Charlie Bone and the Beast

The Children of the Red King #6

by Jenny Nimmo

Things are never simple for Charlie Bone. His parents have been reunited but Charlie can't resist the call of danger when the parents of a kidnapped classmate plead for help. Asa, the missing student, is being held by Manfred in a cave. To free his former enemy and escape capture himself, Charlie must enlist the help of the Flames. An exciting fantasy adventure for boys and girls.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fiction, Magic, Childrens, Adventure

389 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2007

About the author

Jenny Nimmo was born in Windsor, Berkshire, England and educated at boarding schools in Kent and Surrey from the age of six until the age of sixteen, when she ran away from school to become a drama student/assistant stage manager with Theater South East. She graduated and acted in repertory theater in various towns and cities: Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells, Brighton, Hastings, and Bexhill.

She left Britain to teach English to three Italian boys in Almafi, Italy. On her return, she joined the BBC, first as a picture researcher, then as an assistant floor manager, studio manager (news) then finally a director/adaptor with Jackanory (a BBC storytelling program for children). She left BBC to marry a Welsh artist David Wynn Millward and went to live in Wales in her husband's family home. They live in a very old converted watermill, and the river is constantly threatening to break in, as it has done several times in the past, most dramatically on her youngest child's first birthday. During the summer they run a residential school of art, and she has to move her office, put down tools (type-writer and pencil, and don an apron and cook! They have three grown-up children, Myfawny, Ianto, and Gwenwyfar.

Reviews

[Frog]

Finally, I’m an adult and can articulate my feelings on these books clearly.

When I was a kid, I didn’t understand why I didn’t enjoy this series as much as Harry Potter. It wasn’t because of surface level cliches (Harry Potter is arguably not totally original itself). The elaborate plot and wide variety of characters are full of potential. So:

What makes wizardry better than endowments? What makes bushy hair better than purple hair? What makes Ron Weasley better than Fidelio Gunn?

Ideas are so cheap.

Experience is all we can demand of fiction. There’s no experience in these books. Charlie Bone is a compilation of ideas. It’s eight books of pure description. This isn’t a bad series, it’s a wasted one!

This is unfortunate for kids, because authors can rarely give them books that are all the way good. There’s always some obstacle, like a dirty lens, preventing you from getting a clear image of characters or events.
Sometimes the author makes it their style to be sweet and simplistic, resulting in telling instead of showing. Sometimes they try to be epic and archetypal, accidentally contradicting the spirit of the YA and tying themself in a knot. Others hide behind sarcasm like Rick Riordan; this gives a clear image, but in a cheap way. Most have nothing worth saying at all.

There’s not much to say about something that offers nothing. There are a million promising superficial concepts in this book. But why read about a werewolf rather than a dragon, ocean powers instead of spider powers, wands instead of rings? The “why” is always missing, and kids feel that. Say what you want about J. K. Rowling, she is the only one who tried.

[⚘ Itz Lia the Bibliophile ⚘ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all of the books in this wonderful series a couple of years ago! And found out that I hadn't rated them so here it is!

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf is book 6 of the series and another great adventure for Charlie and his friends at the Bloor Academy.

But while I enjoyed reading it, it is also the first Charlie Bone book that didn't get a 5-star rating from me.

Shocking I know.

The story is still very good, don't get me wrong, but it just feels like it could've been even better.

Part of that is probably due to its shortness as this is the shortest one so far and sadly, it shows a bit. I also don’t know what to think about the whole plot surrounding Mrs. Kettle but there is still so much to love about this book like…

… the mysterious wolf creatures suddenly showing up in the town
… Manfred wanting revenge for the flames violent attack on him
… and a new kid with the scary ability to drown people

Honestly, that last point is probably my favorite. Dagbert Endless is already such a well written and very unpredictable character that it really makes you excited for what the next books will bring.

So yeah, 4 stars it is but a very good 4 stars.
Maybe it would even have been a 5 star book if I wasn’t so spoiled by the rest of the books
which are pure perfection while this one is just close to perfection.

