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    The Book of Dead Days
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    The Book of Dead Days
    Unavailable
    The Book of Dead Days
    Audiobook5 hours

    The Book of Dead Days

    Written by Marcus Sedgwick

    Narrated by Roger Rees

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The days between Christmas and New Year's Eve are dead days, when spirits roam and magic shifts restlessly just beneath the surface of our lives. A magician called Valerian must save his own life within those few days or pay the price for the pact he made with evil so many years ago. But alchemy and sorcery are no match against the demonic power pursuing him. Helping him is his servant, Boy, a child with no name and no past. The quick-witted orphan girl, Willow, is with them as they dig in death fields at midnight, and as they are swept into the sprawling blackness of a subterranean city on a journey from which there is no escape.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 12, 2004
    ISBN9781400090525
    Unavailable
    The Book of Dead Days
    Author

    Marcus Sedgwick

    Marcus Sedgwick was one of this generation’s most lauded and highly regarded writers for children and young people, having published over forty books including acclaimed Midwinterblood and The Monsters We Deserve. He won multiple prestigious awards, most notably the Michael L. Printz Award, the Branford Boase Award, the BookTrust Teenage Prize and the Blue Peter Book Award.

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    Reviews for The Book of Dead Days

    3.5/5

    161 ratings14 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 1/5
      Irritatingly slow. The plot twist at the end was no twist. The lack of explanations for the plot swirling around the protagonist was inexcusable even for a first book in the series. The writing wasn't stellar.
    • 2/5
      The characters, the plot, the 'twist' was all pretty cliche. I felt nothing for any of them.
    • 3/5
      I 'accidentally' picked up The Book of Dead Days last night -- as I usually do, just intending to read a couple of pages. Even when I knew I'd have to get up early in the morning, I was sucked in. It's a very quick read, and a compelling one, although the cliffhangers at the end of chapters, coupled with very short chapters, felt a little cheap... At any rate, it hurtles along at a good pace. It doesn't solve everything, either, so I'll be looking for the sequel sometime soon.

      The characters are reasonably compelling -- you're never quite sure whether to trust them or not, or why. Valerian, in particular. I didn't know how to feel about the ending. He deserved it, and yet... At the last moment, he does redeem himself.

      Everything seems somehow a little bit too easy, at times, and while the story is compelling as you're reading, I'm not sure how long it'll stick with me. It seemed to be over too fast, and with -- as I said -- a lot of things not resolved, e.g. Boy's identity, the Phantom, whatever happened between Valerian and Kepler.

      Still, fun.
    • 5/5
      I swear, pretty soon I'm going to abandon "adult" fantasy entirely for young-adult and be happy about it. This is wonderful and gothic and really pretty damn creepy, with a very nice Venitian Steampunk going on.
    • 3/5
      I spent most of this book having absolutely no idea what was going on, but in kind of a good way. Boy lives in an unspecified city in Victorian Europe as the servant/companion of grumpy magician Valerian. When the owner of the theater where Valerian performs turns up dead, Boy and Willow (the servant of a singer at that same theater) are the prime suspects. In addition, Valerian is scrambling to find a certain book within the next few days or else face certain doom. I loved the strange semi-magical qualities of this realm, and I was glad that the last page labeled it as Book One because there are all kinds of loose ends left dangling. I would read the next book in the series were I to happen upon it, but I won't be actively seeking it out. Interesting universe, just not one I'm dying to get back to.
    • 4/5
      This book was ok but more for someone who likes death sentences and danger-drama. Unlike someone like me who likes personal and social drama.
    • 5/5
      This spine-tingling, fast-paced fantasy novel is full of mystery and suspense. Readers will be curious about Boy's past and want to find out, as much as Boy does, where he is from and how he came to be Valerian's apprentice. Boy's relationship with the other characters in the novel is important and is well laid out.
    • 2/5
      Lacklustre semi-juv with unlikeable characters and a frankly lame plot.
    • 3/5
      For those of you who like dark, gothic type stories, "The Book of Dead Days" trilogy is a good match for you. Set in the late 18th century, Valarian is look desperately for a book that will help him keep the demons from coming through. He had mad a pact with them 15 years ago and is now being held accountable. A nameless boy and his friend Willow are the ones actually searching for this book. Boy is also on a quest to find out his background and who he is. The first book leaves you hanging with unanswered questions but leads directly to the next book "The dark flight down"
    • 4/5
      An intresting and intriguing story set in a rather vague setting - both time and space. The reader is led to understand that the story unfolds sometime during the second half of the 18th century, in what was once a magnificent city, and Sedgwick's use of language sets the scene and tone extremely well. The story unfolds as we follow the desperate search of the mysterious magician Valerian and his boy servant "Boy" as they quest for something that will help stop the demonic forces pursuing Valerian. Their furtive quest is of limited time, unfurling during the "Dead Days" and is masterfully suspense-filled. All in all an enjoyable book.
    • 4/5
      I thought this was an enjoyable book, creative and different. I liked the characters and the ways they were connected.
    • 5/5
      Amazing! One of my favorires!
    • 3/5
      Interesting period piece that dwells in fantasy while staying realistic, even mentioning characters from the true past such as the German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer Kepler. It can get a little slow and boring, but leave many unsolved mysteries to keep the reader enticed.
    • 3/5
      While I found parts of this books fascinating with Keplar's scientific experiments and the explainations of magicians illusions, I found the characters either naive and boring, cruel and boring, or rude and boring. Nope to our collection.