The Wrath of Mulgarath (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 5) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Author, Illustrator) "The pale light of the newly risen sun made the dew shimmer on the nearby grass as Jared, Mallory, and Simon trudged along the early..." (more)
Key Phrases: Arthur Spiderwick

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi pull off an impressive five for five with Wrath of Mulgarath, the satisfyingly dramatic conclusion to their series, The Spiderwick Chronicles. After the gory conclusion of the The Ironwood Tree, we don't get even a moment's reprieve before the action picks up again, in a starting chapter entitled, fittingly, "IN WHICH the World Is Turned Upside Down." Thirteen-year-old Mallory and nine-year-old twins Jared and Simon return to the Spiderwick Estate only to find their home in shambles, with trash and broken furniture scattered across the lawn and Simon's griffin chasing a "goblin" across the roof. The faerie world that the Grace kids have so slowly probed in this series has finally come home to roost. Black and DiTerlizzi pack a lot into the finale of this beautifully produced series, with dragons and goblins and elves--and even a magical cameo by Arthur Spiderwick (the long-lost author of the disappearing-reappearing Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You). We get a dramatic rescue, a clever end to a fearsome foe (with some thanks to Hogsqueal from book two), and a long denouement that leads to a final cryptic note from the author and illustrator: "Are there more ogres / and dragons to slay? / Is there more mayhem, / perhaps, on the way? / Ask Tony and Holly. / They'll swear that it's true. / But you still won't believe / what's coming for you!" (Ages 6 to 10) --Paul Hughes

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6 - In this the dramatic conclusion to The Spiderwick Chronicles (Random, 2004), Holly Black continues the breathtaking action of the previous volumes. This episode begins with the Grace siblings, 13-year-old Mallory and nine-year-old twins Jared and Simon, returning to their home from the underground kingdom of the dwarfs, only to find it ransacked and their mother missing. Concluding that the terrible ogre Mulgarath is behind the chaos, the children join forces with Thimbletack the house-brownie, Hogsqueal the hobgoblin, and Byron the griffin in order to find Mulgarath and save their mother. They bravely rush into the world of faeries, hobgoblins, dragons, and elves, and to the junkyard realm of the goblins and the castle of the terrible Mulgarath. They are armed only with a sword and bits of nearly-forgotten advice from Arthur Spiderwick, the long-lost author of The Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, who makes an all-too-brief but magical appearance. Each fantastic and terrifying creature is brought to life by Mark Hamill's excellent vocal characterizations, clearly differentiating all the hobgoblins. Hamill also does a superb job of creating the innocent, eager voices of the young siblings on a quest. The series ends (is it really the end?) with a dramatic rescue and the demise of Mulgarath. - MaryAnn Karre, Horace Mann Elementary School, Binghamton, NY
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (September 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689859406
• ISBN-13: 978-0689859403
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,653 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 5 in The Spiderwick Chronicles Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Final Installment of the Spiderwick Chronicles, August 29, 2004

By	Cory D. Shaw "Lover of Many Artistic Facets" (Redlands, Ca USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In which a series ends in a surprising fashion, September 19, 2004

By	T. Burger (Chicago) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Do You Know How Many of My Own People Have been Lost?", November 1, 2004

By	R. M. Fisher "Raye" (New Zealand = Middle Earth!) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Here it is finally, the fifth and final book in the Spiderwick Chronicles, which told the tale of the Grace children and their run-ins with faeries of every shape and form. Picking straight up from the end of "The Ironwood Tree", Mallory, Simon and Jared wearily return home from the underground kingdom of the dwarfs to find their house ransacked and their mother missing. Realising that the terrible ogre Mulgarath is behind the chaos, the children ally themselves with previous characters Thimbletack the house-brownie, Hogsqueal the hobgoblin and Byron the griffin in order to find Mulgarath and save their mother.

Their quest leads them once more to the grove of the unfriendly elves, a junkyard full of goblins and the terrible castle-home of Mulgarath himself. On the way we are treated to the wonderful illustrations of Tony DiTerlizzi, including his serpentine dragonets, a wonderful dragon/griffin battle in midair, the ominous Mulgarath, and a meeting with the famous Arthur Spiderwick himself. At all times DiTerlizzi's pictures are the high point of these beautiful bound and presented books, and all the faery creatures are portrayed with a touch of darkness to them - these are not the sweet and merry Enid Blyton-esqe creatures. Instead they are as faeries were originally conceived: beautiful, but more than a little dangerous.

Many of the other reviews claim that this final book was a `satisfying conclusion', but I must say I disagree. Although it was a reasonable enough ending, I had simply been expecting more from this series. The children are tricked too easily by Mulgarath's deception, Mulgarath himself is defeated too easily, and the ending too swift and abrupt, despite a tantalising rhyming finish that asks us: "Are there more ogres and dragons to slay?/ Is there more mayhem, perhaps on the way?" It would seem that the story of the Grace children hasn't quite finished yet.

But I was still expecting more from this ending, especially in regard to previously established characters and plot devices. I had hoped the phooka and the elves would turn up to help fight, as well as any dwarfs that may have survived (and many of their inventions would have come in handy in the battle against Mulgarath). I was almost certain that Thimbletack would revert to his boggart-form in order to help, and that Byron would swoop in at a timely moment to do something drastic. Never happened. Likewise, the Field Guide has been the focus of the last four books, and logic dictated that there was something vitally important within its pages that would help defeat Mulgarath, or help the children in their quest. Nope. The Guide is virtually forgotten in this book.

It just felt as though Holly Black had put a lot of effort into dropping clues and characters in the previous books that would have been helpful, all leading up to a dramatic conclusion and then neglects to use them. But despite all my grumblings, "The Spiderwick Chronicles" was a worthy set of books that is well worth reading - they are inventive, quirky, funny, easy to read, and full of `real' faery lore and information. Their presentation is just beautiful, with letters and pictures from the children themselves to the authors, to make it all seem authentic. And perhaps there's more to come...