[Matt Krasula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh...this just felt all over the place. Don’t get me wrong it here are still wonderful characters and the feel of the city is so real. My issue stems from that I never knew what direction this story was taking. It seemed all about Dagbert and then it was all about Asa. Then for a long time it was a bout this knight. Something just didn’t add up and I’m not sure why. It also felt incredibly easy for the heroes in the end. In my opinion the heroes are too strong and it always ends with Lysander and Tancred plowing everything over.

[Furrawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A boy who smells of fish. Aquamarine eyes. A mysterious fog that tastes of salt. Friendship. Runner Bean the dog. A magic sword. A bird illusion. A cold egg. A stone troll.

Loved it.
Time for book seven:)🐬

[Belle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was all over the place. It felt like there were SO many things going on—a hidden animal reservation in the wilderness, stone people that come to life, a random evil stone troll, an ancient tea kettle that senses danger, an evil boy with the endowment to drown people—and it felt like none of these things were very cohesive or naturally blended together. You’d be introduced to one subplot, but then it would sort of fizzle out and be forgotten for a while and then yet another addition to the story would be randomly thrown into the mix and they all became this chaotic mess existing all in one book. It was all just very messy. In fact, having this book be titled “The Beast” seems slightly misleading. It gives the impression that there’s this epic beast that Charlie Bone has to battle and that it’s a constant component in the plot, but that’s not the case at all. I mean, there IS a beast in this book… but it’s Charlie’s classmate Asa. And he’s not battling him or in any serious, mortal danger because of him—he’s trying to save him. Besides Asa, there are so many other events that take place that would probably represent this book as a whole much better. For example: Charlie Bone and the Drowning Boy. Because let’s be real here: Dagbert Endless arguably takes up so much more of the plot than Asa’s capture.

Even the messy plot aside, there were a few things about this book that didn’t quite sit right and other things that just flat-out annoyed me. First of all, there’s the moment when Dagbert tries to turn Charlie’s friends against him. Their reactions to this were incredibly immature, naive, and just not believable to me—particularly Olivia’s in which she says, “I always knew you were a fraud, Charlie Bone!” Like, really? You’ve been with this person through thick or thin—life or death situations—and through ONE misunderstanding that wasn’t even spoken by Charlie himself, that’s enough for you to throw away everything you know deep down about this person, completely abandon your faith, and come back with, “I always knew you were a fraud”?

…

UMMM???

But then eventually Olivia sort of cools off and forgets it even happened? Like, literally, one day Charlie approaches her and she acts like she was never mad at him. I mean, she doesn’t even acknowledge that she wrongly lost her faith in him nor admits that she was wrong for that. No, ”Gee, Charlie, I’m REALLY sorry for thinking you would ever hurt me like that. I should’ve trusted you and talked to you first before jumping to conclusions!” None of that. The matter is just instantly forgotten, which I honestly thought was so immature on Olivia’s part. I mean, she’s sort of always the more immature one in the group, but to just flip a switch like that and not even acknowledge your mistake? UNGH.

On that note, I just got so annoyed with the characters this time around, the good ones as well as the villains—they were all equally annoying! I mean, granted, this is a very elementary middle-grade read, so of course the dialogue is going to be more on the simplistic and childlike side. But it felt like this book was especially cringey and bad. Characters would just be so annoying and pipe into conversations with inane remarks or react to a situation in an incredibly immature way, and the dialogue was just really… bad. There would be times when a character would say something and it would just feel a bit off. You’d think to yourself, “Why did they respond like that?” or “That was… weird.” So these moments were definitely a bit off-putting at times.

Another change in this book I wasn’t very fond of was that some of Charlie’s friends were beginning to get girlfriends and it just felt SO forced? Like, it didn’t feel like a natural part of the story at all but rather Jenny Nimmo thinking, “Huh. They’re getting to be that age. Better throw in some girlfriends to stay relatable with the kids.” On top of that, one of the friends dumped his girlfriend because she was really selfish and wanted him to only pay attention to her all hours of the day, which I feel two things about:

a) OF COURSE, play the ol’ “mean, self-centered clingy girlfriend” card…

b) It further proves the point that the girlfriends were thrown into the story for no deep reason at all if their relationship ended as quickly as it began…

