Customer Reviews

The Wrath of Mulgarath (Spiderwick Chronicles)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Another excellent series for children! Join Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace as they come to the end (or is it? at least for this series) of their adventures into the faerie world. Guided by their mysterious uncle's sketch book the heroes and heroine of these stories will finally come face to face with the biggest, baddest, and meannest of the faeries, The Ogre Mulgarath! The first 4 in this series of five openned my eyes to a wonderful world of enchantment and I can't wait to see how it comes to an end.

The Grace children - Mallory, Jared, and Simon are back, but this time they are trying to save their beloved Mother who has been captured by the evil Mulgarath. With the help of Uncle Arthur's Guidebook to the Faerie World, as well as elves, and Hogsqueal, a sneaky hobgoblin, the three siblings set out to defeat Mulgarath for the last time. However, the children know that they have only a short time to save their Mother, before Mulgarath harms her, so they set their minds to do just that.

Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black have created a remarkable conclusion to THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES with THE WRATH OF MULGARATH. The three Grace children - Mallory, Jared, and Simon are braver than ever. While the adventure that they embark on is outlined in an extremely vivid and descriptive way. Filled with wonderful twists and turns on every page, as well as gorgeous black and white sketches, this is sure to be loved by all.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Once again artist and author team up and deliver a rewarding story. The three children are given their most frightful and challenging test yet, as when they return home they find that the house has been ransacked and much out of place - including the Field Guide *and* their mother. Her loss devastates the children, as they have no idea how to find or free her. Then they happen upon Hogsqueal (or, rather, Byron happens upon him) and learn that he can lead them to Mulgarath's Palace where they hope to find and free their mother.

Along the way they are met with gruesome sights, and perform tasks they never could have imagined themselves doing in a hundred years, and their mettle is tested severely. None more so than that of Jared. But Jared has studied the Field Guide, and even though it is no longer in his possession, his memory serves him well. So does Arthur Spiderwick, who makes a brief appearance and offers most useful advice.

The ending began to seem typical, with Mulgarath in control and speaking of the how's and why's of his desire for domination. Even though his desire to speak has been explained earlier, it is a little tedious for too many "bad guys", i.e., Dark Lords and whatnot, do exactly this. However, the denouement is unique, original, and it made me laugh.

This was truly a delightful book, from beginning to end. The writing is top notch, and I can't say enough about the art. The book dips into darkness, rises into light, dips back into darkness and offers truly ghastly portraits that should keep kids on the edge of their seats and wishing their nightlights burned brighter. Also, I loved the character of Thimbletack, both how he was written and how he spoke. The rhyming was charming and delightful.

And the rhyme at the end of the book was most entertaining. I am looking forward to its fulfillment.

The fifth (possibly the last) in the Spiderwick series. Mallory and her twin brothers return home to find their mother missing and the house wrecked. Their only hope is to find Mulgarath the troll king and defeat him - but this seems impossible.

Once again, this delightful little book is full of fabulously detailed illustrations - and is divided up into 7 chapters (a week's worth of bedtime reading) plus an epilogue to tie up all the loose ends (including a strange encounter with the children's father, Mr Grace, and a reunion of Arthur & Lucy Spiderwick). It's a well-paced exciting story; a return to form after the ever so slightly disappointing part four.

If you've read the others - then this is a must-read! If you haven't read the others, then I recommend starting with book one, 'The Field Guide.' The Spiderwick series is aimed at younger readers, possibly aged between 7 and 10, and chronicles the story of the Grace family and their misadventures with the Faerie inhabitants they discover in their new home.

It's hard to imagine a worse situation than the one that Simon, Jared and Mallory are in now. After escaping from Mulgarath the ogre and his goblin servants, the three dispirited and exhausted children head home. Upon their arrival at the Spiderwick estate they discover that the place has been ransacked and, most terribly of all, their mother has been abducted. Even though Mulgarath has Uncle Spiderwick's infamous Field Guide, there's apparently something else he wants from the Grace children. The question is what, and how will they rescue their mother without becoming Mulgarath's prisoners themselves?

The children feel unprepared for this new adventure. However, they receive unexpected and surprisingly useful assistance from some very unlikely characters. There's the highly annoying and untrustworthy hobgoblin, Hogsqueal; Thimbletack the boggart, who feels very badly about the fact that he wasn't able to protect the Spiderwick Estate and Mrs. Grace from Mulgarath's horrible goblins; Byron, the griffin, who has a most useful appetite; and Arthur Spiderwick himself, who supplies Jared with important information.

With these helpers, Simon, Jared and Mallory set off for Mulgarath's headquarters not knowing what to expect or how they're going to free their mother. With sharp wits, courage, intelligence and determination as their only real weapons, this is a battle they cannot afford to lose --- for everyone's sake.

Exciting and filled with unexpected twists and turns, this fifth and final installment in the first cycle of The Spiderwick Chronicles is a most satisfying read. Readers will encounter loss, grief and recovery, making this last book especially memorable.

