Festergrimm

When evil villain, Sebastian Eels, returns to Eerie-on-Sea, Herbie and Vi are convinced that he has some sinister purpose. He claims he is going to re-open Festergrimm’s Waxworks which will bring more tourists to the town, but as the children investigate, they discover another Eerie tale, full of family secrets and mechanical monsters, leading them into dark and dangerous places as they try to foil another of Eel’s dastardly schemes.

This is my favourite trip to Eerie-on-Sea so far! Full of all the familiar faces fans of the series have come to know and love, ‘Festergrimm’ is told with all the humour and charm of the previous books- and yet has a slightly different edge to it somehow.

Threads from the previous stories are drawn together in this one and it feels as if we are tantalisingly close to discovering more about the mysterious past of both Herbert Lemon and Violet Parma. These two make an incredible pair- brave and impetuous Vi often taking the lead, but Herbie (although starting with the intention of doing NOPE-vember and saying ‘nope’ to everything remotely adventurous!) rising to every challenge in his determination to defeat Eels.

I love the way Thomas Taylor refers to stories like the Gollum of Prague and Frankenstein as the children learn of the legend of Festergrimm’s metal giant, opening doors for children to discover new stories should they wish to as he builds on these to create his own. There are some quite chilling and tense moments in the book, but these are well balanced by the strength of the children’s friendship and the strong bonds they have with Jenny Hanniver, Dr Thalassi and Mrs Fossil as well as some more poignant events.

 ‘Mermedusa’ is, I believe, to be the fifth and final book in this series. Whilst I shall be sorry to make just one final visit to Eerie-on-Sea, Thomas Taylor has done such an excellent job of setting things up for an incredible conclusion to Herbie and Vi’s adventures that I can’t wait to read it!

Festergrimm Thomas Taylor

Walker Books ISBN: 978- 1529502121

Originally reviewed for Reading Zone.