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Gustav Gloom #6
Gustav Gloom and the Castle of Fear
Gustav and Fernie continue their journey through Dark Country in this new title!
In the final installment of Adam-Troy Castro's creepy Gustav Gloom series, the fate of the Dark Country rests on Gustav and Fernie's shoulders. After weeks of traveling on a quest to find their fathers, Fernie and Gustav finally come face-to-face with their nemesis—the evil Lord Obsidian. Filled with heroic action sequences, terrifying chills, and plenty of humor, this final book will keep fans on the edge of their seats.
In the final installment of Adam-Troy Castro's creepy Gustav Gloom series, the fate of the Dark Country rests on Gustav and Fernie's shoulders. After weeks of traveling on a quest to find their fathers, Fernie and Gustav finally come face-to-face with their nemesis—the evil Lord Obsidian. Filled with heroic action sequences, terrifying chills, and plenty of humor, this final book will keep fans on the edge of their seats.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published August 16, 2016
1 person is currently reading
121 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.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 18, 2018
I am so sad the series is over. I have had so much fun reading this series. 4 stars!
Let's just go back through the books and talk about them since this is the final book and you should have read the previous ones before reading this review ;)
When we first meet Gustav Gloom he is just a sad and lonely little boy, living in a dark and gloomy house, in a neon bright neighborhood. Mrs. Everweiner the town's most obnoxious loud mouth has tried to no avail to get Gustav's house torn down for being an eye-sore.
Fernie, her older sister Pearlie and their father Mr. What all move into the fluorescent salmon colored house across the street from Gustav. Fernie is absolutely delighted to find a "spooky" house next door. She and her sister have been into scary stories and creepy movies for a while and this was the cherry on top of their move. Fernie's cat Harrington starts acting funny right from the start. On the first or second night of the girls being in their new house Harrington loses his mind trying to catch his shadow and becomes terrified when the shadow starts fighting back. Harrington runs across the street into Gustav's house and the rest is history.
Of course Fernie being the daughter of an adventurer mother doesn't sit by while this is going on and gives chase. She enters the house unawares to what is lying on the other side. What Fernie finds is a very strange and dangerous house. The house is a lot larger on the inside than the outside, filled to bursting with shadows. Her first night in the Gloom house Fernie learns that shadows are their own people. That they can talk and move around without the need or use of the people they look like. She also learns that Gustav is a very strange boy who has had to live and grow up in this weird house alone with no other "people" parents to look after him.
Fernie over the six books becomes best friends with Gustav, putting her life in harms way to protect him again and again. Gustav does the same. The kids find themselves in constant danger from evil minions, pushed onto them by Lord Obsidian himself. Who is Lord Obsidian you ask? Well he is the ruler of the Dark Country where all shadows come from. He is tyrannical and like all evil dark lords wants to banish anything good and light and warp them to his own ways. He has overtook the shadow lands and now wants to take over the "world of light" and make it into his own image. Ugly and evil.
Fernie's entire family gets involved over the books and so does Gustav's shadow "family". Everyone comes together to try and defeat the horrible Howard Philip October a.k.a Lord Obsidian.
We meet a lot of different characters good and bad over the course of this series and they are all delightfully well fleshed out. Hives the shadow butler is one of my favorite side characters.
Over all I found this series to be charming. We have a sad and lonely boy who finds a family in the What's. He finds friendship. We learn that anything is possible and long as you have an idea. It doesn't necessarily have to be a plan. Irritating someone enough might be a great distraction to continuing your "idea". Being small and only ten doesn't mean you can't outwit adults. Girls are just as awesome and brave as boys. Family comes first! And lastly, the future isn't written in stone. It can be changed as long as we want their to be a different outcome and we fight to change it.
Great great paranormal middle grade fantasy for all ages. Highly recommend.
Let's just go back through the books and talk about them since this is the final book and you should have read the previous ones before reading this review ;)
When we first meet Gustav Gloom he is just a sad and lonely little boy, living in a dark and gloomy house, in a neon bright neighborhood. Mrs. Everweiner the town's most obnoxious loud mouth has tried to no avail to get Gustav's house torn down for being an eye-sore.
Fernie, her older sister Pearlie and their father Mr. What all move into the fluorescent salmon colored house across the street from Gustav. Fernie is absolutely delighted to find a "spooky" house next door. She and her sister have been into scary stories and creepy movies for a while and this was the cherry on top of their move. Fernie's cat Harrington starts acting funny right from the start. On the first or second night of the girls being in their new house Harrington loses his mind trying to catch his shadow and becomes terrified when the shadow starts fighting back. Harrington runs across the street into Gustav's house and the rest is history.
Of course Fernie being the daughter of an adventurer mother doesn't sit by while this is going on and gives chase. She enters the house unawares to what is lying on the other side. What Fernie finds is a very strange and dangerous house. The house is a lot larger on the inside than the outside, filled to bursting with shadows. Her first night in the Gloom house Fernie learns that shadows are their own people. That they can talk and move around without the need or use of the people they look like. She also learns that Gustav is a very strange boy who has had to live and grow up in this weird house alone with no other "people" parents to look after him.
Fernie over the six books becomes best friends with Gustav, putting her life in harms way to protect him again and again. Gustav does the same. The kids find themselves in constant danger from evil minions, pushed onto them by Lord Obsidian himself. Who is Lord Obsidian you ask? Well he is the ruler of the Dark Country where all shadows come from. He is tyrannical and like all evil dark lords wants to banish anything good and light and warp them to his own ways. He has overtook the shadow lands and now wants to take over the "world of light" and make it into his own image. Ugly and evil.
