The Tower at the End of the World (Action Packs) [Mass Market Paperback]

Brad Strickland (Author), S.D. Schindler (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2003 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Action Packs

When Lewis, his uncle Jonathan, and their friends Rose Rita Pottinger and Mrs. Zimmermann take a trip to a small town near Lake Superior, they expect a pleasant vacation. Instead, they find themselves facing the ghastly Ishmael Izard, son of the fiendish creator of the Doomsday Clock that was once hidden in the walls of Uncle Jonathan's house. Ishmael himself is a cruel and heartless sorcerer, and he is determined to wreak vengeance upon the entire world. Will Lewis and his friends be strong enough to defeat him, or will their fate be decided by their most formidable foe yet?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-This sequel to The House with a Clock in Its Walls (Puffin, 1993) is a thematically rich story pitting good against evil, black magic against white, and life against death. Lewis Barnavelt and his Uncle Jonathan once again encounter danger in the form of an evil wizard. While vacationing near Lake Superior, Lewis begins to see specters summoned by Ishmael Izard. When Uncle Jonathan and their friends Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmerman discover Izard's sinister plan to destroy the world using a new doomsday clock, the group literally races against time to discover how to destroy it. The search leads the friends to an island that only appears when a magical spell surrounding it is lifted. It is there that the group members must face their nemesis and Lewis must confront his fears. The boy's cautious and pessimistic personality contrasts nicely with Rose Rita's adventurous, outgoing nature, and the humorous banter between Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmerman lends a soft spot to the eeriness of the story. The whereabouts of Izard's clock remains elusive to the group until Lewis discovers that it is the giant sundial on the very island on which they are trapped. This absorbing tale has all the elements of a good mystery: a despicable villain, a dark tower, and a frightening monster. Characters are interesting and appealing individuals, and the chapters are well crafted and descriptive, maintaining a high level of suspense. A wonderful blend of suspense, adventure, ghost story, and friendship that is a sure-to-please page-turner.

Janet Gillen, Great Neck Public Library, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. Strickland adds another supernatural mystery to the late John Bellairs' Lewis Barnavelt series, which began with The House with a Clock in Its Walls (1974). In this adventure, Lewis, Uncle Jonathan, Rose Rita, and Mrs. Zimmerman travel to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where an island mysteriously appears and disappears from the waters of Lake Superior. Ominous warnings and malicious manifestations of evil throw Lewis into a state of terror, but with the caring and sometimes magical help of his uncle and their friends, good triumphs over evil yet again. Recommended for collections where this long-running series has a popular following. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (August 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142500771
• ISBN-13: 978-0142500774
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,135,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back to the story of the first, April 13, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tower at the End of the World (Hardcover)

The latest John-Bellairs-esque offering from Brad Strickland goes back to Bellairs' first book. While it might be possible to read "Tower" without having read the first John Bellairs book, "House With A Clock In Its Walls," it is probable that newbies won't understand. So go read that book. Then come read this book.

Lewis Barnavelt and Rose Rita Pottinger are romping around a lakeside with their friends and relatives, but things are not going to remain peaceful. Someone attacks Uncle Jonathan - but steals nothing valuable from the house. Lewis sees strange visions of impending death: a banshee, a Japanese specter with a huge toothy mouth, and a hairy beast with glowing eyes that is stalking him in his dreams and in his waking life. He also learns of a note that says he will die on a specified day. Unsurprisingly, Lewis is very freaked out by this.

And on a boat trip out on a lake, our heroes encounter a strange, misty island with a giant black tower. And they find a new supernatural mystery that stems from their first adventure: the son of Isaac and Selenna Izard's son, Ishmael. And Ishmael is not only a sorcerer, but he fully intends to destroy the world.

Strickland inserts the elements of Bellairs that we all love best: Evil wizards, sinister dreams, vague reasons to destroy the world, unabashedly sinister surroundings, things that appear and vanish without warning, hideous beasties, and evil magic that the good wizards wouldn't touch with a ten-foot wand. He also manages to harken back to "House" without overloading the reader with too much "this is how it happened," and manages to create a plot reminiscent of Bellairs' first book without repetition.

Characterization is seamless; Lewis and Rose Rita are just as we remember them, as are the ever-bantering Mrs. Zimmerman and Uncle Jonathan. So is the writing style, which remains spare unless something sinister is happening. If something hideous rears its head, the writing becomes creepily descriptive. My beefs? Well, there are a few threads that feel... well, un-picked-up by the end. A little too loose. In addition, one of the final scenes is somehow a little cheesy and a little too cute.

Few flaws aside, this is a wonderful spinechiller with a great climax, a deliciously BAAAAAD villain, and the quirky Bellairs heroes we know and love.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Tower at the end of the World, January 18, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Tower at the End of the World (Hardcover)

I like the book because in the middel of the book it gets intersting and makes me want to read more. Three reasons I like it is that the animals are abel to talk to some of the people in the book.There are wiches and beast near the tower.
The best part of the book was when the to perasos had to go through all the trouble tring to get the book of someting.They also had to give the book to the witch becuse the some lizerd told them to do it.
This book is great because you can like see the charecters in your mind. In a conflic you feel like your in the novel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended by SPECTRUM Home & School Magazine, October 1, 2001

By 

KB Shaw "incwell.com" (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tower at the End of the World (Hardcover)

Simply put, this is a nice, creepy little gothic horror story. Who doesn't like a scary story once in awhile? Set in 1950's Michigan, "The Tower at the End of the World" is the sequel to Bellairs' "The House with a Clock in Its Walls." However, no prior knowledge of the first book is necessary to enjoy this tome. There are sorcerers and witches-both good and bad, as well as isolated islands-real and magical, not to mentions banshees, creeping shadows, runic threats, and a doomsday clock! But there always seems to be time for chocolate cake and lemonade.