Finally, another major detail of this book that I was supremely dissatisfied with is the fact that Charlie Bone’s father is not in this book at all. You’d think with how the previous book ended—Charlie finally reuniting with his father after going his entire life without him—that this next book would be dedicated to Charlie connecting with his father for the first time, making up for all that time lost, and generally some sweet, tender moments between Charlie and his father. But no, Charlie’s father isn’t present at all but is conveniently "away" on a second honeymoon with Charlie's mother. I just found this to be incredibly cheap and sort of a cop-out: that you would put so much significance on this plot point of Charlie's missing father and continually escalate the anticipation over the course of this series. And then when the mystery finally comes to a close and the moment arrives that we've all been waiting for—Charlie is reunited with his father again—it's all just so anticlimactic, and when the next book comes around the author's like, Oh, Charlie's father? Yeah, we're not discussing him at all." That's honestly such a disservice to your readers, to make them wait that painstakingly long for an incredibly drawn-out plot point and then to not give them a satisfying conclusion by the end of it.

Worst of all: it's not like this book was a crucial part of the series. This book very well could've not existed or been skipped entirely and it would've made no difference in the larger context of the series. I feel like this was such a "filler" novel that just had a lot of nonessential plot points going on. So for the author to have intentionally left out Charlie's father... yet to have this dumpsterfire of a book in its place? UNACCEPTABLE.

As I'm making my way through this series, I'm starting to understand what Jenny Nimmo is great at... as well as what she's not:

Great at
--Delivering vivid, descriptive, atmospheric writing
--Creating imaginative story elements (i.e.: a boarding school for "gifted" students, immortal cats that have magical properties and act as guardian angels to any who need their assistance)

Absolutely sucks at
--PLOT
--DIALOGUE

Now that I'm noticing these things more and more, it definitely has an effect on my enjoyment of these books and I'm finding myself draggggging through this series and desperately wanting to reach the end. Another flaw I think Nimmo has is that she does tend to severely prolong her stories, even when this series could've been MUCH shorter. (I can't believe I still have two more books left!) While these books are definitely still enjoyable to some regard and have a lot of magical, fantastical elements to them, I think they could be made even much more enjoyable if Jenny Nimmo were to fine-tune certain aspects of her craft.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too Murderous and Too Imbalanced.
The last few CB books have been just too murderous for tween fiction. Sure it’s fine to have a death to tell
the story but the murders in 5 and 6 have been senseless and unresolved.
My other related complaint is that, sure Charlie and friends survive and make it through, but there’s just not enough positive to balance out the murders and crimes. Tweens trudge through misery with Charlie to only barely make it out. There’s no overarching heroism or big picture or inspiring message. What good does happen is mysterious and random - not based on someones tough choice.
I guess it’s just eroded to “tween survival fiction?”. Kind of a let down.

[Ashlie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

After helping Charlie save his dad, the Bloors have captured, hidden and starved Asa. Charlie and his friends devise a plan to rescue Asa and meet new friends and foes along the way.

[Scarletstories · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as sequels go, this one wasn't bad. It continued in the tradition of the other Charlie Bone books. It was nice to see more of Asa Pike and his family, as the family interactions within the Bone-Yewbeam household have become a bit repetitive. The fact that his mother and father were also werebeings was cool, though I was disappointed not to be able to see a reunion between the mother and son.
One of my continuous problems with the series is the Browns. Benjamin and Charlie's relationship seems to be contingent on whether or not Charlie is faithful to him and whether or not Runner Bean is kept safe and happy. Benjamin is continuously frustrated with Charlie for his endowment, and seems to blame him for all of the horrible things happening, while the entire time Charlie and his friends are doing their best to keep worse things from taking over.
It's a good book, and I like the fact that as old baddies are turning good, new baddies like Dagbert are entering the series. Fortunately, it doesn't take Tancred long to save the day, as always!

[Jerm · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books should come with a warning that says “Better When Listened To.” I read the first five because they are really quick reads, but I always felt that they were a shallow knock-off of the Harry Potter series, but I should’ve been listening to them, because it makes them much better. The performer who reads them does a fabulous job and brings the characters to life, even if there dialog doesn’t always do the job. So…not bad.