Fernie's entire family gets involved over the books and so does Gustav's shadow "family". Everyone comes together to try and defeat the horrible Howard Philip October a.k.a Lord Obsidian.
We meet a lot of different characters good and bad over the course of this series and they are all delightfully well fleshed out. Hives the shadow butler is one of my favorite side characters.
Over all I found this series to be charming. We have a sad and lonely boy who finds a family in the What's. He finds friendship. We learn that anything is possible and long as you have an idea. It doesn't necessarily have to be a plan. Irritating someone enough might be a great distraction to continuing your "idea". Being small and only ten doesn't mean you can't outwit adults. Girls are just as awesome and brave as boys. Family comes first! And lastly, the future isn't written in stone. It can be changed as long as we want their to be a different outcome and we fight to change it.
Great great paranormal middle grade fantasy for all ages. Highly recommend.
January 6, 2020
A fitting conclusion.
July 29, 2024
After finishing this book, the last in the Gustav Gloom series, I found myself feeling strangely sad and disappointed. Gloomy, you might say. Not because the book was in any way less superior than it’s predecessors, but because the series was over, that I had nothing left to wait for. I read the entire series in less than a month, though it felt like less time.
After weeks of difficult adventures, Gustav and Fernie are finally at the castle of their arch-enemy, Lord Obsidian. The castle is full of rooms even more dangerous than the ones in the Gloom house, and Lord Obsidian is the must evil of all shadows. Fernie and Gustav must defeat him if they ever want to bring peace to the Dark Country. But is there any hope left?
The darkest of the series, this book was not as amusing as the other ones, but there were still some funny moments mixed in with the ones where you find yourself full of despair for the characters. Don’t you love a book that makes you feel like that?
I want to say I have mixed feelings about the ending, but the thing is, I don’t. It was not only wrapped up in a satisfactory way, but the ending made me just about scream with happiness. It’s true that there are some things left unexplained, but they’re things that are supposed to be left that way to make you feel slightly unsettled. Plus, some were things that were bound to happen anyway, so it was better to have them happen and left unsolved then to never have them happen at all. And can I mention again the glorious, scream-worthy ending?
Gustav Gloom is one of the best book series in the world. Anybody who likes anything at all should read it, and anybody who does will adore it. I keep picturing all the things that Gustav and Fernie might to after this book, some of which are: school, walks in the autumn, hanging ornaments on the tree, pictures with Santa Claus, and dancing. Farewell, Gustav Gloom!
After weeks of difficult adventures, Gustav and Fernie are finally at the castle of their arch-enemy, Lord Obsidian. The castle is full of rooms even more dangerous than the ones in the Gloom house, and Lord Obsidian is the must evil of all shadows. Fernie and Gustav must defeat him if they ever want to bring peace to the Dark Country. But is there any hope left?
The darkest of the series, this book was not as amusing as the other ones, but there were still some funny moments mixed in with the ones where you find yourself full of despair for the characters. Don’t you love a book that makes you feel like that?
I want to say I have mixed feelings about the ending, but the thing is, I don’t. It was not only wrapped up in a satisfactory way, but the ending made me just about scream with happiness. It’s true that there are some things left unexplained, but they’re things that are supposed to be left that way to make you feel slightly unsettled. Plus, some were things that were bound to happen anyway, so it was better to have them happen and left unsolved then to never have them happen at all. And can I mention again the glorious, scream-worthy ending?
Gustav Gloom is one of the best book series in the world. Anybody who likes anything at all should read it, and anybody who does will adore it. I keep picturing all the things that Gustav and Fernie might to after this book, some of which are: school, walks in the autumn, hanging ornaments on the tree, pictures with Santa Claus, and dancing. Farewell, Gustav Gloom!
November 8, 2020
Gustav Gloom and the Castle of Fear (2016) 265 pages by Adam-Troy Cartro
Book 6. Book 5 left us with Fernie, Gustav and the rest of the rescuers having been captured and being taken to Lord Obsidian. Gustav gets taken to Lord Obsidian, Fernie thrown into a chamber of screaming shadows, Pearlie and the others in a horrible but less so waiting room.
We get to see the heroes reach within themselves to bring out an extra level of courage. Not just Fernie and Gustav. Really fast read. If you liked the other books, you'll like this one too. I rated book five down a notch for just being the first half of the conclusion. I'll give this one props for having a good conclusion to the series. 4 and a quarter stars, and I'm not the target audience.
Book 6. Book 5 left us with Fernie, Gustav and the rest of the rescuers having been captured and being taken to Lord Obsidian. Gustav gets taken to Lord Obsidian, Fernie thrown into a chamber of screaming shadows, Pearlie and the others in a horrible but less so waiting room.
We get to see the heroes reach within themselves to bring out an extra level of courage. Not just Fernie and Gustav. Really fast read. If you liked the other books, you'll like this one too. I rated book five down a notch for just being the first half of the conclusion. I'll give this one props for having a good conclusion to the series. 4 and a quarter stars, and I'm not the target audience.
July 20, 2017
The perfect end to a fantastic series!
April 14, 2018
I loved the whole series! Nothing bad to say, easy read. Did physical and audio.
August 10, 2019
Actual rating: 3.5 stars. This was a very good ending to the series. I was worried that everything would feel rushed, but I thought the pacing was done well. I especially liked the epilogue. ; )
February 23, 2024
A pretty standard Dark Lord adventure.
January 10, 2026
very satisfying end to the series. i’m glad we saw the future too 😌
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews