What do you think?
Rate this book
Gustav Gloom #5
Gustav Gloom and the Inn of Shadows
Gustav and Fernie continue their journey through Dark Country!
Gustav and Fernie’s adventures in the Dark Country continue as they search for their families. But as they get closer to discovering their families’ fates, their mission is once again threatened by old foes—as well as some new, even more treacherous, ones. Will Gustav and Fernie be able to battle their way through and rescue their families before it’s too late? Featuring a unique paper-over-board cover with beautifully dark full-page illustrations by Kristen Margiotta.
Gustav and Fernie’s adventures in the Dark Country continue as they search for their families. But as they get closer to discovering their families’ fates, their mission is once again threatened by old foes—as well as some new, even more treacherous, ones. Will Gustav and Fernie be able to battle their way through and rescue their families before it’s too late? Featuring a unique paper-over-board cover with beautifully dark full-page illustrations by Kristen Margiotta.
242 pages, Hardcover
First published August 11, 2015
5 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
Adam-Troy Castro
236 books166 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 28, 2018
Gustav Gloom and the Inn of Shadows book 5 was pretty good. I'm giving it 3 stars. My son says he is enjoying the story line and the illustrations get better with each book.
This is of course a continuation and so I can't go into too much detail. What I can say is, I love that stories one through five have a new villain and also old villains to keep the readers on their toes.
This book for me seemed to drag just a bit. We find Gustav and friends in the Dark Country and it's sort of boring for the first half of the book. Nothing really going on. When they do meet up with some new characters nothing exciting happens until the very, very end.
It's like reading Deathly Hallows. The first half of the book, the kids are just running around. They don't fight until the second half. I'm currently reading the final book in the series and I'm pretty sure all the characters are going to seek their revenge and other grievances on their foes any minute now and they will take it to the end.
Should you pick up Gustav Gloom? I think so. If you like middle grade that is slightly dark with a loving family, friends and great villains I'd pick up the series.
This is of course a continuation and so I can't go into too much detail. What I can say is, I love that stories one through five have a new villain and also old villains to keep the readers on their toes.
This book for me seemed to drag just a bit. We find Gustav and friends in the Dark Country and it's sort of boring for the first half of the book. Nothing really going on. When they do meet up with some new characters nothing exciting happens until the very, very end.
It's like reading Deathly Hallows. The first half of the book, the kids are just running around. They don't fight until the second half. I'm currently reading the final book in the series and I'm pretty sure all the characters are going to seek their revenge and other grievances on their foes any minute now and they will take it to the end.
Should you pick up Gustav Gloom? I think so. If you like middle grade that is slightly dark with a loving family, friends and great villains I'd pick up the series.
November 6, 2020
Book 5 of the series. Gustav and Fernie reached the Dim Land and reunited with Pearlie. They are now headed into the Dark Land to resuce Mr. What, Hans Gloom and Pearlie's shadow. They start by asking the stream of shadows leaving if any want to join them in their rescue effort. Then enter a part of the Dark Land call The Rarely.
They stop at the Inn of Shadows and meet a man who can't remember his name, it's not Roger, and have an adventure escaping a gnarfle. The book doesn't have a semi-conclusion, less than the previous two books. If you don't have book 6, you'll just have to trust things will work out, but it's not looking good.
Fast, fun read. Same level of enjoyment as the rest of the series, but I'm going to lower it to three and a half stars for those people who don't have book six and it would be stopping right in the middle of the story. There was a teaser at the end of book four with Nora What arriving home. In this book she didn't even get to meet with her daughters.
They stop at the Inn of Shadows and meet a man who can't remember his name, it's not Roger, and have an adventure escaping a gnarfle. The book doesn't have a semi-conclusion, less than the previous two books. If you don't have book 6, you'll just have to trust things will work out, but it's not looking good.
Fast, fun read. Same level of enjoyment as the rest of the series, but I'm going to lower it to three and a half stars for those people who don't have book six and it would be stopping right in the middle of the story. There was a teaser at the end of book four with Nora What arriving home. In this book she didn't even get to meet with her daughters.
July 31, 2019
Actual rating: 3.5 stars. Still a really solid series and while the characters don't get very far in this book either, there's a lot of action to make up for it. Looking forward to the final book!
