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Midnight for Charlie Bone (Children of the Red King)
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Review
Charlie Bone seems like a pretty ordinary sort of boy - until he starts hearing soundtracks when he looks at photographs. We know from the short, mediaeval-sounding prologue that there is magic afoot. Suddenly Charlie is possessed of secret knowledge - and one of his grandmothers is suspiciously eager to encourage his talents. This is an enthralling story for eight to 11-year-olds, well told by a writer who is experienced at enthusing a wide variety of readers. Characters and events are delightfully drawn - it is immediately apparent that Grandma Bone is of a different order to Grandma Masie, and that something is amiss when Uncle Paton, who never goes out in daylight, appears to summon Charlie home. Jenny Nimmo is excellent at building tension, creating atmosphere and spinning a story, and here are all the ingredients of a compelling read: three disturbingly unpleasant great aunts, a loving but ineffectual mother, a mysterious metal case with a strange connection to a missing baby, vanishing children, disappearing parents, a sinister school with hidden rooms full of armour, and staff excelling in hypnotism, plotting and betrayal. Characters' names are a feast of invention - Mr Orvil Onimous; Aunts Lucretia, Eustacia and Venetia; Fidelio Gunn, Gabriel Silk and Manfred Bloor, as well as the dog named Percival Pettigrew Pennington Pitt, who thinks he's called Blessed ('that blessed dog...'). Some pretty profound messages are hidden beneath the story-line, with the Red King's warring children, good and evil yet bound together generation after generation... it is clear things will not end here, and welcome to be told at the end that the story is to be continued. Nimmo's greatest talent is to leave the reader always wanting to know what happens next, which is about the best possible attribute for a children's book. (Kirkus UK)
Readers may come away from this hefty series opener, about a seemingly ordinary British lad who is sent to a special boarding school after discovering that he has magical powers, with a distinct sense of deja vu. It seems that England had a magical Red King seven centuries ago, who disappeared after his wife died and five of his ten children went bad. All ten children are still around in various guises, and, along with occasional descendants, can wield parts of the Red King's magic-so once ten-year-old Charlie reveals that he can hear the people in photographs talking, the nasty camp swoops down to bustle him off to Bloor's Academy. Within Bloor's gloomy stone walls he meets friends and enemies, some of whom are also "Endowed," as he struggles to learn the school's routines, helps rescue a kidnapped schoolmate whose mind has been clouded by the baddies, discovers that his father may not be dead as he's been led to believe, and is stalked by a werewolf. The climactic battle, however, occurs offstage, and though several characters turn out not to be who or what they seem, the revelations are thoroughly telegraphed. The author leaves a few threads dangling, but underestimates her audience if she thinks she's left any major surprises for future episodes. Charlie's adventure adds up to a formulaic, thinly disguised placeholder for the next Harry Potter; a far cry from Nimmo's eerie, atmospheric Griffin's Castle (1997). (Fiction. 10-12) (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Readers may come away from this hefty series opener, about a seemingly ordinary British lad who is sent to a special boarding school after discovering that he has magical powers, with a distinct sense of deja vu. It seems that England had a magical Red King seven centuries ago, who disappeared after his wife died and five of his ten children went bad. All ten children are still around in various guises, and, along with occasional descendants, can wield parts of the Red King's magic-so once ten-year-old Charlie reveals that he can hear the people in photographs talking, the nasty camp swoops down to bustle him off to Bloor's Academy. Within Bloor's gloomy stone walls he meets friends and enemies, some of whom are also "Endowed," as he struggles to learn the school's routines, helps rescue a kidnapped schoolmate whose mind has been clouded by the baddies, discovers that his father may not be dead as he's been led to believe, and is stalked by a werewolf. The climactic battle, however, occurs offstage, and though several characters turn out not to be who or what they seem, the revelations are thoroughly telegraphed. The author leaves a few threads dangling, but underestimates her audience if she thinks she's left any major surprises for future episodes. Charlie's adventure adds up to a formulaic, thinly disguised placeholder for the next Harry Potter; a far cry from Nimmo's eerie, atmospheric Griffin's Castle (1997). (Fiction. 10-12) (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Since his father died, Charlie Bone has lived with his mother and her mother, in the house of his other grandmother, Grandma Bone. Looking at a picture of a couple with a baby and a cat, he suddenly discovers he can hear their voices. Although he tries to hide his new gift, Grandma Bone and her scary sisters soon find out, and send him to Bloor's Academy. Charlie quickly finds life at Bloor's pretty tough, with its strict rules and the malevolent head boy, Manfred, set against him. When Charlie discovers that the child in the photograph is being held, hypnotised, against her will, he and his new friends with 'gifts' try to awaken her. But can they overcome Manfred's sinister hypnotic gifts?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can't wait to read the next one!,
By Dominic Phipps and Findlay Gordon (Year 5: Fairford Primary School: Gloucestershire) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Midnight for Charlie Bone (Children of the Red King - book 1) (Paperback)
Story line: This story is about a boy called Charlie Bone who finds out he can hear voices in pictures. He is sent to a horrible schoolcalled Bloors Academy where he meets Olivia Vertigo and Fidelio Gun. Our thoughts: We thought this book was really interesting and it is full of dramatic events. The book is jam packed with mystery and Jenny Nimmo must have spent a lot of time writing it. We would recommend it to: We would recommend it to children all around the world as it is such a great book. Thoughts of the author: Jenny Nimmo is a great author and has wonderful ideas. We can’t wait to read the next few books. We would like her to write a lot more Charlie bone books as they are brill!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
super!,
By Dominic Phipps and Findlay Gordon (Year 5: Fairford Primary School: Gloucestershire) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Midnight for Charlie Bone (Children of the Red King - book 1) (Paperback)
Story Line: This story is about a boy called Charlie Bone who discovers that he has a talent for hearing voices in photographs. He is sent to a boarding school called Bloors Academy for talented or endowed children. He makes friends with Fidelio Gun, Olivia Vertigo, Billy Raven and finally Emma Tolly, a girl who Charlie and his friends help to rescue, however Charlie’s yewbeam relatives lead him into further adventures including the attack of Charlie’s friend, Benjamin’s dog, Runnerbean…………….!We recommend this book to: Readers with good imagination. Jenny Nimmo: Jenny Nimmo is an author with a big imagination and a great mind for magic!
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!,
By Dominic Phipps and Findlay Gordon (Year 5: Fairford Primary School: Gloucestershire) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Midnight for Charlie Bone (Children of the Red King - book 1) (Paperback)
Story line: it is about a young boy who looks in to a picture that he got for his Friends Birthday, he looked into the picture and started hearing the voices from the people inside the picture and he got sent to an ancient boarding school for people who are endowed like CharlieWhat I think about it: I like it because it is very mysterious and one thing always leads to another. Would I recommend it to people: yes I would. I think most people would like this book!!!!!!
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