Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #1: Professor Gargoyle [Hardcover]

Charles Gilman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 25, 2012 | Age Range: 9 and up | Series: Tales from Lovecraft Middle School (Book 1) | Lexile Measure: 660L (What's this?)

“Two-headed monsters, giant tentacles, angry demons – Lovecraft Middle School is great creepy fun!”
–Ransom Riggs, author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
 
Strange things are happening at Lovecraft Middle School. Rats are leaping from lockers. Students are disappearing.  The school library is a labyrinth of secret corridors. And the science teacher is acting very peculiar – in fact, he just might be a monster-in-disguise.  Twelve-year-old Robert Arthur knew that seventh grade was going to be weird, but this is ridiculous!
 
Professor Gargoyle (Volume I in the Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series) is full of bizarre beasts, strange mysteries, and nonstop adventure.  It's perfect for readers ages 10 and up. Best of all, the cover features a state-of-the-art “morphing” photo portrait – so you can personally witness the professor transforming into a monster.  You won't believe your eyes!
 
“Gilman's debut and series kick-off is great fun for fans of light horror. The changing image on the cover will snag interest, and the spookily realistic black-and-white illustrations throughout complete this slick, scary, funny package. [There are] delectable hints of age-appropriate, Lovecraftian Otherness...with none of the purple prose.” –Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Middle school memories won't be the same once you jump into Charles Gilman's Tales From Lovecraft Middle School series.”—Florida Times-Union

“The lenticular covers alone makes the Tales From Lovercraft Middle School books worth buying.  But the books are really good, too.”—Super Punch
 
“...highly entertaining...”—Horror News

“Ideal for middle schoolers or older, it's an action-packed paranormal treat, with lots of weird, unexplainable happenings."—Lansing State Journal

“This first entry in a series is a fun read...The mysteries of Lovecraft offer plenty of excitement, and reluctant readers will likely stick around to see just how this story ends.”—School Library Journal

“Tales from Lovecraft Middle School is perfect for younger paranormal fans and a great way to have a good time that scares you just enough to keep the pages turning.”—BookSlut

“These books are hilarious and gross and charming and bizarre and, basically, totally entertaining.”—Ben H. Winters, author The Mystery of the Everything and The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman, a Bank Street Best Book of 2011 and an Edgar Award nominee

“Professor Gargoyle has all the hints and trappings of H.P.’s world, with a slight bit of danger, a good dosage of strange and peculiar monsters, and a great setting! We’ve all had a weird teacher during our years in school, so every young reader can totally identify with the first book in the series ... [And] the lenticular covers are amazing! ... I cannot imagine any kid walking by these books in the store or library and not picking it up for a closer look!”—Wired.com’s GeekDad
 
“Spooky illustrations and a unique book cover add to the horror of the strange world of Lovecraft Middle School, and no self-respecting kid would want to miss enrolling in this exciting series.”—Karen Briggs, Great Northern Books & Hobbies, Oscoda, MI
 
“Author Charles Gilman spins a web that draws in the reader with plot twists that are occasionally jarring and alarming...”—Montreal Gazette
 
“If you liked Quirk’s earlier publication, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (and who didn’t?), you’ll gobble this one up. Or down. Whichever way a gobble goes.”—Asbury Park Press blog

“...fans of Goosebumps and other lightly creepy fare will look forward to spending more time with a series that even manages to find the dark side of recycling.”—Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Charles Gilman is an alias of Jason Rekulak, an editor who lives in Philadelphia with his wife and children. When he's not dreaming up new tales of Lovecraft Middle School, he's biking along the fetid banks of the Schuylkill River, in search of two-headed rats and other horrific beasts. 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Quirk Books; First Edition edition (September 25, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594745919
• ISBN-13: 978-1594745911
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 1.1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Eldritch abominations have never been this much fun December 26, 2012

By Richard Stoehr VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

My youngest daughter has never read H.P. Lovecraft - but I have. We both found things to like in the Tales of Lovecraft Middle School.

I found a fun, engaging story written in an accessible style. Using the ever-popular "new kid at school" framework, we meet Robert Arthur (a very Lovecraftian name) on his first day at Lovecraft Middle School, a new school built with all the modern conveniences, including broadband wireless internet and tablet computers for downloadable library books. So why are there rats in the lockers on the first day of school? Where did the weird attic full of old books come from? And why is Professor Goyle so WEIRD?

The book is light on Lovecraft but chock-full of the creepy and the curious. Some of the mystical language and references to the Great Old Ones will be familiar for those who've read Lovecraft's macabre tales, but those who haven't won't miss out either.

My 12-year-old daughter read it quickly, laughed at the illustrations and the descriptions, delighted in the darker twists, and is looking forward to reading the second book in the series. In short, she loved it.

Anyone hoping for a hardcore addition to the Lovecraftian universe might be disappointed in 'Professor Gargoyle,' but kids who like a darker twist to their bedtime stories and adult fans of H.P. who can appreciate a fun romp through Lovecraft Middle School should find much to enjoy here.

Oh - and the cover ROCKS.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Different and fun November 16, 2012

By S. Al-Amri VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Boys are harder to get hooked on books than girls. This book just might be the one to get some of those boys interested in reading. It has normal aspects like new school and no friends and bullying. But then it starts to get weird and weirder with all sorts of supernatural happenings.

The cover alone is enough to get the book in their hands and get them interested. The 3D effects are amazingly well done and the idea of such a teacher must be thrilling to contemplate. There are simple pictures throughout the book to coax along the reluctant readers.

Girls also might like this book but the main readers might be boys from around Grade 5. I can see them reading and discussing it and looking forward to the next.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun April 22, 2013

By Spudman TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Professor Gargoyle is written in short chapters, so it can be read in short spurts of free time. To best appreciate its impact, however, its best read in one or two sessions. The reader's time will be rewarded with genuine thrills and suspense, creep characters and a fast paced story that challenges you to hold on for the ride.

Gargoyle is the first in a series of books that is best read first. I read the second book in the series, "Slither Sisters" and then couldn't wait to backtrack and read this volume. Gargoyle should hold the attention of the most reluctant middle school reader and motivate him or her to look for the next installment in the story.

Bottom Line - Prof. Gargoyle is a terrific story that can interest readers of overlapping generations. And that 3-D cover is hypnotic.