The Seeing Stone (#2)

By Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

This is my review of the second book in The Spiderwick Chronicles series, be sure to check out my review of the first book, The Field Guide, published below this post!

THE SHORT

The Seeing Stone is certainly packed with way more action than the first book. In it, we are introduced to many different kinds of magical creatures, like the goblins, and griffins. The dangers of the Guide is shown in its true colors, rather than riddles from Thimbletack. Through superb drawings and writing, DiTerlizzi and Black make this book superior to the first one, with action and an exciting climax with the watery troll. They also explain how faeries are normally never seen in the world. There is a noticeable sense of adventure in this book, perhaps foreshadowing the epic battle in the fifth book. In brief, The Seeing Stone shows DiTerlizzi's and Black's growing confidence in telling stories, and this makes The Seeing Stone all the better.

THE REVIEW

This time around, the characters are really fleshed out and show real signs of actual development. Jared gets into trouble again, but shows his love for Simon when he grabs the Seeing Stone from Thimbletack despite the latter's warning not to do so. We also get a glimpse of his frustrations, anger at his new school, at his dad for leaving. In addition, we also get the idea that he is smart, thinking up a plan to escape from the goblins by leading them to the hungry troll. In short, he comes to life on the page and through DiTerlizzi's drawings. These two perfectly complement each other, and this shows us a new side of Jared that we didn't get to see in the previous book.

This time around, it's Simon who gets captured by the goblins, and Mallory has to save him. In this book, Mallory comes across as a rather snarky and sarcastic sibling, but later on, as she shivers from fright at the troll, and her bravery in going with Jared when she couldn't see the faeries at all, give her a 3-Dimensional quality, as if she used to be a small picture on a book, and now she's one of those stand-up things you get when you turn the page. Developing from an uncaring sister to a loving one (very subtle, but you get the gist of it when you read the text), we finally get some insight into these characters.

Time to talk about the faeries. In the motion of slowly introducing us to the magical world of faeries, we slowly wade deeper and deeper into their world. First of all, there's the goblins, green creatures who love to eat cats. As a character in this book, albeit a very un-understandable one, the goblins are the primary antagonists, the main catalysts for this book. Although it does raise some questions: Why did the goblins take Simon? And if it was for the Guide, why would they return to attack Jared and Mallory? How did they even know of the Guide's existence? Presuming they are illiterate, what would they want the Guide for? How did they know what was inside the Guide? Nonetheless, the goblins serve as a very interesting villain in this book.

Then there's the troll. Hiding in the waters, with its draggy way of speaking, and the fearsome version of it depicted in DiTerlizzi's drawings, combine to give us a terrifying view of the troll. Also, the version of the troll living in the water, ties in pretty well with certain versions of trolls we know, like the troll living under the bridge in The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Like that troll, this one lives in the river near a bridge. Hogsqueal is another faerie introduced in this book, being a hobgoblin, we don't really know much about the difference between a hobgoblin and a goblin. Perhaps it's the pig's nose, or just the general cuteness of the hobgoblin. Besides that, we don't actually understand anything else about Hogsqueal or hobgoblins in general.

About the drawings, DiTerlizzi uses masterful drawings to actually bring the troll to life, something we could never have imagined from the text alone. He also keeps the entire front of the troll hidden, it's either below water, or later when Jared is leading the goblins to the troll, just the behind visible. This amazing use of suspense actually makes the troll somehow more menacing, as if it's too terrible for DiTerlizzi to show fully. As such, the troll actually comes to life, and this is, in my view, one of the most brilliant piece of writing and drawing coming together to provide an atmosphere. Other than that, DiTerlizzi's drawings don't change much, other than giving us some visuals to look at while we're reading the book.

Now the plot. As discussed earlier, there is a considerable more action in this book, making it more a fantasy-adventure story. The climax between the troll and the goblins is particularly entrancing, while the build-up to it, meeting the troll at first in the river, saving Simon, and then distracting the goblins from Hogsqueal, may seem a little incoherent at times, but the authors manage to tie all of this together. The wonder of the faerie world experienced by the trio seems to come across to us, and magically, we find ourselves in their world. Creating a logical story while also surprising you with the dangers of the world, DiTerlizzi and Black truly make their mark in the fantasy genre. However, one wishes it could have been longer.

