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The Most Ferocious of Creatures
Mrs Lambsbottom wakes up one morning and accidentally douses a mouse with milk, unwittingly creating the most ferocious of creatures. She decides to rid her home of the terrible beast but Mrs Lambsbottom is not the most mentally stable of characters. Neither is the cat that she brings home from ‘Meow’s Cat Shelter for the criminally insane’.
All the ingredients mix together ensuring a stupendously silly story satisfyingly stuffed with suitable story related things and, er, stuff.
Packed full of funny pieces of incredibly relevant information, although perhaps not always factual, The Most Ferocious of Creatures will have you smiling.
‘Mrs Lambsbottom was quick on her long and pointy feet when her eyes captured the image of the red-eyed, crazed, and foaming at the mouth mouse charging ferociously up the table leg straight towards her. For an awfully tall and wickedly wide person she was ever so nimble. She leapt from the table and landed on the shockingly hard floor with all the grace a one legged fish might have, if such an animal ever existed. She may have been ever so nimble but she was blatantly far from graceful.’
All the ingredients mix together ensuring a stupendously silly story satisfyingly stuffed with suitable story related things and, er, stuff.
Packed full of funny pieces of incredibly relevant information, although perhaps not always factual, The Most Ferocious of Creatures will have you smiling.
‘Mrs Lambsbottom was quick on her long and pointy feet when her eyes captured the image of the red-eyed, crazed, and foaming at the mouth mouse charging ferociously up the table leg straight towards her. For an awfully tall and wickedly wide person she was ever so nimble. She leapt from the table and landed on the shockingly hard floor with all the grace a one legged fish might have, if such an animal ever existed. She may have been ever so nimble but she was blatantly far from graceful.’
94 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 11, 2014
5 people are currently reading
298 people want to read
About the author
Chris Sykes
4 books10 followersBorn and raised in York, UK, Chris deserted his hometown to study at John Moore’s University in Liverpool. He is a Yorkshireman at heart but would like to think of himself as an adopted Scouser, too. After a long time living in Liverpool, he moved with his partner to Germany, where he resides today. This was back in the day when British people could live freely in any country in the EU.
His taste in books has varied over the years and this can be seen in the books he has published. The Most Ferocious of Creatures and Time Travelling Dino’s: The Pilot, are humorous books for younger children. Both explore language and are a little silly, to be honest.
The Fifth: Indoctrinated City is his latest work. About a revolution in a modern, and shockingly real, world, it is his response to Brexit. It will be released on the 23rd June 2021, or it is released now, if you are from the future.
His taste in books has varied over the years and this can be seen in the books he has published. The Most Ferocious of Creatures and Time Travelling Dino’s: The Pilot, are humorous books for younger children. Both explore language and are a little silly, to be honest.
The Fifth: Indoctrinated City is his latest work. About a revolution in a modern, and shockingly real, world, it is his response to Brexit. It will be released on the 23rd June 2021, or it is released now, if you are from the future.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 21, 2019
DNF'd at 50%, just not my type of book.
October 23, 2014
The Most Ferocious of Creatures is a whimsical, creative, endearing tale full of delicious, silly, lovely nonsense, that will not fail to put a smile (or rather several) on your face. It will please both kids and grown ups, if you appreciate the simple things in life.
Imagine someone who has a great imagination spewing everything that comes to their mind and in the process transporting you to a wonderful universe. That's the feeling you get while reading this book and it's such a lovely journey. This author is one to look out for.
It's a children's book and the language is very fit for them. I did think that the repetitiveness, which contributes to the uniqueness of the story, got a bit dull at some point (for some reason I just couldn't get into the 'horse' bits), which is mainly why I am giving it 4.5 stars instead of a full 5, but I am rounding it up since I had such a good time. It's been a while since a book put me in that good a mood.
Overall, it was a great experience, one that made me feel like a child again in all the good ways. I smiled, smirked, giggled and just outright laughed. I am happy to now know the name of the condition I suffer from every morning - very fitting indeed - and I will most definitely be very weary of exploding forms from now on.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Imagine someone who has a great imagination spewing everything that comes to their mind and in the process transporting you to a wonderful universe. That's the feeling you get while reading this book and it's such a lovely journey. This author is one to look out for.
It's a children's book and the language is very fit for them. I did think that the repetitiveness, which contributes to the uniqueness of the story, got a bit dull at some point (for some reason I just couldn't get into the 'horse' bits), which is mainly why I am giving it 4.5 stars instead of a full 5, but I am rounding it up since I had such a good time. It's been a while since a book put me in that good a mood.