[Sonia Gomes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Asa disappears after he aligns himself with Charlie Bone which gets Manfred Bloor badly injured......

[Matthew Lauderdale · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars, rounded up. This was book 6 of an 8 book series, and with book 5, I was officially out of childhood nostalgia territory and the series had to stand on its own merits. With this one, all of my prior complaints are magnified here, but I don't think it's fair to give this lower than 3 stars since I'm clearly not the target audience. I think children could read this and have a fun time, but there are also complaints that I think even kids could have; just because something is made for children doesn't mean that it has to be written poorly, and I don't think this book ever goes beyond being just simply average. My biggest gripe with this book is the same one I've had with this whole series: the characters are all extremely bland and the entire plot feels like a string of random events that all loosely tie together by the end. It's such a bummer because I think the ideas and concepts here are strong, but unfortunately they aren't used in any meaningful fashion. I'm still going to continue this series, but I'm doing it purely out of a desire for completion.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been listening to this series in audio and they changed readers! Gah! It through everything off for me. I have loved the voice in audio for books 1-5. Was definitely not prepared for the change. However. After I got my bearings again and stopped comparing readers I did enjoy book 6. Full of twists. New characters and new endowments I was captivated. I didn’t love how this book wrapped itself up in the end…. It needed a little more depth for me. With such a build up to the climax it needed a bit more to the ending. Still! Love this series.

[Jacob Castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

the heart of it all

Somehow the newly shown endowed children get eviler and eviler. The new powers shown carry a danger that hasn’t been seen before. The heart of it all involves a rescue but there’s always more. The humor hits, and the action is genuinely exciting.

[LaRae☕️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel the series is getting better as it goes. My daughter is re-reading it (although she's gotten ahead of me) and this is kind of cool because we're able to discuss together.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad they figured out who the beast was in the story. I thought there might be more with Charlie's father since he was found in the last book.

[i_like_big_books · Rating 1 out of 5]

if i could give it 0 stars i would.

[Paranormal_Madness · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked:
-Dagbert. I thought he was a fascinating character, and I loved the ill effects his power had. Having to carry around those little golden sea creatures forever can’t be easy. Even though I knew that he was going to be evil when he showed up with Lord Grimwald, I honestly thought he was just trying to fit in, that he was just looking for a friend. I think he really wanted to be Charlie’s friend, and he maybe didn’t understand why Charlie got angry with him.
-Plot. Unlike the previous books in the series, this series dealt mostly with the title. Whereas the others kind of branched off into a bunch of unimportant stuff, Charlie pretty much stayed on track throughout the entire book, and this book definitely benefited from it. Rescuing Asa was the main point of the book, and I thought this was Charlie’s greatest adventure to date.

What I disliked:
-Writing Style. I hate third person. It seems so impersonal, and I don’t like not getting an inside look at the character’s thoughts and emotions and feelings. I think the series really suffers from the writing, and I can’t help but think first person would have been a far better way to go. And perhaps first person might have given us a bit more detail, and I wouldn’t be left wondering what something looked like.
-Olivia Vertigo. I hate this girl. Honestly, I can’t stand her. She’s such a shallow, fake, fair-weather friend. Her outburst towards Charlie was completely uncalled for, as any real friend of his would hopefully know that Charlie would never ever say anything like that. She’s too stuck up and she doesn’t seem to realize how much danger she and her friends are in. Plus, her disregard for her friend’s comfort and the carelessness she has towards her power make her one of my least favorite characters in the entire series.

