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schwimfan's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
calistareads's review
4.0
I hate zombies and this book has zombies. I thought it was a scary book for the age group it was in. John Bellairs started this book and did not finish it before his death. Brad Strickland finished it and I wonder how much of the dialog was finished. At the beginning, Prof. Childermass seems off a bit. He is meaner than normal. I think it still turned out pretty well.
Voodoo was the big bad in this one. I have meet some Voodoo priestesses here and there and it is not all evil as media always uses it for black magic. There is good and white Voodoo and you never hear about that. Still, the evil stuff does exist and it is used here. They link it to a different type of evil Voodoo that an evil dictator of St. Ives is using.
I do wish there were a few new characters introduced here, but John keeps it simple. Johnny is still a bit scared but he always comes through when it is most important. There are Voodoo dolls and Zombies and people possessed and an evil Voodoo priestess. At the center of it all is a drum to call up the devil himself.
A great story for young readers who are into soft horror. You know it's still safe, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat. I have yet to decide if I will finish the series that Brad wrote or move on to other series of John's. Maybe someday.
As Toscanini said of the Mozart requiem when he stopped in the middle of the piece "The master laid down his pen".
I have loved reading these novels finally. I am a month behind and maybe I can catch back up and get another John Bellairs in for the month of August. I have done pretty well this year.
Voodoo was the big bad in this one. I have meet some Voodoo priestesses here and there and it is not all evil as media always uses it for black magic. There is good and white Voodoo and you never hear about that. Still, the evil stuff does exist and it is used here. They link it to a different type of evil Voodoo that an evil dictator of St. Ives is using.
I do wish there were a few new characters introduced here, but John keeps it simple. Johnny is still a bit scared but he always comes through when it is most important. There are Voodoo dolls and Zombies and people possessed and an evil Voodoo priestess. At the center of it all is a drum to call up the devil himself.
A great story for young readers who are into soft horror. You know it's still safe, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat. I have yet to decide if I will finish the series that Brad wrote or move on to other series of John's. Maybe someday.
As Toscanini said of the Mozart requiem when he stopped in the middle of the piece "The master laid down his pen".
I have loved reading these novels finally. I am a month behind and maybe I can catch back up and get another John Bellairs in for the month of August. I have done pretty well this year.
vilandra's review
4.0
I actually don’t really like voo doo stories, but this really did continue the nostalgic, relaxing feel of this series. This was was finished by a different author after Bellairs’ death, but I don’t think it feels written by someone else.
calistareads's review against another edition
4.0
I hate zombies and this book has zombies. I thought it was a scary book for the age group it was in. John Bellairs started this book and did not finish it before his death. Brad Strickland finished it and I wonder how much of the dialog was finished. At the beginning, Prof. Childermass seems off a bit. He is meaner than normal. I think it still turned out pretty well.
Voodoo was the big bad in this one. I have meet some Voodoo priestesses here and there and it is not all evil as media always uses it for black magic. There is good and white Voodoo and you never hear about that. Still, the evil stuff does exist and it is used here. They link it to a different type of evil Voodoo that an evil dictator of St. Ives is using.
I do wish there were a few new characters introduced here, but John keeps it simple. Johnny is still a bit scared but he always comes through when it is most important. There are Voodoo dolls and Zombies and people possessed and an evil Voodoo priestess. At the center of it all is a drum to call up the devil himself.
A great story for young readers who are into soft horror. You know it's still safe, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat. I have yet to decide if I will finish the series that Brad wrote or move on to other series of John's. Maybe someday.
As Toscanini said of the Mozart requiem when he stopped in the middle of the piece "The master laid down his pen".
I have loved reading these novels finally. I am a month behind and maybe I can catch back up and get another John Bellairs in for the month of August. I have done pretty well this year.
Voodoo was the big bad in this one. I have meet some Voodoo priestesses here and there and it is not all evil as media always uses it for black magic. There is good and white Voodoo and you never hear about that. Still, the evil stuff does exist and it is used here. They link it to a different type of evil Voodoo that an evil dictator of St. Ives is using.
I do wish there were a few new characters introduced here, but John keeps it simple. Johnny is still a bit scared but he always comes through when it is most important. There are Voodoo dolls and Zombies and people possessed and an evil Voodoo priestess. At the center of it all is a drum to call up the devil himself.