Overall, it was a great experience, one that made me feel like a child again in all the good ways. I smiled, smirked, giggled and just outright laughed. I am happy to now know the name of the condition I suffer from every morning - very fitting indeed - and I will most definitely be very weary of exploding forms from now on.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
November 13, 2014
A charming tale of courageous mouse, a hearing-impaired elderly lady and a criminally insane cat. I thoroughly enjoyed it - the author gives the story an enchanting mix of humor, thought provoking themes and vivid description.
My favorite parts were easily the problems that Mrs. Lambsbottom had with morning zombification (I'm sure most adults will sympathize!) and when Nigel the cat started showing his true colors shortly after arriving at Mrs. Lambsbottom's house. I'm a cat person, so I really, truly fell in love with Nigel.
I had to knock a couple of stars off for repetition that another reviewer mentioned and the fact that the book is a difficult fit for an age group of kids. This is only my experience, though and should not put parents off of trying this out with their own children! It's just that, my older son at 12 didn't find enough action in the book to get him to read it on his own, and it was too long and some of the humor was too complicated for my 6 year old. Perhaps kids somewhere in between those ages are right for this story!
The fairy-tale ending was perfect and the graphics added an extra layer to the quirky humor. I highly recommend this book!
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
My favorite parts were easily the problems that Mrs. Lambsbottom had with morning zombification (I'm sure most adults will sympathize!) and when Nigel the cat started showing his true colors shortly after arriving at Mrs. Lambsbottom's house. I'm a cat person, so I really, truly fell in love with Nigel.
I had to knock a couple of stars off for repetition that another reviewer mentioned and the fact that the book is a difficult fit for an age group of kids. This is only my experience, though and should not put parents off of trying this out with their own children! It's just that, my older son at 12 didn't find enough action in the book to get him to read it on his own, and it was too long and some of the humor was too complicated for my 6 year old. Perhaps kids somewhere in between those ages are right for this story!
The fairy-tale ending was perfect and the graphics added an extra layer to the quirky humor. I highly recommend this book!
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 22, 2014
My seven year old daughter and I read this together. She read it mostly to me, and I helped her with some bigger words and talked her through some concepts but all in all, this was a good read for a child on a third grade level or above (or a father who just enjoys funny stories).
This was every bit as fun as Neil Gaiman's 'Fortunately The Milk'. We had a great time laughing at the crazy cast of characters that Mr. Sykes has created.
There is plenty of humor here without being scatalogical, and that's refreshing.
We also found some great life lessons. Labels don't make the person (or cat or mouse for that matter). It is what is inside that counts. Living harmoniously with nature. And quite a few more.
I know this title is listed for boyish humor, but my daughter had some good belly laughs. Reading on the Kindle though there are not as many illustrations as the book blurb makes it seem. Mostly between chapters. The story is what did it for us more than anything.
A fun tale to read together and even more fun and highly recommended to read to a group of kids.
This was every bit as fun as Neil Gaiman's 'Fortunately The Milk'. We had a great time laughing at the crazy cast of characters that Mr. Sykes has created.
There is plenty of humor here without being scatalogical, and that's refreshing.
We also found some great life lessons. Labels don't make the person (or cat or mouse for that matter). It is what is inside that counts. Living harmoniously with nature. And quite a few more.
I know this title is listed for boyish humor, but my daughter had some good belly laughs. Reading on the Kindle though there are not as many illustrations as the book blurb makes it seem. Mostly between chapters. The story is what did it for us more than anything.
A fun tale to read together and even more fun and highly recommended to read to a group of kids.
July 4, 2014
'Adults generally smell a trifle iffy when they suffer from Morning Zombiefication.', July 4, 2014
Handsome young British author Chris Sykes jumps onto the literary scene with a fresh new form of comedy in his debut novel THE MOST FEROCIOUS CREATURES - a book he claims to be a children's book but it is so well written with such a keen and novel sense of verbiage that it will likely e added to the libraries of adults as well - at least adults with the sense of appreciation for fantasy, funky art (Sykes own terrific creations), and hilarious dialogue between humans and animals. Perhaps it is too early to commit to valid comparisons, but think along the lines of Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl, P.G. Wodehouse, Douglas Adams, Kingsley Amis - that degree of creativity and informed sense of comedic detail and you get the sense of what Chris Sykes is all about.