May 22, 2022
If I were any good at writing poems or love songs, many of them would be dedicated to Gustav Gloom. Both the character and the series!
Gustav and Fernie have finally arrived in the Dark Country and reunited with Fernie’s sister Pearlie. But their quest is far from over. Their fathers still remain in the grasp of Lord Obsidian, and to rescue them, they team up with untrustworthy shadows. When they arrive at Shadow’s Inn, they meet its mysterious inhabitants, learn more about the strange world in which they find themselves, and learn exactly what the world “gnarfle” means. Yes, gnarfle.
In this book, Gustav delivers an inspirational speech that I admired greatly, especially considering it came from a ten-year-old. My love for him only seems to be growing, but I think it’s totally alright to love fictional characters. I really do.
No surprise, I also loved the words that came out of Gustav’s mouth. These were some:
“Places are only as bad as the people you find there, and wherever we go together, it’ll always be us.”
That was soooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuute. Seriously, my heart kind of melted, even though I was a little irritated that these words were directed to Fernie and Pearlie, and not just Fernie alone.
Here’s another great line:
“As for me, when I look back at this moment, I’m going to remember that when I was given the chance to do something crazy, I took it.”
I want that on a shirt, though it so kinda a long quote to put on a shirt.
This is probably my favorite book cover of the series. Gustav and Fernie look so cute standing there together, and it’s adorable how he’s holding on to her protectively, even though every single person I showed it to asked why he was hiding behind her. He’s not. He’s being cute and protective and I love it.
Readers will anxiously await the last book in the series after reading this one. A stunning, clever book that is dark, exciting, and always entertaining!
Gustav and Fernie have finally arrived in the Dark Country and reunited with Fernie’s sister Pearlie. But their quest is far from over. Their fathers still remain in the grasp of Lord Obsidian, and to rescue them, they team up with untrustworthy shadows. When they arrive at Shadow’s Inn, they meet its mysterious inhabitants, learn more about the strange world in which they find themselves, and learn exactly what the world “gnarfle” means. Yes, gnarfle.
In this book, Gustav delivers an inspirational speech that I admired greatly, especially considering it came from a ten-year-old. My love for him only seems to be growing, but I think it’s totally alright to love fictional characters. I really do.
No surprise, I also loved the words that came out of Gustav’s mouth. These were some:
“Places are only as bad as the people you find there, and wherever we go together, it’ll always be us.”
That was soooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuute. Seriously, my heart kind of melted, even though I was a little irritated that these words were directed to Fernie and Pearlie, and not just Fernie alone.
Here’s another great line:
“As for me, when I look back at this moment, I’m going to remember that when I was given the chance to do something crazy, I took it.”
I want that on a shirt, though it so kinda a long quote to put on a shirt.
This is probably my favorite book cover of the series. Gustav and Fernie look so cute standing there together, and it’s adorable how he’s holding on to her protectively, even though every single person I showed it to asked why he was hiding behind her. He’s not. He’s being cute and protective and I love it.
Readers will anxiously await the last book in the series after reading this one. A stunning, clever book that is dark, exciting, and always entertaining!
November 20, 2015
The Gustav Gloom story continues, and Gustav and Fernie and Fernie's family are deeper into the most dangerous situation they yet have faced. As throughout these delightful books, there is plenty for both kids and adults to enjoy -- may I add, in a non-spoilery-way, that some of the notable puns are also best appreciated by avid readers of fantasy genre. As wild and imaginative as the scenery (and monsters) become, the story remains firmly anchored by the deep friendships and love between the characters. TWO MORE books to come!
December 11, 2015
This fifth book of the Gustav Gloom series is as filled as the preceding volumes with surprising and innovative twists, delightful and chilling characters, and lots of suspense. I only gave it four stars because, more than the preceding books, this one has a cliff-hanger ending. I was hoping to see the series brought to a conclusion before the children who began reading the series at the age for which it is intended have outgrown the stories--although I do believe that a well written children's book, which this is, will appeal to any age.
November 17, 2016
I really enjoy this series. The characters are interesting and the illustrations are amazing. Fernie rocks!
April 15, 2017
Another hilarious installment! This might be my favorite in the series so far.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews