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A review by octavia_cade
The Grimmelings by Rachael King
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
In the acknowledgements at the end of the book, Rachael King talks about how she was inspired by Susan Cooper and her The Dark Is Rising series. I can't say that I was surprised... Cooper's books were the seminal fantasy series of my childhood as well. I can't count how many times I've read them, and the feel of The Grimmelings is very similar, so naturally I enjoyed it. I do think that King's kelpie takes the book further into the horror genre than Cooper ever went, but just count me as happy that Magpie the pony didn't go the same way as Cafall.
Magpie is easily my favourite character here. The humans are great too, especially the two main kids Ella and Fiona, but Magpie has personality. And she's very, very clever. I was pleased that, by the end of the book, Ella's mum had come round to the fact that Magpie deserves anything she wants for the rest of her life, because she does. Taking on that kelpie could not have been easy, because that thing is horrible. I mean, a kelpie is a disturbing creature at the best of times, but this one is especially nasty. Somehow it's even worse in human form, ugh. If I'd read this as a kid it might even have given me nightmares... not a bad thing, for a horror!
Magpie is easily my favourite character here. The humans are great too, especially the two main kids Ella and Fiona, but Magpie has personality. And she's very, very clever. I was pleased that, by the end of the book, Ella's mum had come round to the fact that Magpie deserves anything she wants for the rest of her life, because she does. Taking on that kelpie could not have been easy, because that thing is horrible. I mean, a kelpie is a disturbing creature at the best of times, but this one is especially nasty. Somehow it's even worse in human form, ugh. If I'd read this as a kid it might even have given me nightmares... not a bad thing, for a horror!