Born in York, England in 1984 he moved to Liverpool where he schooled and learned his craft, supporting himself as a charity fundraiser, working in a call center, etc. A flavor of his talent is evident in his self-written biographical data from which the following is excerpted: One dark and stormy summer's day, a stray cat turned up in his backyard and refused to leave. The cat was under weight and clearly needed some tender loving care but unfortunately for the cat, Chris thought that he knew a thing or two about cats. Let me tell you, he didn't and still doesn't, although he will say that he did and still does. He has a somewhat strange tendency to ramble on about things for hours and hours. I don't know why, no one will ever really know why. I suppose it is just one of those things, like aliens and ghosts. They also ramble on for hours about the strangest of subjects. Chris thought that the cat was waiting for him to leave his house and that whilst the house was empty, the cat would no doubt break in and steal all of his things. He then (not at all acting like a baby) refused to leave his house until the cat left his backyard. He did not have much in the way of things but that did not matter, they were his things and he liked them that way. So, Chris sat on one side of the glass back door and the scrawny, frail, helpless cat sat on the other side. Their eyes locked together in a war of patience. To mercifully cut a long story short, the cat moved in and the only thing that she stole was his heart. She lives with him and his girlfriend in Germany and, although she complains an awful lot, is clearly quite happy with them both.'
Chris Sykes puts his stamp on his own plot summary, better than any reviewer could rehash, so here is that: `Mrs Lambsbottom wakes up one morning and accidentally douses a mouse with milk, unwittingly creating the most ferocious of creatures. She decides to rid her home of the terrible beast but Mrs Lambsbottom is not the most mentally stable of characters. Neither is the cat that she brings home from `Meow's Cat Shelter for the criminally insane'. All the ingredients mix together ensuring a stupendously silly story, satisfyingly stuffed with suitable story related things and, er, stuff.'
The opening lines of the book deliver the tone: `Mrs Lambsbottom was approximately 1,236 and a quarter miles away from being an ordinary 87 year old lady. Although she burped - from her bottom as well as her mouth - like EVERYbody else, she was a trifle crazy, In fact, she was a cold, curdled, custard cream crazy but that is a trifle harder to say. Her face closely resembled that of a grandma. Granted, she occasionally wore an expression similar to that of a person who has been slapped in the face with a freshly caught trout but she smiled an awful lot. Although, I am afraid to say, she does not have much time for smiling in this story. Mrs Lambsbottom wore her hair, which curled and danced at the slightest of breezes, high on her head. She paid someone 68 pounds every two weeks to dress her hair with overly large rollers and in a peculiar blue rinse. If you wanted to be mean (which I would strongly advise against0, you might say that she paid 10 pence for very single strand of hair. What she had may have been waning but to her it looked terribly terrific and that was what mattered.' And the entire book reads that well!
And so we have the illustrated tale of Mrs Lambsbottom, Colin the Mouse and Nigel the Tom Cat - and if you are able to stop laughing as you are reading, breathe in and bask in the exceedingly clever wit and style of an author who will likely move into the public arena of popularity vey quickly. He has all the ingredients - wit, charm, a wordsmith par excellence, a refreshing illustrator - another way of saying I love this book and Highly Recommend it to all readers.
Handsome young British author Chris Sykes jumps onto the literary scene with a fresh new form of comedy in his debut novel THE MOST FEROCIOUS CREATURES - a book he claims to be a children's book but it is so well written with such a keen and novel sense of verbiage that it will likely e added to the libraries of adults as well - at least adults with the sense of appreciation for fantasy, funky art (Sykes own terrific creations), and hilarious dialogue between humans and animals. Perhaps it is too early to commit to valid comparisons, but think along the lines of Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl, P.G. Wodehouse, Douglas Adams, Kingsley Amis - that degree of creativity and informed sense of comedic detail and you get the sense of what Chris Sykes is all about.
Born in York, England in 1984 he moved to Liverpool where he schooled and learned his craft, supporting himself as a charity fundraiser, working in a call center, etc. A flavor of his talent is evident in his self-written biographical data from which the following is excerpted: One dark and stormy summer's day, a stray cat turned up in his backyard and refused to leave. The cat was under weight and clearly needed some tender loving care but unfortunately for the cat, Chris thought that he knew a thing or two about cats. Let me tell you, he didn't and still doesn't, although he will say that he did and still does. He has a somewhat strange tendency to ramble on about things for hours and hours. I don't know why, no one will ever really know why. I suppose it is just one of those things, like aliens and ghosts. They also ramble on for hours about the strangest of subjects. Chris thought that the cat was waiting for him to leave his house and that whilst the house was empty, the cat would no doubt break in and steal all of his things. He then (not at all acting like a baby) refused to leave his house until the cat left his backyard. He did not have much in the way of things but that did not matter, they were his things and he liked them that way. So, Chris sat on one side of the glass back door and the scrawny, frail, helpless cat sat on the other side. Their eyes locked together in a war of patience. To mercifully cut a long story short, the cat moved in and the only thing that she stole was his heart. She lives with him and his girlfriend in Germany and, although she complains an awful lot, is clearly quite happy with them both.'
