A terrible story
Terry Deary has undisputed experience in writing books for children and teenagers. He is known mainly as the author of the Strrraszna Historia series (including Those Mean Romans, These Sensational Greeks, These Unbelievable Incas ), published in Poland since 1997 by the Egmont publishing house (suggested reader age: 8-14 years). It is worth noting that the publishing proposal of Zielona Sowa discussed in this review – The Ghost Train – is completely different from the series mentioned above. The book has been deprived of many historical elements in favor of the fantastic, which, however, does not mean that it is less interesting reading and will not appeal to regular readers of Deary’s work.
Story plot
The secret task that the hero of The Ghost Train one day receives changes his life. Stealing a state-of-the-art phone from Arfura Loafa can bring him the expected profit or bring him trouble. As it quickly turns out, the boy is smart, but in order to pass the trophy to the client – the mysterious doctor Wiggott – he has to work hard. The fantastic Wax World that he will visit has secrets. The hero had no idea about many of them before. If the reader decides to take the hero on the eponymous ghostly train, he can be sure that he will not be bored, especially since the novel has been divided into one hundred chapters. It is true that they are not long, but inspiring titles constantly stimulate the imagination of the recipient.
On stage, gentlemen!
The story is spectacular, enriched with (somewhat absurd) black humor. The heroes, especially those with an unusual appearance, make the novel extraordinary. We have vikings, policemen, pirates, monks and executioners. There are also characters such as Charles Dickens, Louis XVI or Guy Fawkes. As you can easily see, reading The Ghost Train , we have no time for boredom, and the created world will absorb us completely. Particularly noteworthy is the language of the novel, which will often make us, adult readers, reflect on the ambiguities that characterize the characters’ statements. The spooky atmosphere of the novel has been softened by humorous accents, to which the author has already got used to the fans of the Strrraszna Historia series.. Importantly, the book Ghostly Train is dedicated to young readers – the best age is at least nine. However, it would seem that adults can also enjoy reading, e.g. by reading a book together with the mentee (and), necessarily aloud!
A word at the end
A fantastic story is amusing and that was probably the intention of the author, Terry Deary. Some events and characters would fit into the concept of Halloween, which also proves that the modern teenager does not have to be afraid of scaryness , on the contrary – some themes, despite their spooky nature, can entertain and inspire him. The Fantastic Wax World of Dr. Wiggott invites visitors, the only question is will you be able to leave it?
