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A review by thebrownbookloft
Book of the Dead by Michael Northrop
4.0
Comments: I don’t usually mention children’s books on my site, but when my nine-year-old grandson, Orion, told me it was his “favorite book ever” and was very exited about doing a book report on it, I just had to read it. (Book reports apparently aren’t just writing stilted paragraphs anymore. This one included designing and making a t-shirt with the book title and his name in hieroglyphics.)
Tombquest: Book of the Dead is the first in a five book series. Orion discovered book 5 at his karate camp after school program, devoured it, then asked for the rest of them. Considering that he’d rather be computer gaming than reading, I decided to find out what piqued his interest. The book mostly takes place in the Egyptology section of a museum. Orion said he loved the setting and the facts about mummies. (My father, his great grandfather, used to hang out for hours in the Egyptology section of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. as a kid. Gotta love genetics.)
The setting is real but the book is definitely in the fantasy genre. The book is about a boy whose mother works in the museum. The boy has a mysterious fatal illness. After he dies his mother brings him back to life using spells from The Lost Spells of the Book of the Dead. There are serious consequences and evil must be conquered sometime in the next four books.
I admit that despite my rather cliche plot summary, the book had me hooked. Aimed at 10-12 year olds, this book is designed to capture the imagination. Kids don’t get caught up in details the way adults do and forgive plot flaws to just enjoy the ride. I’m glad I’m still enough of a kid to have had fun reading this one.
Tombquest: Book of the Dead is the first in a five book series. Orion discovered book 5 at his karate camp after school program, devoured it, then asked for the rest of them. Considering that he’d rather be computer gaming than reading, I decided to find out what piqued his interest. The book mostly takes place in the Egyptology section of a museum. Orion said he loved the setting and the facts about mummies. (My father, his great grandfather, used to hang out for hours in the Egyptology section of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. as a kid. Gotta love genetics.)
The setting is real but the book is definitely in the fantasy genre. The book is about a boy whose mother works in the museum. The boy has a mysterious fatal illness. After he dies his mother brings him back to life using spells from The Lost Spells of the Book of the Dead. There are serious consequences and evil must be conquered sometime in the next four books.
I admit that despite my rather cliche plot summary, the book had me hooked. Aimed at 10-12 year olds, this book is designed to capture the imagination. Kids don’t get caught up in details the way adults do and forgive plot flaws to just enjoy the ride. I’m glad I’m still enough of a kid to have had fun reading this one.