THE BOOK OF DEAD DAYS

Marcus Sedgwick's creepy, foreboding fantasy centers around a magician's desperate search for a book against an approaching deadline--the new year. Valerian and his servant, Boy, comb an unnamed, fading European city, following clues and digging up graves, culminating their search in an underground city square. Roger Rees helps maintain the uneasy tone, differentiating the gruff Valerian from lower-class Boy and Willow and assorted secondary characters, and even managing some required Latin. The slow meting out of details might frustrate listeners--at times the book seems TOO mysterious. If the ending seems unresolved, listeners can at least hope that loose ends will be tied up in the sequel, THE DARK FLIGHT DOWN. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE/JULY 05]