--- Reviewed by Marya Jansen-Gruber, editor of Through The Looking Glass Children's Book Review (www.lookingglassreview.com)

In the fifth book in the Spiderwick Chronicles series, The Grace children -- Mallory and her younger twin brothers, Jared and Simon -- have to rescue their mother, who has been captured by the evil Mulgarath. With the help of elves, the sneaky hobgoblin Hogsqueal, and, of course, their Uncle Arthur's guide book to the faerie world, the three kids set out to defeat Mulgarath once and for all. Will they succeed in stopping Mulgarath and save their mother before it's too late? Readers who enjoyed the first four Spiderwick Chronicles books won't want to miss the conclusion to this entertaining and unique fantasy series. I highly recommend this entire series to all readers who enjoy an enchanting fantasy.

I read books 3-5 in the series in 3 days! That should tell you how exciting they are. I love trying to figure out the mysteries in all the books, how they find their father and fight off the ogre. The Wrath of Mulgarath was my favorite of the series--it was really action packed and I couldn't believe it was the end of the series. One thing that I related to in these books was how Mallory and Jared pick on Simon. I have 2 brothers and one sister, and we all pick on each other (except for our little sister). :-)

If you are looking for a quick set of books to read that are mysterious, exciting, fun and adventuresome, these are the books. I have read all of them this summer and have loved them. I am sure you will too!

I really liked this book.It is about a Jared his brother Simon and their sister Mallory. They had just came back from one of their adventures and a goblin named Mulgarath had taken their mom.When They went in the house and their house was destroyed because Mulgarath had been looking for a book called The Field Guide this book contains information on every type of faerie. So they head for his palace which looks as worse as him and a hobgoblin helps them and they have to go threw goblins,dragons,and baby dragons. Then after they find their mom the hobgoblin bites of Mulgarath's head after he changes into a bird and tries to get out of a ditch with junk and sharp points.

When I read "The Ironwood Tree" (number five in the Spiderwick Chronicle series, as I'm sure you well know) I speculated as to how it was possible that this, the final chapter in the series, would sum everything up. There are after all a lot of issues waiting to be resolved. You have Jared's constant anger and school problems. There's the fact that the bad guy has somehow gotten a very important book from the good guys. Arthur Spiderwick is apparently alive and well in the land of faerie, so he needs rescuing. And what about all the magical creatures we've met up until this point? Don't they get a final bow or anything? Well, as it happens, this book does attempt to touch on each and every one of these points. The fact that it's a little skimpy in some areas, that's another matter altogether.

The book takes off running right from the start. When we last saw our heroes, the Grace children had just escaped a pack of angry dwarves, only to watch those same dwarves be eaten. Bloodily. They're a bit shaken (understandably), so when the kids arrive home they're not exactly pleased to see their house torn to shreds. Thimbletack, the house brownie, tells them that their mother has been kidnapped by the nasty uber-ogre Mulgarath and taken to his hideout. Meeting once more the sly hobgoblin Hogsqueal (who's nose resembles nothing so much as a somewhat lumpy Christmas tree), the ramshackle crew sets out to save their mother, defeat Mulgarath, and take possession of the "Spiderwick Chronicles" for the last time.

To me, the thing that set "The Spiderwick Chronicles" apart from other younger reader fantasy fiction was the amount of attention the series spent on Jared's post-divorce anger. This was a kid that wasn't dealing with his family's break-up easily. The series reinforced this notion with continual references to Jared's inability to control his own emotions. I was skeptical as to whether or not the final book would wrap up this delicate theme, and I was right to be so. In this book, Jared goes through the typical denial-of-the-father moment (quite literally in this case) and apparently that solves everything. I, for one, could have stood a little more complexity from a series that continually impressed me every step of the way. To find this book descend to the level of "merely passable" is a disappointment, to say the least.

Not that the rest of the book isn't any good. It is! Quite, good, in fact. The villain is a definite threat, the heroes use their wits and intelligence (as well as the obligatory "Chamber of Secrets" sword scene) to defeat him, and in the end death is seen as an inevitable and understandable part of life. All in all, heady themes for a book intended for such young readers.

Even the kitten survives. Yes, if you're looking forward to the final chapter in the series, "The Wrath of Mulgarath" isn't a bad way to go. I, personally, would've enjoyed a little more thought (and a little less blatant advertising on the endpages for future spin-offs). However, I concede that this is a worthy successor to the series. A fine book and a satisfying, in most ways, conclusion.

The conclusion to the 5 book Spiderwick Chronicles picks up quickly in The Wrath of Mulgarath. The author's writing style assumes you have read the other books because not a whole lot of extra explanation is given to plot events that happened in the past. The action is pretty fast without a lot of contemplation -- perfect for young readers.

I think this book shows a different side to Simon (the pet-loving twin) because you see he's finally taken too much abuse and pushed over his limits in one particular scene. I was hoping the mother would show a more dramatic role in this book. I can only give her a little credit to say that she believes her children's "wild stories" after her own scary encounters. I liked the stereotypical scene with Mulgarath as the children are about to meet their demise. ("So why are you so villianous? Tell us your life story...") I also think the ending tied up a little too neatly.

There is the hint that there could POSSIBLY be more from the author/artist combo in the future. We'll just have to see. However, I was pleased overall with the ending to this series. I waited for Book #5 for a while.