Woven Path (Tales from the Wyrd Museum S.) [Paperback]

Robin Jarvis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2002 | Series: Tales from the Wyrd Museum S.

The Woven Path is the first book in the compelling Wyrd Museum trilogy. All readers will be drawn in by the gripping storytelling of Robin Jarvis, where the fantastical elements combine with the seriously chilling. In a grimy alley in the East End of London stands the Wyrd Museum, cared for by the stranger Webster sisters -- and scene of even stranger events. Wandering through the museum, Neil Chapman, son of the new caretaker, discovers it is a sinister place crammed with secrets both dark and deadly. Forced to journey back to the past, he finds himself pitted against an ancient and terrifying evil, something which is growing stronger as it feeds on the destruction around it. Dare to enter the chilling and fantastical world of the Wyrd Museum in this first book of a compelling trilogy.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Neil's father has accepted a live-in job as the caretaker of the Wyrd Museum, an old house full of strange and macabre objects that is owned by three elderly sisters who are as disconcerting and fearful as the exhibits. While roaming in the Special Collections Room, Neil encounters a talking teddy bear that blackmails him into traveling back to the Blitz in London in order to rescue his four-year-old brother, Josh, who had been tricked by the magical bear. As Neil and Ted maneuver around London, meeting American soldiers, local people, and even a German spy, a demon breaks loose from the museum into the past as well, and, suddenly, in order to save the future and change the past, they must recapture it. Jarvis tries to do too many things with this story and ends up not doing any of them well. Time-travel fantasy and family drama are mixed in with horror-the descriptions of those killed by the demon are very graphic-and a dose of Nordic mythology and sentimentality. Hints are dropped about the origins and identities of the museum's owners, but only readers with a background in mythology will understand the references to weaving that they make. The plot involving Josh is dropped almost completely until the book's end when he magically reappears, and making one of the female characters an ambitious German spy pushes the whole thing just too far over the edge.

Lisa Prolman, Greenfield Public Library,

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

/ For lovers of extravagant words and action charged with mystery and passion, Mr Jarvis must be hard to beat. TES / If you enjoyed the Deptford Mice trilogy, you'll love this magical new adventure. Young Telegraph

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins Childs (December 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007158084
• ISBN-13: 978-0007158089
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,597,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the woven path, July 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: THE WOVEN PATH ( Tales from the Wyrd Museum ) (Paperback)

This was the first time that I had read a Robin Jarvis book. From the moment that I picked the book up I was captivated by it and I could not bear to put it down. The struggle of the Ned, (sent to find Edie Dorkins in the time of the blitz) with his new friend, Ted, (who had been trapped inside a teddy for years) was heart warming. I have now followed the plight of the Webster sisters, Edie and Ned right through to the end of the third book and I enjoyed all three books thoroughly. I am now searching libraries and book shops for other Robin Jarvis titles. Read this book and you will be as captivated as I was. The Wyrd Museum never has a dull moment.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read for lovers of fantasy and adventure stories, September 10, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Woven Path (Tales from the Wyrd Museum S.) (Paperback)

This book is about 11-year-old Neil Chappman, whose parents just recently got divorced and he now lives with his father. The father got a job as a caretaker at a creepy museum. Because the father hadn't much money, Neil and his father had to live at the museum. While exploring the museum, Neil got sent back in time where he had to save the lives of 4 people.

I liked this book because of the way the author used descriptive language, as well as the amazing characters that the author developed. This is a great book for anyone who loves fantasy and adventure stories, but it has some scary bits in it so it's probably not for little kids.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing, August 15, 2010

By 

xenofan (Kansas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Woven Path (Tales from the Wyrd Museum S.) (Paperback)

As a kid, I read Book One (The Dark Portal) of the Deptford Mice trilogy until the pages were creased and worn from use. It wasn't until I was 25 that I got to read the rest of the trilogy, and was as enthralled as I had been when I was much younger. Recently, a friend of mine and I were chatting about old books, and Robin Jarvis came up in discussion, prompting a renewed interest in his writings. What had one of my favorite authors written since last I thought to pick anything up by him? A search at Amazon revealed The Woven Path - book one of the Wyrd Museum Trilogy, which I thought looked rather promising.

Sadly though, The Woven Path just didn't do it for me. Having read (and even that much was an effort) roughly halfway through the book, I have sadly had to admit that I really am wasting my time. The book had a nice atmosphere, a spooky, dark feeling to it which left me optimistic that this would be an enjoyable read, but sadly I remained bored, not really all that interested in the characters or the plot (perhaps too many ideas struggling for my attention) and when the time travel element was introduced, I found myself truly struggling to find the motivation to read further.

A book should not require this much forced effort to read, and I really do have to admit that the whole effort is something I have not enjoyed at all. Of all the characters in the book, I really don't think much to Neil, I particularly dislike Ted, and the rest aren't much better. Plot feels a bit flimsy, with far too much happening that doesn't really make any sense or seem relevent. Of course, I do expect answers to be given by the end of the book, but I have to admit that I really don't care to know them.

And for that reason, and with much dissapointment, this book has been set on my "donate to charity" pile.