Customer Reviews

Ghosthunters and the Gruesome Invincible

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the second in the Ghosthunters series and we join Tom (9 year old boy), Hetty Hyssop (world famous ghost hunter) and Hugo (their resident ASG - that's average spooky ghost to you and me) who are now a business complete with business cards!! This volume we join them as they set out to help one Mr. Alvin Bigshot at his posh (and remote) Seaside Resort on what they think is a simple and easy task (and maybe a little recreation time at the beach). What they get is not what they thought and they find themselves taking on one of the most fearsome ghosts of all...the Gruesome Invincible Lightening Ghost (GILG). After arriving at the Seaside Resort, Tom and company begin to notice that things aren't quite what they'd been led to believe, so they ramp up their investigation and find they must rely on Hugo more and more (apparently one of the GLIG's greatest weaknesses is ASG slime (which Hugo has an spades)! Will they defeat the GLIG before he turns them into ashes? You'll have to read to find out.

I enjoyed this one as much as the first in the series...I mean what's not to love about an eccentric ghost hunter lady, a 9 year old apprentice and their very own ASG? I think that Ghosthunters and the Gruesome Invincible Lightening Ghost has genuine hair-raising moments mixed with just the right about of absurd humor, making this ideal for young readers! Who couldn't love a story where the main human characters don protective suits of tin foil coated in sugar and who tote icing guns! It's FANTASTIC fun...with genuine scares worked in. We all love these stories and we're anxiously awaiting the next volume! I give it a sold A, a fine read for 6-12 year old with the idea reading range probably at 8-10. This format is great for newer chapter book readers and still has illustrations (black and white, rather cartoonish) to help bring the story to life for young readers!

They captured first an IRG

(More dangerous than most)

Now Hetty Hyssop and her crew

Must tackle a new ghost

They go to a seaside hotel

(The staff are agitated)

And find the manager's report

Was badly understated

Equipped to fight a fire ghost

They find something much stronger

They use the tools they have on hand

(I won't go on much longer)

The moral of this Funke-y tale

Is simple and sublime

"Never underestimate

A well placed gob of slime"

Amanda Richards, January 14, 2007

Ghosthunters And The Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost (Ghosthunters)

Ghosthunters And The Totally Moldy Baroness! (Ghosthunters)

Ghosthunters And The Muddy Monster Of Doom! (Ghosthunters)

Ghosthunters And The Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost is the second book in the series. In the first book, the ghosthunters got their ghost - an Incredibly Revolting Ghost. Now Tom (a 9 year old boy), Hetty (a world famous ghost hunter), and Hugo (an Average Spooky Ghost) must face a new ghost.

The story starts when the ghosthunter crew sets out to help Mr. Alvin Bigshot at his isolated Seaside Resort on what they think is a simple and easy task to chase away a bothersome ghost. In an identical plot twist as the first time around, the ghosthunters go after one particular ghost and find there is something more dangerous to go after instead and you can probably guess that it's the Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost in the story's title.

For those who haven't read Roald Dahl's BFG, please do to see where Cornelia Funk got the ideas for IRGs and ASGs etc. Dahl's is a story of Giants and Funke's is a story of Ghosts. Dahl does a much better job at storytelling than Funke, and that's the crux of the problem. As with the first one, this one's weak on plot and not always believable. Unlike the first one though Funke less on the "idea" of ghosts and haunted houses being scary and more on real msytery/mystique. There are even a few genuinely scary moments (for young readers).

Although the plot is weak, young readers interested in witches and ghosts should enjoy the story. It is a fairly good beginner chapter book for ages 7 to 9 and given a choice between the Junie B. Jones books and the Magic Treehouse books (which are also for ages 7 to 9 and also don't have much plot), this book is more fun.

I like the Ghosthunters series but this book was ok. The part when they put out the Invincible Lightning ghost was kind of dumb. This book is not scary. I like the first one better.

Ryan: age 9

My 7-year-old son loved this book. He could not wait to start it immediately following the first book(Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost). We both loved how Cornelia Funke has created a whole new vocabulary for this world naming all the different kinds of ghosts and how to try to be protected from them and neutralize them. We both can't wait for the next one!

Another great Ghosthunters story. We listened to this story before and after school. My children, ages 5, 7, and 9 have enjoyed this series and discuss the happenings in the story. My 9 year old son acted out the story as he listened. I strongly recommend this audio book, as it exercised my children's imagination.

I purchased this book as a gift and have not read it myself. The book was received in good shape and I received good service. My grandson said it was gooooood.

My 7 year old son loves this whole series of books. They are some of the only books he wants to keep on reading, even after his reading timer goes off. He can't seem to put them down, and he talks about them after reading. He also has picked them a few times to do his book reports on. Highly recommended!

I think this book is really cool because there are lots of ghosts. One ghost is called a Gilig. I love the part when Hugo spits on the Gilig to defeat it