Ribblestrop


ribblestrop
Today I read another book set partly underground, the rather odd Ribblestrop. Rather than being full ofexcrement-encrusted soldiers, it’s populated with some fairly likeable children (one with an indestructible head, another missing a toe but with a mysterious fortune, a feisty heroine, a gang of eccentric Himalayans), some unlikeable or ineffective adults, an underground labyrinth and a series of twists that are sometimes obvious (the money that rescues the school part way through) and others not (such as how the backstory relates to the present day inhabitants of the school’s grounds).

There is also quite a lot of mention of the railways and motorways of England, which I assume makes it incomprehensible to those readers not brought up in Britain. While I enjoy recognising Intercity 125s in print, I’m not sure others have this trainspotterish joy. I am tempted to use my wife as a test subject, but I understand there may be ethical problems with tying a pregnant woman to a chair and shouting passages from a novel at her.

I wasn’t quite sure of the intended tone of the book. The frightening parts carry convincing menace, but the funny parts didn’t make me raise an eyebrow with mirth. Certainly the school is quite absurd, although not quite up there with Hogwarts, and there are various curious personalities (the police inspector, the headmaster, … well, all of the adults) but the mood wobbles around. I don’t believe small children should read about people getting serious burns, but I’m not sure an older reader would be interested in a spooky story about a hidden maze in the grounds of a private school.

Then again, I’m not a child.

Pacingwise, lots happens in the last quarter; I felt it took a little while to get up to speed, and as addressed above, the intended tone and readership do seem to be all over the place, but it was exciting enough for me to read it in less than 24 hours. There’s no huge subtext, and there are some dangling plot threads (What are the monks up to? What’s with Tomaz?) that suggest a sequel is in the offing, but it does stand together in and of itself too.


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