Chris Sykes puts his stamp on his own plot summary, better than any reviewer could rehash, so here is that: `Mrs Lambsbottom wakes up one morning and accidentally douses a mouse with milk, unwittingly creating the most ferocious of creatures. She decides to rid her home of the terrible beast but Mrs Lambsbottom is not the most mentally stable of characters. Neither is the cat that she brings home from `Meow's Cat Shelter for the criminally insane'. All the ingredients mix together ensuring a stupendously silly story, satisfyingly stuffed with suitable story related things and, er, stuff.'
The opening lines of the book deliver the tone: `Mrs Lambsbottom was approximately 1,236 and a quarter miles away from being an ordinary 87 year old lady. Although she burped - from her bottom as well as her mouth - like EVERYbody else, she was a trifle crazy, In fact, she was a cold, curdled, custard cream crazy but that is a trifle harder to say. Her face closely resembled that of a grandma. Granted, she occasionally wore an expression similar to that of a person who has been slapped in the face with a freshly caught trout but she smiled an awful lot. Although, I am afraid to say, she does not have much time for smiling in this story. Mrs Lambsbottom wore her hair, which curled and danced at the slightest of breezes, high on her head. She paid someone 68 pounds every two weeks to dress her hair with overly large rollers and in a peculiar blue rinse. If you wanted to be mean (which I would strongly advise against0, you might say that she paid 10 pence for very single strand of hair. What she had may have been waning but to her it looked terribly terrific and that was what mattered.' And the entire book reads that well!
And so we have the illustrated tale of Mrs Lambsbottom, Colin the Mouse and Nigel the Tom Cat - and if you are able to stop laughing as you are reading, breathe in and bask in the exceedingly clever wit and style of an author who will likely move into the public arena of popularity vey quickly. He has all the ingredients - wit, charm, a wordsmith par excellence, a refreshing illustrator - another way of saying I love this book and Highly Recommend it to all readers.
August 30, 2018
Author has a kinky sense of humor that's very engaging. It's just not my cup of tea. For that reason I'm giving it a neutral 3 stars.
January 20, 2015
My review goes totally hand in hand with the Author's summary of the book. Chris Sykes is so right in saying the book will have us in splits. There is nothing cute in the book but everything is so hilarious. Throughout reading the book, I was longing to read the same to a child. The way I enjoyed the book, a child would enjoy it so much more.
Read on at
The Most Ferocious of Creatures
Read on at
The Most Ferocious of Creatures
April 4, 2015
Hilarious
The word play is phenomenal. The side information well woven. This would make a marvelous read aloud. I love the pen and ink 3 dimensional artwork.
The word play is phenomenal. The side information well woven. This would make a marvelous read aloud. I love the pen and ink 3 dimensional artwork.
August 24, 2015
One day, the 87 years-old Mrs. Lambsbottom poured a pan of milk all over Colin the mice. And, as we all know (or not), a "Milk soaked mice are the most ferocious of creature and this one was no different." (page 20). Hence, the usual calm morning of Mrs. Lambsbottom changed into a hetic cat and mouse game.
I won this book from Goodreads' giveaway. It took almost 2 months for the book to arrive at my place. Well, at least it arrived. Thank you to the author, Chris Sykes, for the book.
I'm going to admit that I didn't really enjoy the book. I like the silliness of the story (a milk soaked mice, a vegetarian cat, and criminally insane cats? C'mon.), but the story felt unfocused. I thought it was gonna be about Mrs. Lambsbottom trying to get rid of the mouse, but I was wrong. It turned out to be something else, with several sub-stories that sometimes didn't really contribute to the main story. The ending... how could it turned that way? It had no hints whatsoever. A deus ex machina out of nowhere.
The writing was oke. It was light and easy to digest, suitable for children. It was repetitive and used too many adverbs for my liking though.
Overall, I didn't really like it. I like the premise, but not the execution. Maybe it will be a fun book for children. So, give it a try. One and a half stars for me.
This book is for the following reading challenge:
- 2015 Lucky No. 15 Reading Challenge
I won this book from Goodreads' giveaway. It took almost 2 months for the book to arrive at my place. Well, at least it arrived. Thank you to the author, Chris Sykes, for the book.
I'm going to admit that I didn't really enjoy the book. I like the silliness of the story (a milk soaked mice, a vegetarian cat, and criminally insane cats? C'mon.), but the story felt unfocused. I thought it was gonna be about Mrs. Lambsbottom trying to get rid of the mouse, but I was wrong. It turned out to be something else, with several sub-stories that sometimes didn't really contribute to the main story. The ending... how could it turned that way? It had no hints whatsoever. A deus ex machina out of nowhere.
The writing was oke. It was light and easy to digest, suitable for children. It was repetitive and used too many adverbs for my liking though.
Overall, I didn't really like it. I like the premise, but not the execution. Maybe it will be a fun book for children. So, give it a try. One and a half stars for me.
This book is for the following reading challenge:
- 2015 Lucky No. 15 Reading Challenge
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews