Customer Reviews

The Ribbajack: and Other Haunting Yarns

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

 

 

I don't know why, but for some reason, the name Ribbajack suggests a sandwich to me, rather than a monster. I could almost picture myself going to McDonalds and saying, "I'll take a Ribbajack, a small fries, and a large Coke." In actuality, Ribbajack is the title of a short story collection by Redwall author, Brian Jacques.

Like all of Jacques' books, Ribbajack is for children--this edition is listed as being for ages 9 and up on the back cover--but it can still be enjoyedd by adults. This book is in the tradition of his previous short story collection, Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales in that it too is a collection of horror stories for children, though only six in this case.

The first is "Ribbajack," is about a naughty little boy who hates everyone and summons a monster to get rid of an enemy. Then comes a smile and a wave, which is a fairly spooky ghost story about a girl who doesn't like her coat. "The All Ireland Champion Versus the Nye Add" is about a fisherman who tries to catch a mermaid. "The Mystery of Huma D'Este" is about a bully who runs into someone (or something) he can't bully. "Miggy Mags and the Malabar Sailor" is about a little girl, her pet mongoose, and her wicked uncle. "Rosie's Pet" is about a mean little girl who becomes a werewolf.

While I like the book, and all the stories are good, they aren't all great. "A Smile and a Wave" lacked a certain oomph, and I wasn't entirely satisfied with the ending of Rosie's Pet. Still I like the book enough to give it 4 stars.

Book Talk: This collection of short stories may be by the author of Redwall, but if you're looking for cuddly animals you're looking in the wrong place. These stories mostly revolve around school-aged human youth and the creatures that do appear in the stories are anything but cuddly. If you want to find out what a Ribbajack is and what it can do, then pick up this book. I'd wait until day light to read it, though.

Rocks my Socks: These stories are wonderfully atmospheric and perfectly capture the horror that literature has taught me to associate with English boarding schools and the countryside of Great Britain and Ireland in general. Thank goodness I was raised in America! On a more serious note, these stories have a dahl-esque sense of dark justice that I simply adore. The sense of justice, albeit dark, means that there are also some nice little morals in the stories. Also like Dahl, the stories are definitely dark, but they're actually not terribly violent. The violent bits that do exist are mostly left up to the imagination rather than described in detail, which I prefer.

Rocks in my Socks: As much as I enjoyed the atmosphere of these stories the pacing was a bit slow at times. I started reading this book in the spring and only finished it in November. The stories were good and I enjoyed them when I eventually sat down to read one, but I never felt particularly compelled to keep on reading.

Every Book its Reader: I'd recommend this to fans of suspense/horror or anyone with a taste for dark literature. The gender of the main characters switches depending on the story so I think it would be great for both boys and girls. As I said it's not graphically violent, but it is rather dark. I'd suggest it for 7th and up.

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This book was very enjoyable to read because 'I felt like I was really there in the story. If you like scary stories this is a good one it will keep you on the edge of your seat most of the time. I recomend this book to other readers who like exciting books.

kyle curcio