Overall, this book was my favorite in the series so far, I think. The plot was better, the characters were better, and the action was better. I would recommend this series to anyone that likes books about kids with superpowers. 4.0

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book sometime in Feb 2010. It was a very good book. It continues the problems of Charlie. He is seen as a threat to the Bloors and his great-aunts and grandmother. His one great-aunt has married and she is thought to be responsible for killing the man's wife. She then bewitches him and marries him in order to get to his son Eric. Eric is one of the Red Kings descendents and is able to animate cement objects. His father finally takes his daughter and leaves his wife and son because he knows that his son is lost to him and if he doesn't leave his daughter will be murdered by his wife and son. Asa (the beast) has gone missing. But at night the people hear a howling from the forest and Billy and Charlie know that they have to find Asa. Also, Dogbert Endless is a Drowner and he is sent to keep Charlie where the Bloors want him. But Charlie and his friends are protected by a Red Knight. They also meet a new person who helps them...she is Mrs. Kettle a blacksmith with extraordinary powers. Charlie helps to reunite Asa and his mother, but it is too late for his father, murdered by the townspeople.

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good because it finally resolved the mystery of Asa. Bad because it again felt as if it was written with one eye on the clock.

It is still an excellent book to read with the younger set, or to use to encourage them to read.

The senior Bones are back together, and have gone off to have a second honeymoon. How anyone intelligent would run off and leave their son with a grandmother that hates him, and enrolled in a school where he is is disliked, is something I have trouble fathoming. Although Charlie does make a very good point about being needed at the school, to balance the forces of darkness (there were 10 Children of the Red King, and half were good and half bad, as are their descendants.)

Claerwyn the wand-moth is wonderful. A new idea that I find fascinating!
Charlie save Asa? Is Dagobert worth befriending? Can Billy be saved? These questions make the storyline worth following even when you know it was written for children (opinions differ, but most agree that 4th graders would love it).

[Deborah Dempsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 6th book of the series and the author finally decides to describe some of the main characters in more detail! Was it just me? Or did anyone else know Paton had long hair? I felt like someone else must have written or edited this book this time for us to get so many more character details. Plot points: Charlie now has a kettle that heats up when he is in danger, there is a boy that can animate statues, Dagbert has arrived & can drown people (seems evil, but will he change his ways?), the Red King has stolen his cape back & has a new sword,and they also find and free Asa. My 11 year old continues to enjoy this series, but we are both hoping that there will be a build up of tense anticipation in book 7 with a huge action-filled grand finale in book 8. I'm not yet convinced it will happen.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things seem to be a tad darker in Charlie's world this time around. Murder takes place in this book (albeit off-page) and someone is being imprisoned for his role in reuniting Charlie with his father.

This book ends with what appears to be the end of a particular character's role in the story. It will be interesting to see if this person comes back. I kinda hope we haven't seen the last of this person.

There are some lingering question marks around some of the "evil" characters which makes me wonder if some of them will change sides eventually. Jenny Nimmo has done it before so I'm curious to see where everyone will end up when all's said and done.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author seems to be figuring out what she's doing with this series. The plot was more interesting here than in some of the previous books and the new characters added here were also somewhat more complex than some of the original group. My children continue to love these books, particularly my seven-year-old son. He's not quite able to read them himself, though an advanced reader of his age might manage them. Definitely a year or two from now, he'll be fine. The writing is accessible, which makes it somewhat more boring for an adult reader, but it's not terrible.

We'll be moving right on to the seventh book.

[Brittany Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too little, too late. While the author should have given attention to describing the characters from the first book, I feel that by waiting until the 6th book to start describing the looks and demeanors it ruins the images I’ve had to create over the past 5 books.
We are introduced to an interesting new character but I think the main reason he is so interesting is because he is the first character that the author has actually described from our first meeting.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank goodness for the list of endowed children and the family trees at the start of the books because there are so many characters! Somehow I never get them confused but it’s still a lot to keep track of. I’m glad to see Asa free and I hope he can come back and join Charlie’s side. Dagbert is a creepy kid. The series is getting even more serious with more life and death situations and these kids are still only 11-12 years old!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite of all 7 that are out (hopefully the 8th will be amazing)! Asa finally turns around and realizes that Manfred Bloors way is not the way to go. My favorite part was when the children gathered around the Red Kings tree and Asa joined them. If I had to recommend any or the Charlie bone books, this would be the one to read but YOU HAVE TO READ ALL OF THE OTHER ONES FIRST!!!!!!!!

