Hello, shortly Sara from Walker Books surprised me with an exemplar of Thomas Taylor ’s middle grade fantasy novel „Malamander“, released in Great Britain a few weeks ago.
She was sure that this story will find my interest … and yes … she was right.
What‘s up:
Eerie-on-Sea, a small sea-side village, in winter times. Nobody visits Eerie-on-Sea on free will when darkness falls and the wind howls around the wreck of the old battleship near the beach. Some people swear that they have seen the unctous Malamander creep.
Do you believe in monsters? Do you dare to find out if the Malamander really exists? Then keep on reading …
The story is told from Herbie Lemon, the Lost-and-Founder of the Grand Nautilus Hotel. He keeps lost objects safe in his storage and tries to find their owners and return the lost property safely to them.
But when he has to hide a young girl named Violet from a creepy old seaman, with a boathook instead of a hand, his quiet and cosy world turns upside-down. Violet needs Herbies detective abilities, to find out what happened to her parents 12 years ago.
My impression:
Thomas Taylor takes us into the world of maritime fairy-tales. You‘ll have lots of fun accompaning Violet and Herbie through Eerie-on-Sea, trying to find out more of the villages fairy-tales and seaside myths and about what really happened to her parents.
The characters are very well created, the residents of Eerie-on-Sea are whimsical, loveable, and each of them quirky in their own way. And not to forget the creepy monsters and legendary figures.
As the story unfolds some questions that are begging more and more for Violet and Herbie as well as the reader to be investigated:
- what has the red fiery object Mrs Fossil collected at the beach to do with the burglary at the museum?
- why does the boathooked man so intensely pursuit Violet?
- what‘s up with the eerie sounds coming from the wreck of the old battleship?
Questions upon questions … The young sleuths can count on the support of most of the residents, but one has his own plans.
Violet and Herbie are dragged more and more into the Malamander myth and they drift deep in their share of serious mishaps. Until the big showdown and the solving of the mystery they have to overcome twists and turns filled with thrilling encounters.
I‘m highly anticipate the sequel planned for release in 2020. Dear Thomas Taylor, please write faster 🙂
Extras:
Walker Books has also created a wonderful website for Malamander: https://eerie-on-sea.com. You‘ll find an interactive map of the village, an extract of the story and a few goodies. And I enjoyed the trailer, it was a wonderful forshadowing for what is to come.
The website is well done and supports the book, but did not anticipate the story.
Note:
As my version is a proof of „Malamander“ with an other cover design, the above pictures you see show the final cover as it will appear in the bookshops.
I‘ve taken the front cover, the back cover and the map from www.eerie-on-sea.com with the friendly permission of Walker Books Ltd. © & ® Walker Books Ltd.
The other pictures are taken by myself, © & ® Deborahs Bücherhimmel.
Advertisement due to § 2 Nr. 5 TMG (only for Germany):
Thanks to Sara from Walker Books for this review copy of „Malamander“ from Thomas Taylor
The publisher:
„Malamander“ is published by Walker Books UK. More information around this amazing maritime myth story you can find here: https://eerie-on-sea.com/about-the-book/ or http://www.walker.co.uk/Malamander-9781406386288.aspx
Dirk
By the way you can find the german review here.