The Wrath of Mulgarath (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 5) by Holly Black Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Wrath of Mulgarath (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 5)
Book Review: "Do You Know How Many of My Own People Have been Lost?"
Summary: 3 Stars
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...
Book Review: Spiderwick Chronicles Part 5
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Book Review: The Thrilling Conclusion to The Spiderwick Chronicles
Summary: 5 Stars
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
Book Review: Satisfying conclusion? Did you read the same book we did?
Summary: 2 Stars
Don't get me wrong, my family and I loved this entire series - even if we wound up paying about five times what we would have shelled out if the publisher had put everyting under one cover (but, hey, more power to them that they can get us to pay!). The ending (and no, I won't play spoiler and give it away) was way too abrupt. Even my second grader asked "Is that it? That's lame! There has to be more!" I hope we do get more of this series (or something similar from the authors) anyway.Book Review: In which a series ends in a surprising fashion
Summary: 5 Stars
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.