Ghost Chamber by Celia Rees - Revision history

Sue at 16:06, 8 May 2018

2018-05-08T16:06:54Z

Sue at 10:23, 3 March 2018

2018-03-03T10:23:03Z

Sue at 17:03, 27 December 2014

2014-12-27T17:03:29Z

Sue at 14:15, 28 November 2012

2012-11-28T14:15:40Z

Sue at 13:56, 8 September 2012

2012-09-08T13:56:43Z

Keith at 09:51, 7 November 2009

2009-11-07T09:51:54Z

Keith: 1 revision

2009-10-24T17:25:26Z

1 revision

Keith at 16:50, 5 March 2009

2009-03-05T16:50:26Z

New review

{{infobox
|title=Ghost Chamber
|author=Celia Rees
|reviewer=Jill Murphy
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=Excellent tension, multiple points of view and a straightforward style make this mix of ancient conspiracy and the supernatural a book with wide-ranging appeal. Recommended for all junior lovers of ghost stories.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|format=Paperback
|pages=240
|publisher=Hodder Children's Books
|date=19 Jan 2007
|isbn=978-0340932025
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340932023</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0340686510</amazonus>
}}
When the Goodman children are packed off by their mother to stay with their archaeologist father while she goes on holiday with her new boyfriend, they have mixed feelings. They don't want their mother to go away because they definitely don't like Roger. However, they do look forward to spending time with their father, Philip, a man more wedded to his work and his latest book than he ever was to his wife and family. Philip has bought a crumbling old pub in the middle of the English countryside and is in the middle of investigating its history. Like many villages in England with Temple in the name, Temple Marton has an ancient connection with the mysterious order of Templar Knights, disbanded over five hundred years ago. The pub that Philip has bought is thought not only to be haunted, but also to have some connection with this Templar history. This connection isn't just the stuff of gossiping legend, as the Goodman children are about to find out...

''Ghost Chamber'' has a lot to recommend it. It's a deliciously creepy story about ancient mysteries and the dangers of meddling with them. First published in 1997, it's reissued here for contemporary children given a new interest in old sects and secrets by the success of [[The Da Vinci Code]]. However, it's not an adventure-thriller. It's a story of the supernatural. There are time slips, unearthly powers, apparitions and freak storms and it's all stonkingly good stuff with a wide-ranging appeal.

I like Celia Rees. She writes a straightforward book with plenty of action and enough plotting interest to hold the attention of the reluctant reader middle teen, but eschews complicated imagery and metaphor, making her books suitable also for confident readers of about nine and up. In ''Ghost Chamber'', she makes doubly sure of this by telling the story from several points of view - we get inside the skin of Sally, the earnest oldest sister, who is sixteen and of Hugh, the middle brother, a thirteen-year-old desperate for drama and gore and ghosts. We also see events through the eyes of Edna, an old and superstitious woman from the village, through the eyes of secular Philip, dismissive of the supernatural and through the eyes of Mark Garvin, henchman to Holt, the book's villain. These varying points of view give ''Ghost Chamber'' an appeal to both young and old and girl and boy.

It is scary, but all ends well and there won't be too many fears for the younger reader at bedtime. The creepiness in ''Ghost Chamber'' is mostly in the tension and there isn't a great deal of visual gore, it's all in the suggestion. Parents of particularly sensitive children might like to read it first, just to make sure, but I think the book is fine for all those aged nine and up, and particularly reluctant readers who don't want over-complication, just a rattling good read.

My thanks to the publisher, Hodder, for sending the book.

Children who prefer their horror to come with visual gore attached might prefer Darren Shan's [[Demonata]] series and those who enjoy this kind of cerebral creepiness but are looking for something a little more advanced might enjoy Marcus Sedgwick's [[My Swordhand Is Singing]].