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1996 JK Rowling started a world wide fascination for Wizards, magic, muggles and the eternal fight against good and Evil. Jenny Nimmo has created a world similar to Hogworts and characters that are an intriguing mix. Everybody has individual powers, so you never quite know what to expect. I would recommend this series to children added 7-12

[Nilsson]

This was truly the most terrifying story I've read in a while. The beast brings back so many memories of some truly scary events! I don't know if this book is quite for audience like me.

[Minato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serijal se sastoji od osam knjiga: ''Ponoć za Čarlija Bouna'', ''Čarli Boun i vremenski tvister'', ''Čarli Boun i plava boa'', ''Čarli Boun i zamak ogledala'', ''Čarli Boun i skriveni kralj'', ''Čarli Boun i vuk iz divljine'', ''Čarli Boun i senka Bedloka'' i ''Čarli Boun i Crveni vitez''.

Radnja serijala odvija se u izmišljenom gradiću u Engleskoj koji je nastao na ruševinama zamka čuvenog Crvenog kralja. Priča prati jednog sasvim običnog dečaka koji se zove Čarli Boun. Čarli Boun živi sa majkom, svoje dve babe i svojim deda-ujakom. Otac mu je nestao nakon saobraćajne nesreće i veruje se da je umro. Tada je Čarli imao samo dve godine. Čarlijev običan život menja se iz korena u njegovoj jedanaestoj godini. Tada se budi njegov neobičan talenat. Čarli može da čuje glasove ljudi sa slika ili fotografija. Njegov talenat će se razvijati pa će na kraju moći i da putuje u slike / fotografije. Sa majčine strane, Čarli vodi poreklo od moćnog velškog čarobnjaka Matonvija od koga je nasledio Klirven, veoma neobičan čarobni štapić koji ima svoju sopstvenu volju. Tako da je Čarli i čarobnjak u nastajanju. (Inače Klirven znači Snežana na velškom jeziku ❤).

Čarli poseduje ovaj neobičan dar putovanja u slike jer je on jedan od potomaka Crvenog kralja (Timokena, pisala sam o njemu za prošli maraton - ''Hronike Crvenog kralja''). Pored Čarlija, postoji još obdarene dece i sva ta deca pohađaju zlokobnu Blurovu akademiju. To je akademija/internat za obdarene i ima tri odeljenja: muzičko, likovno i dramsko. Pored obdarene dece, to jest potomaka Crvenog kralja kod kojih se ispoljio neki neobičan talenat, Blurovu akademiju pohađaju i sva ostala nadarena deca - za muziku, za umetnost, za glumu, za nauke...

Akademiju čeličnom pesnicom vodi gnusna porodica Blur koja želi da drži na oku sve obdarene kako bi njihove talente mogla da kontroliše i isključivo koristi u svoju korist. Svi obdareni potiču od desetoro dece Crvenog kralja i njegove kraljice Berenise. Nakon smrti voljene majke i kraljice, petoro dece je ostalo na putu dobra, dok se drugih petoro okrenulo zlu (potpomognuti zlim čarobnjakom grofom Harkenom). Zato su dobra deca pobegla iz zamka u kojem su rođena i odrasla.
Videvši razdor u svojoj porodici i svestan činjenice da nikada ne bi mogao da povredi ijedno od svoje mnogobrojne dece (iako su ona činila gnusna dela), Timoken Crveni kralj rešava da se povuče iz sveta...

I tako je prošlo devet stotina godina. E, onda se desio Čarli 🙃 Kada Čarli krene u Akademiju, stvari će napokon početi da se menjaju jer je on lepak koji drži dobru decu na okupu. Napokon će dobri pružiti otpor zlima i prestati da samo posmatraju šta se sve događa u njihovom gradu i ljudima. I tako će Čarli da doživi razne pustolovine pokušavajući da ispravi nepravde i zlodela. Čarli će sa svojim prijateljima prkositi porodici Blur i osujetiće njihove mračne zavere čiji je krajnji cilj povratak i vaskrsnuće vekovnog zla...

