The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding-The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding, Book 1

This is an interesting story. There are so many good things about it and a few things that may fall on the other side of good. One thing I didn't realize and I should put out there right away, this really isn't a stand alone if you want to get the complete story. Otherwise you are severely left hanging at the end. So, I advise having the second book ready before you start this one if you want to finish the story.Prosper Redding comes from a family of exceptional people. Not just one or two but all of them. All but him that is. That is until the day he and the demon inside him become well acquainted. That is, he discovers he has one. You see, a great great and so on something or another made a deal with a malefactor a long time ago, then he broke said deal. Now the 800 year old Alastor is a little angry and he's back to get what is rightfully his. With a short time to break the curse, Prosper is working with some long lost family members that came to help him out. Together he is hoping they can find a way to rid himself of the demon and stop him from causing harm to those he loves.This story is okay. It's a middle grade and it could be liked by a younger audience but I think that they may still find that it lags a little bit at times. Still, it does have some good times when Al takes Prospers body out for some fun without him knowing about it.I think that the biggest problem about this book is that it really feels like an incomplete book. It's not so much that it ends on a cliffhanger, it seems like it ends so abruptly you just aren't getting a full story and you have to buy the next book. If you want to know what happens you have to have that book. I really didn't realize that so I feel kind of unfulfilled right now. I'm not sure if I'll continue on or not currently. Still, it's a well written book and pretty fun at times.

This was such a fun and mystical read. I do believe this is my favorite book by Alexandra Bracken so far. Although, The Darkest Legacy is right up there. I just found myself having so much fun with this story.The story and plot are not overly complicated. The way the story is told makes it that much more accessible. I never felt like the story was dumping to much one me and when it was, it was just enough. I like the rivalry with the families and I hope we get to explore that more in the next book. I want more of Alastor's backstory and family.Prosper and Alastor really gave this story life. Even though Alastor didn't have a big part, the parts he was in I really enjoyed. Some of his interactions with Prosper had me laughing and just smiling at the pages. I also enjoyed Nell quite a bit and hope she sticks around more.Looking forward to the conclusion!

This book was such a fun adventure! It was actually hard to sit down and write a review on this because I just got lost in the story! The characters were developed just enough for you to care about them and remember them. Every character is important and I found that so refreshing! The descriptions and imagery of the story overall is amazing. This story has some seriously beautiful writing for a middle-grade book. I feel as though that is what helped me to get drawn so deeply into the story.“See how many doors open, Alastor said, when someone with influence and ideas comes along with a key? Fortune can be hoarded, or it can be shared.”The best thing about this story, in my opinion, is that it’s not one of those “I saw that coming from a mile away” stories. There are a few parts that you can guess what will happen but as for everything else, I was fully surprised. Also, the plot was written so well that the ending brings together many different pieces you weren’t expecting and then BAM! it all explodes! Honestly, the only thing I did not like about this book is that I don’t have the next one and I’m hanging off the edge of a huge cliff!“Do you hear the singing bone? Do you hear the singing bone?”Although I really loved this book, a lot, I am surprised that it is so dark. If you have a very smart and understanding child then I feel like this book would be a good read. Also if you are anyone else in the world and love Halloween and the spooky season as much as I do, definitely pick this book up for a little fun!

This review will feature some spoilers from the first few chapters only.This is one of the most entertaining books I've read this year. The first thing that struck me was how similar the premise was to an Anime called Ayashi no Ceres (Ceres: a Celestial Legend), which also features a family curse in the form of a demon who possesses one child every generation. The similarity extends to the protagonist having a twin and undergoing a family ritual to decide which among the twins is the new host for the demon. Everything from the pain that the protagonist feels in the ritual, to his grandmother's attempts to murder him, to him being rescued and told the truth by an estranged relative, are all reminiscent of Ceres. I also recommend this book to fans of Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus. If you loved the "smart-aleck demon ridiculing an amateur kid he's bound to" thing in the Amulet of Samarkand, you'll love this book as it features something similar, except that the demon speaks in a hilarious Shakespearean accent. A very fun read, albeit a bit slow at times. I'm looking forward to book two!

