn't bother me. In this one however it felt a bit too much and it slowed me down. I wasn't as eager to read it as I was in the past with the first three books.

Character wise, Gustav is the only one who was a tiny bit disappointing. He grew so much during the first three books and then in this one? I had the feeling he took a step back instead. Of course it doesn't help that this is just part one of the main quest: finding both Gustav and Fernie's fathers in The Dark Country. So maybe there is more character growth to him and I haven't read it yet.

Plot wise, I'm bummed that what started in book three is still not over. I was really looking forward to some conclusion and didn't find it. I guess I was a bit spoiled by the fact that you could read book one and two out of order because they were more like standalones.

Ah well, I do want to know what is going to happen because of one interesting plot point that surfaced toward the end. But if I feel the same way about book five I will most likely stop following the series.

I also do plan to re-read this when book five is released so if my feelings change I will make sure to update my review.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast read...Got this early afternoon and finished by 10 pm, including taking a break to cook and eat dinner for my family. By far the weakest of the series so far, but still enjoyable. Really only a couple important things are revealed, the rest is a lot of drawn-out, non-essential details that make the short book seem longer...the events of the epilogue were very predictable, so not much of a cliffhanger. This is basically a filler book in an otherwise very enjoyable series.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book much more than #3 and I'm looking forward to the next one...