Međutim, Blurovi su moćni i imaju brojne saveznike. Među njihovim saveznicima nalazi se i jedna Čarlijeva baba, majka njegovog oca, i njene tri zle sestre... Čarli neće imati mira ni u sopstvenoj kući... Čak će se suočiti i sa arhineprijateljem Crvenog kralja, čarobnjakom grofom Harkenom lično!
Ko će izaći kao pobednik? Da li će dobro napokon izvojevati pobedu? Da li će se mir i blagostanje vratiti u napaćeni gradić nakon toliko vekova? Taj zadatak će pasti u ruke Čarliju i njegovim brojnim prijateljima...

Serijal je izuzetno zabavan i zanimljiv. Priča brzo teče, stil je lagan i otkačen. Ono što mi se sviđa je činjenica da svaka knjiga pokriva jednu pustolovinu (sa izuzetkom poslednje dve jer pretposlednja knjiga predstavlja uvod neophodan za konačni rasplet priče). U svakoj knjizi Čarli je suočen sa jednim problemom koji treba da reši. Nema praznog hoda.

Knjiga obiluje neobičnim i ekscentričnim likovima i svi su beskrajno zanimljivi i urnebesni. Ipak, moj omiljeni lik je Čarlijev deda-ujak Paton (Čarli ga zove ujakom jer je dvadeset godina mlađi od svoje sestre, zle Grizelde Boun, Čarlijeve babe po ocu, i zato je po godinama veoma bliži Čarlijevom nestalom ocu). Paton ima veoma nesrećan talenat (po njegovim sopstvenim rečima 😂🤣 ). On može da pojačava protok i jačinu struje. Dovoljan je samo jedan njegov pogled i svaka sijalica u njegovoj blizini će pući. Čak i njegova raspoloženja i osećanja utiču na jačinu struje (jedna od urnebesnijih scena je kada Paton prepričava Čarliju svoj prvi dejt sa prelepom gospođicom Julijom Inglidju).

Paton je nesrećan i duboko nesiguran zbog svog dara. Sebe smatra nakazom. Stoga on preko dana uopšte ne izlazi iz kuće. Ceo svoj život je posvetio pisanju istorijata svoje porodice i proučavanju života i dela Crvenog kralja i njegovih potomaka. Međutim, zbog Čarlija će se Paton konačno probuditi i aktivirati. Više neće biti samo nemi posmatrač. Boriće se protiv zla. Kvariće planove Blurovima, njihovim saveznicima i svojim zlim sestrama. Njegova transformacija, u neku ruku ''odrastanje'', je fascinantna. Samotni vuk se uključuje u društvo. Na početku je prikazan kao neki jezivi i mračan lik za koga se ne zna na čijoj je strani, duboko ćaknut i ekcentričan čovek koji ne izlazi iz svoje zone komfora, a u stvari je prava dušica i borac za pravdu. Neodoljivo je smotan i šarmantan. Njegovi komentari i primedbe su urnebesni jer je on veoma učen čovek po čiji savet, sugestiju i pomoć Čarli uvek dolazi.

[Aaron Barton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again this book is full of new ideas and interesting plot lines. For the most part I’ve loved this series, however this was the first time I felt my interest dwindle a little. There were some cool things happening with Dagbert endlessly and Manfred bloor. However, I found the new plots and elements falling a little short of meaning. Manfreds scarring didn’t last, he still whimpered under pressure, and Dagberts powers didn’t result in much as he was overthrown easily. It’s come to a point where the events need some long lasting consequences. I thought we would have that this book with Lyells return, but even that fell short as he wasn’t really in the book. Which is my biggest disappointment.

But crucially, the premise disappointed me too. You would expect a prologue to tell you what the main theme or plot is for a story. In this, we are introduced to dagbert but also a hidden box that must be found. But this plot line didn’t venture anywhere. It’s mentioned and adds some tension but ultimately is a story that I suppose continues into the next books. Then there’s the kettle, which also seems redundant or better placed in another book where there’s consequences for their actions.

There was also a bit of back and forth in this one with many of the pages filled with characters filling each other in on what happened.

Otherwise the wilderness beast plot line was rather interesting. I enjoyed the changing dynamics of the endowed children. It was also scary seeing cook becoming fearful when she’s usually the most stable of the bunch.