This book is definitely the start of a good middle grade series, and I’m excited to see where the world building and story creation goes after this.Prosper Redding was a loveable character, who I found a lot of similarities with. Everyone in his family seemed to be better at doing everything, and he was kind of shoved to the side as a black sheep. Which, as I mentioned, I identify with because as I watch my siblings go to college to get high paying jobs, and I’m just kinda in the corner of my family tree with a bachelors degree in theatre.I only gave it four stars because I think that there could have been more development, but all in all, I still thought it was a decent book with loveable characters. Not to mention, I’m excited to see where the story goes in the next book.If you are looking for a nice little spooky read, definitely pick up this book. I enjoyed it.

I thoroughly enjoyed curling up with a blanket throughout the October evenings, reading this spooky little gem of a book.Propser Redding is a witty, warm hearted, lovely character who I came to care about very quickly. It’s impossible not to like him. Then there’s Alastor, the spider-eating demon, who I’d love to hate, but can’t! His arrogance is really amusing and I chuckled at all of his hilarious, pompous insults. It’s a really fun series starter set in the perfect creepy location. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

I love this book so much! If you are looking to escape with a great Fall/Halloween read, this is it.

Normalerweise ist Middle Grade eher nicht mehr so meine Altersgruppe, aber das Cover sah einfach so schön spooky aus und ich mag die "The Darkest Minds" Reihe der Autorin sehr gerne, weshalb ich es dennoch für eine gute Idee hielt zu diesem Buch zu greifen - und ich habe mich nicht geirrt!"The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding" ist eines der witzigsten Bücher, das ich seit langem gelesen habe. Normalerweise markiere ich mir in Büchern Zitate, die mir gut gefallen, aber hier habe ich tatsächlich alle lustigen Stellen markiert und das waren einige. Ich habe den Humor in diesem Buch geliebt, wirklich.Was die Handlung angeht merkt man dann allerdings doch, dass das Buch für jüngeres Publikum gedacht ist. Zwar fängt die Geschichte recht spannend an, allerdings verläuft sich die Handlung danach ein wenig im Sand, bevor das Ende sehr kurz mit einem Cliffhanger abgehandelt wird. Der Mittelteil wiederum ist zwar sehr detailreich und nicht uninteressant, aber mir fehlte auch die Spannung, ich wusste nicht so recht, wo die Geschichte teilweise eigentlich hin will. Nach dem Ende bin ich allerdings unfassbar gespannt auf den nächsten Band, der wird gleich vorbestellt und ich warte bis dahin hibbelig darauf erfahren zu können, wie es mit Prosper, Alastor und Co. weitergeht.Fazit?Für den Herbst auf jeden Fall ein tolles Buch mit großartigem Humor und einer schaurigen Stimmung, die allerdings der Altersgruppe angemessen ist.

Really enjoyed reading this one!

A work of horror fiction for younger readers. Ideal age would be twelve and up. There's nothing scary or gory, but there is one mild adult reference and one bit of very very mild language.It is the start of a series, so does end without full resolution. It runs for three hundred and sixty two pages. There's a prologue, then thirty three chapters.Prosper Redding of the title is the main character, and he narrates in the first person. He's a somewhat unremarkable boy. Unlike the rest of his family. But then he finds out their fortunes come from a pact made long ago with a demon. Which was then broken.The consequences of that are about to come home to roost. They will change his life. Give him a surprising companion. And dreadful temptation..This is a decent little read from the off, as Prosper is a likeable narrator. Who does act and perceive things like someone of his age. The setting also comes over well. And although it has a lot of detail to fill in during the first third of the book, it never drags. You're never getting impatient waiting for something major to happen.Prosper has a convincingly done relationship with one other character, and that develops at a nice pace.But then around about page 150, what has been a decent read so far manages to go up a level, and becomes a very good one indeed. Hard to say why it gets that way without too many spoilers, but let's just say it broadens the picture somewhat, lets you see things from another perspective, and slowly fills in a bigger picture. And one character starts to become more three dimensional by the page.It's also one of those books that knows where it's going on all along, and you only realise that late on when plot developments come along thick and fast, leading to one of those endings that makes you desperate to find what will happen next.For that, look for the next book 'The Last Life of Prince Alastor.'I look forward to that. Because this is a very enjoyable read, whether you are twelve or older. So it should be well worth a look.