A great story for young readers who are into soft horror. You know it's still safe, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat. I have yet to decide if I will finish the series that Brad wrote or move on to other series of John's. Maybe someday.
As Toscanini said of the Mozart requiem when he stopped in the middle of the piece "The master laid down his pen".
I have loved reading these novels finally. I am a month behind and maybe I can catch back up and get another John Bellairs in for the month of August. I have done pretty well this year.
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is the last Johnny Dixon book in which John Bellairs himself had a hand. Brad Strickland completed 'The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie' from an outline after Bellairs' death in 1991.
The Professor's old friend Dr. Coote comes to visit Duston Heights, bringing with him a curious antique drum given to him after an academic conference. It concerns 'voudou' as practiced by a sinister family on the small Caribbean island of St. Ives settled by white planter families fleeing from revolutions in the last century. That's an interesting touch that neatly sidesteps any objections that horror stories featuring any form of voodoo inevitably have. The professor or Dr. Coote mention, too, that the religion is thoroughly corrupted from the real deal and twisted by these descendants of slave-owners.
Dr. Coote's apprehension about the drum is being discussed when the ever-tactful Fergie takes up the drum and starts rapping on it and singing Desi Arnaz' 'Babulu'.
Things start happening.
Dr. Coote takes ill and Johnny and Fergie have run-ins with a sinister, shapeless old woman who is at least once mistaken for a bear. Dark powers want the drum and will do anything to get their hands on it!
Strickland does a wonderful job here, as I reflect on this reading, the only issues I have with the book are issues that are endemic to the series. Strickland's plot here is rock-solid, there are clues that can conceivably be followed by a young reader, conversations and lore end up being relevant later on, and Edward Gorey's cover art featuring a zombie carrying off Johnny on the front and a witch menacing a blank-faced Johnny and Fergie with a voodou doll of Gramma Dixon is superb.
I'm going to go ahead an up my rating of the book, because it's not Strickland's fault that Fergie is an ass and just about everyone in the series is unwilling to believe in the supernatural despite this being the NINTH TIME this has happened. Strickland even has the characters make a few sly comments about this at the end of the adventure. I was a little skeptical of reading beyond Bellairs' own books, but I think I'll give Strickland's solo books a try.
Johnny Dixon
Next: 'The Hand of the Necromancer'
Previous: 'The Secret of the Underground Room'
The Professor's old friend Dr. Coote comes to visit Duston Heights, bringing with him a curious antique drum given to him after an academic conference. It concerns 'voudou' as practiced by a sinister family on the small Caribbean island of St. Ives settled by white planter families fleeing from revolutions in the last century. That's an interesting touch that neatly sidesteps any objections that horror stories featuring any form of voodoo inevitably have. The professor or Dr. Coote mention, too, that the religion is thoroughly corrupted from the real deal and twisted by these descendants of slave-owners.
Dr. Coote's apprehension about the drum is being discussed when the ever-tactful Fergie takes up the drum and starts rapping on it and singing Desi Arnaz' 'Babulu'.
Things start happening.
Dr. Coote takes ill and Johnny and Fergie have run-ins with a sinister, shapeless old woman who is at least once mistaken for a bear. Dark powers want the drum and will do anything to get their hands on it!
Strickland does a wonderful job here, as I reflect on this reading, the only issues I have with the book are issues that are endemic to the series. Strickland's plot here is rock-solid, there are clues that can conceivably be followed by a young reader, conversations and lore end up being relevant later on, and Edward Gorey's cover art featuring a zombie carrying off Johnny on the front and a witch menacing a blank-faced Johnny and Fergie with a voodou doll of Gramma Dixon is superb.
I'm going to go ahead an up my rating of the book, because it's not Strickland's fault that Fergie is an ass and just about everyone in the series is unwilling to believe in the supernatural despite this being the NINTH TIME this has happened. Strickland even has the characters make a few sly comments about this at the end of the adventure. I was a little skeptical of reading beyond Bellairs' own books, but I think I'll give Strickland's solo books a try.
Johnny Dixon
Next: 'The Hand of the Necromancer'
Previous: 'The Secret of the Underground Room'
booksandbosox's review
4.0
Short but sweet. I really enjoyed this and it just flew by. I liked all the characterizations and the plot was really cool. I'm intrigued that this was an unfinished Bellairs - it's the first time I've read him but I definitely want to read more. I'll be curious to see if I notice a difference. Very glad I picked this one up.
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