Wendy Lamb Books, October, 2004
ISBN: 0385730551
Available: New and Used
In The Book of Dead Days, Marcus Sedgwick introduces us to Boy, a teenage orphan who is the servant and apprentice to a stage magician named Valerian. Valerian is on a quest to find a book that will help him get out of a deal he made with supernatural forces to give up his life in return for material wealth. When the manager of the theater they perform at is murdered, Willow, also an orphan, joins them on their journey in order to escape the prison where they are all being held as suspects. Sedgwick does a really good job of painting a picture of the bleak city where the story takes place. A feeling of gloom pervades the story, and there is an unmistakable feeling of mystery surrounding Valerian’s quest. Unfortunately for the reader, however, Sedgwick establishes story threads that have importance to the plot, but he fails to follow through, leaving loose ends that include a serial killer left on the loose, and the mystery of the identity of Boy’s parents. Sedgwick is also vague when it comes to explaining the relationships and history between characters, leaving the reader with more than one “Huh?” moment. Ultimately, the reader feels unsatisfied by the dangling plot threads and unexplained relationships. Although this book has a sequel, it still needed to satisfy on its own. The sequel to this book is The Dark Flight Down. Contains: violence and murder.