{{toptentext|list=Top Ten Books For Children Who Love To Be Scared Silly}}

{{amazontext|amazon=0340932023}}

{{commenthead}}

[[Category:Fantasy]]
[[Category:Teens]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:56, 8 September 2012
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	[[Category:Fantasy]]		[[Category:Fantasy]]
	[[Category:Teens]]		[[Category:Teens]]
		+	[[Category:Thrillers]]

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 When the Goodman children are packed off by their mother to stay with their archaeologist father while she goes on holiday with her new boyfriend, they have mixed feelings. They don't want their mother to go away because they definitely don't like Roger. However, they do look forward to spending time with their father, Philip, a man more wedded to his work and his latest book than he ever was to his wife and family. Philip has bought a crumbling old pub in the middle of the English countryside and is in the middle of investigating its history. Like many villages in England with Temple in the name, Temple Marton has an ancient connection with the mysterious order of Templar Knights, disbanded over five hundred years ago. The pub that Philip has bought is thought not only to be haunted, but also to have some connection with this Templar history. This connection isn't just the stuff of gossiping legend, as the Goodman children are about to find out...
-''Ghost Chamber'' has a lot to recommend it. It's a deliciously creepy story about ancient mysteries and the dangers of meddling with them. First published in 1997, it's reissued here for contemporary children given a new interest in old sects and secrets by the success of [[The Da Vinci Code]]. However, it's not an adventure-thriller. It's a story of the supernatural. There are time slips, unearthly powers, apparitions and freak storms and it's all stonkingly good stuff with a wide-ranging appeal.
+''Ghost Chamber'' has a lot to recommend it. It's a deliciously creepy story about ancient mysteries and the dangers of meddling with them. First published in 1997, it's reissued here for contemporary children given a new interest in old sects and secrets by the success of ''The Da Vinci Code''. However, it's not an adventure-thriller. It's a story of the supernatural. There are time slips, unearthly powers, apparitions and freak storms and it's all stonkingly good stuff with a wide-ranging appeal.
 I like Celia Rees. She writes a straightforward book with plenty of action and enough plotting interest to hold the attention of the reluctant reader middle teen, but eschews complicated imagery and metaphor, making her books suitable also for confident readers of about nine and up. In ''Ghost Chamber'', she makes doubly sure of this by telling the story from several points of view - we get inside the skin of Sally, the earnest oldest sister, who is sixteen and of Hugh, the middle brother, a thirteen-year-old desperate for drama and gore and ghosts. We also see events through the eyes of Edna, an old and superstitious woman from the village, through the eyes of secular Philip, dismissive of the supernatural and through the eyes of Mark Garvin, henchman to Holt, the book's villain. These varying points of view give ''Ghost Chamber'' an appeal to both young and old and girl and boy.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{infobox
+{{infobox1
 |title=Ghost Chamber
 |author=Celia Rees
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 |date=January 2007
 |isbn=978-0340932025
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340932023</amazonuk>
+|cover=0340932023
-|amazonus=<amazonus>0340686510</amazonus>
+|aznuk=0340932023
 }}
 When the Goodman children are packed off by their mother to stay with their archaeologist father while she goes on holiday with her new boyfriend, they have mixed feelings. They don't want their mother to go away because they definitely don't like Roger. However, they do look forward to spending time with their father, Philip, a man more wedded to his work and his latest book than he ever was to his wife and family. Philip has bought a crumbling old pub in the middle of the English countryside and is in the middle of investigating its history. Like many villages in England with Temple in the name, Temple Marton has an ancient connection with the mysterious order of Templar Knights, disbanded over five hundred years ago. The pub that Philip has bought is thought not only to be haunted, but also to have some connection with this Templar history. This connection isn't just the stuff of gossiping legend, as the Goodman children are about to find out...

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 |buy=Yes
 |borrow=Yes
 |pages=240
 |publisher=Hodder Children's Books
@@ Line 31: / Line 30: @@
 {{amazontext|amazon=0340932023}}
 {{commenthead}}

← Older revision	Revision as of 17:25, 24 October 2009
(No difference)