Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #158218 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 264 pages

The Times Educational Supplement, August 1, 2003
"You'll just have to read it for the twist."

Review
"In a wonderfully dark, atmospheric tale of power, corruption and betrayal, Marcus Sedgwick manages to keep the reader guessing until the very end. A real page-turner with a truly chilling twist." (Booktrusted News (Booktrust), Issue 6 )

"Set long ago in dark times and brought to life through evocative, strongly visual writing, this novel is packed with drama, mystery and intrigue." (Wendy Cooling The Bookseller, 18 April 2003 )

"Against the stinking, freezing background of an underworld set in a timeless past, this is a dark melodrama kept sharp by surprise." (Julia Eccleshare Guardian, 5 July 2003 )

"An exquisitely dark Faustian drama set among the shadows of an old European city. The finely drawn characters and enthralling story-telling make this Sedgwick's greatest work to date." (Joanne Owen, Borders Bookshop Bookseller Buyer's Guide Highlights, 11 June 2003 )

"...has a very real sense of place. ...The hero of this beautifully paced and sometimes blood-soaked adventure is Boy...and there's a very tangible sense of evil in Sedgwick's tale too, along with the careful blending of "real" magic with the seemingly magical effects of encroaching technology...After just a few pages, you know you're in safe hands with Sedgwick.Here is a macabre melodrama inventively told". (Philip Ardargh Guardian, 19 July 2003 )

"Sedgwick has created a world as dark and compelling as the story he tells." (Mail on Sunday, 20 July 2003 )

"The Book of Dead Days marks a shift to fuller, more descriptive writing than that in Sedgwick's earlier books, but there is no loss of subtle menace and power." (Independent, 28 July 2003 )

"You'll just have to read it for the twist." (Times Educational Supplement, 1 August 2003 )

"Sedgwick has created a wonderfully tight novel which understands its own boundaries and is able to utilise them to its advantage. ...Sedgwick's plotting is tight and ingenious... Sedgwick too has a wonderful way of revitalizing the myth and making it more accessible, bringing the essentials to the fore but having it remain almost Dickensian in the telling. Rather than merely retelling, the essentials are represented and told in an engaging fashion. The Book of Dead Days is a gripping read..." (SFRevu )

"The Book of Dead Days is to be commended for the beauty of Sedgwick's turn of phrase." (Dreamwatch )

"The Book of Dead Days is to be commended for the beauty of Sedgwick's turn of phrase." (Dreamwatch )

Mail on Sunday, 20 July 2003
"Sedgwick has created a world as dark and compelling as the story he tells."

Customer Reviews

Badly written but compelling
This book is badly written in places, with stilted dialogue between the characters that reads like a trashy pulp fiction novel. However, the action is fast paced and it is not easy to guess the ending, keeping the reader plodding onwards to the conclusion.

Quite thrilling !
The reading of this volume 1 is indeed fascinating. The atmosphere is dark, poisseuse and tends to think of a mixture of Dickens, Hector Malot and Victor Hugo. The teenagers are alone, unlucky and victims of the law of the strongest. But not of pessimism. It is on the other hand by exerting a strange and attractive power that this novel transports us, through this blackness, these characters turbid and an intrigue with volte-face. This volume is determined without too much suspense, but invites to read the continuation with good heart! From 12 years.

A bitter dissapointment
Well, sedgwick had a good idea but ended up with a complete and utter mess of combust events concluding a dissapointing ending.

The book had started of well, intriguing the reader with the charachter of Valerian and who Boy actually was but the book lacked action and adventure as well as leaving a lot of questions unanswered which will obviously be answered in a sequel. (hopefully..not that i'd be reading it)

The book is about a boy named Boy (no, seriously) who lives with a magician- well sort of, who needs to find a book which will help him evade death and be released from a bargain he made with some mysterious thing.

Boy isn't happy with Valerian(the magician) but has never known happiness and before he was found by Valerian he was a child in the streets begging for food and theiving to survive.

The only reason i gave this book 2 stars from 1 is that the relationship between Willow and Boy is one of comfort and caring and is quite interesting. Apart from that one factor, the plot is quite dull and took me a total of 2 months to finish. there was only 1 real twist but if you thought about it real carefully you would i imagine be able to predict the outcome.