In short, The Seeing Stone certainly is the superior of The Field Guide, but it leaves just enough questions open for you to keep reading. Excellent.

Rating: 8.6/10

Advice: If you liked the first book, you'll love the second. Simply a masterpiece.

I certainly enjoyed reading The Seeing Stone, go check out my review of the first book in this series, The Field Guide, just below this post!

Next week: As the war rages on in England, four children are sent to a country house, where they find a wardrobe that will lead them to a magical world called Narnia, which has been cursed with eternal snow. Will they find the majestic lion Aslan and defeat the evil queen? I review The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the second book in The Chronicles of Narnia series, and ask if it really is one of the best fantasy novels.

The Field Guide (#1)

By Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

This is the first book in The Spiderwick Chronicles. My review of the second book in the series, The Seeing Stone, is coming out tomorrow, be sure to check it out!

THE SHORT

The Field Guide is a wonderful introduction to the world of Spiderwick and faeries, but it lacks the necessary components required to truly satisfy one. For one thing, the writers tried to make it a sort of mystery, which, sure, The Field Guide is, but it doesn't have a climax, which makes the book more of a expository book, capturing your attention along the way just long enough to reach the end, where Thimbletack warns them of the dangers of the Guide. Perhaps this is what ruins this otherwise magical book.

THE REVIEW

Jared Grace is the protagonist in this story, and one wishes we could have seen more of his character and his motivations. The reason why he's so temperamental is never revealed, and his father's leaving is also never explained. While this may give him a mysterious aura around which the readers want to know more about him, it also limits our understanding of him as a character. If only we could know more, then maybe we would be able to relate to him better. Jared doesn't undergo development of any kind during this book, and this makes him seem like a flat character.

His siblings, Simon and Mallory, are at least described minimally, when we know Simon's craze about pets, and Mallory's passion for fencing. They too, don't undergo development, but the tension caused between Mallory and Jared is exciting to read, as you wonder how the conflict will turn out. As this is resolved, there's really nothing else to look forward to in this book until Thimbletack comes.

Which brings me around to Thimbletack. He is the house brownie, and he speaks in rhymes all the time (See what I did there?). For most part of the book, he is the antagonist, the boggart who plays mischievous pranks on the three siblings. His transformation from when he was a brownie in Arthur Spiderwick's time to the boggart he is in this book is never fully explained, although Jared deduces he might have been left alone there for a long time. Thimbletack is the first type of faerie that we actually see, and one can't help but feel a little let down that his only skills are his ability to clean up.

Of course, The Field Guide isn't complete without its drawings, and from the hand of Tony DiTerlizzi, the world of Spiderwick comes to life. The drawings have a kind of sketchy quality to them, which makes them seem even more real. Their gothic style drawings kind of draws out a feeling in you, one that calls you to the world of Spiderwick. All in all, I applaud DiTerlizzi for his amazing imagination and skill, without which, Spiderwick would never have become the success it is.

Finally, we come to the plot. As discussed in 'THE SHORT' above, The Field Guide has no visible climax. There is some kind of rising action in the form of Mallory threatening to tear apart the book, but other than that, nothing! However, the writers may have decided to focus more on the mystery part of the book, keeping it simple, wanting Jared to solve the mystery of how to stop the boggart. Then again, just the creativity of a world full of faeries and the dedication to it, makes this book an excellent fairy tale, but not the normal one, more like an adventure crossed with faeries.

In short, The Field Guide seems like an expository novel, like if The Spiderwick Chronicles was one huge book, The Field Guide would be the lead-in. While the lack of the action and climax is disappointing, it does its job of entrancing you with the magic of Spiderwick, and also serves as a brilliant stand-alone story.

Rating: 8.1/10

Advice: An excellent starting point for those who want to discover (or re-discover) The Spiderwick Chronicles.

The Field Guide was a fun adventure for me, go check out my other review of The Seeing Stone, the second book in The Spiderwick Chronicles, being published tomorrow!

Next week: As the war rages on in England, four children are sent to a country house, where they find a wardrobe that will lead them to a magical world called Narnia, which has been cursed with eternal snow. Will they find the majestic lion Aslan and defeat the evil queen? I review The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the second book in The Chronicles of Narnia series, and ask if it really is one of the best fantasy novels.