John Bellairs's Johnny Dixon in the Hand of the Necromancer

Rating:
Summary: Strickland is still getting there
Review: Brad Strickland has always shown a surprising ability to mimic the writing style of the late John Bellairs, but hasn't yet gotten Bellairs' feel for plotting or character development. This book should still be an acceptable read for Bellairs fans, though.

Irascible Professor Childermass wants to help lonely Johnny Dixon get a summer job, and donates a collection of occult antiques to a local museum to achieve it. Little does he suspect (despite quite a lot of experience!) that these items are the tools a power-mad wizard can use to conquer the world. Johnny is helped by his new friend Sarah as he once again conquers his timidities in order to save the world.

As usual Strickland has settled on a pastiche of previous Bellairs books, largely drawing on "The Dark Secret of Weatherend" and "The Secret of the Underground Room". He also introduces a rather colourless new character, an ersatz Rose Rita Porringer named Sarah Channing. What's still lacking is Bellairs feel for pacing and imagination in combining occult horror with the more mundane fears and dramas of childhood.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful transition from Bellairs to Strickland
Review: First off, Strickland had transferred the Bellairs characters with no trouble at all. The transition was so smooth I was wondering whether or not the first half of the book had been written by John Bellairs himself. Readers won't be disappointed.

The introduction of Sarah, who could be the future love interest of Johnny Dixon, also went well, although one wishes that she were more feminine and less boyish-John's books had the distinction of having very little contacts with girls and more with the rough and tumble boys. Sarah's personality and disposition are definitely of the latter, so I do wish she could be more unique than that. Even so, she is an interesting character to watch for.

Now, the plot of the story was a little less exciting than I would hope. It was a little too simple, too concise, too mundane. Something creepier, something darker, something lurking in the shadows would have made it "all better".

And the climax of the book left something to be desired. The Doom of the Haunted Opera had this same problem. A little more spice, a little more excitement, a little more tension like someone plucking the strings of a tightly winded violin would have helped greatly.

In conclusion, this book is lacking in some ways but comes up well in others. Every now and then, certain aspects of the book just seem to almost reach that line that marks where Bellairs crossed, and then stop. But still, this book warrants reading and Brad Strickland was probably the best choice to follow-up to John Bellairs.

Rating:
Summary: The first Johnny Dixon by Brad Strickland.
Review: Hi! Brad Strickland here. This is the first Johnny Dixon not based on a plot outline by John Bellairs--it uses John's characters and settings, but the plot is mine this time. Johnny has a new friend in it, Sarah Channing; before his untimely death, John Bellairs had discussed adding a girl to the series, and here she is. Otherwise, I've tried very hard to be true to John's vision of his characters and to maintain his special blend of the spooky and the humorous. I hope you enjoy it!

Rating:
Summary: John Bellairs' Johnny Dixon?
Review: I've always loved John Bellairs' books and I'm glad someone else is continuing to write about Johnny Dixon, Lewis Barnevelt (sp?), et al.. But, I also enjoyed John Bellairs' writing style and miss it in this book.

The plot is great as usual. I love these occult mysteries. Poor Johnny. He's seems to get caught up in the most bizarre and scary situations. And, he has a new friend to help him.

But, Johnny doesn't usually talk so slangly to the Professor as is portrayed in this story. And, the characters in the previous books were more formal and polite to each other (except, of course, the Professor, Mr. Ells, and Eddie).

Why are we suddenly involving Eddie so much in the story? We don't need any more character development about him. We already know that his family is involved with the Klan (see Blue Figurine for exact citation), and that he, himself, is a first class creep.

And, wouldn't Father Higgins have more time to talk to Johnny about his concerns regarding the sudden disappearance of the Professor? Father Higgins has been through a lot with Johnny and knows Johnny wouldn't be so upset unless something was really wrong. All of a sudden, Father Higgins is an adult who doesn't have time for Johnny and his crises. When did this happen? He helped Johnny find the Professor before; why not this time?

If the authors who are continuing the Bellairs tradition are having difficulty retaining John Bellairs' writing style, may I suggest that they talk to the Miss Seeton authors who don't seem to have the same problem.

Rating:
Summary: Brad Strickland's First and Best.
Review: Out of all of the six Bellairs/Strickland books published thus far, "The Hand of the Necromancer" still remains the best. Even though Brad Strickland was bold to say the least with this one, he managed to pull off an excellent story line and introduce a new character to boot while still including all of the original Bellairs magic and charm.

The dust jacket design by Edward Gorey is one of the best - the hand and globe on the front immediately tell an important part of the story without even having to open the book, and the illustration on the back of Johnny, the Professor and Sarah at the park with Mattheus Mergal in the background brandishing his staff is marvelously done. We will sourly miss you, Mr. Gorey!

If you decide to read any of the Bellairs/Strickland books, make this one the first title you pick up. It'll set a good mood for the next five. Also check out the other four titles written by John Bellairs and completed by Strickland...

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as good as Bellairs...
Review: Strickland does have a good sense of Bellairs' style, and yet he doesn't. He has a need to make Johnny's life happier in each book, which really does nothing for the stories. Also, the villians and plots get a little hokier each time. Bellairs' stories were all DARK. He had no need to make it seem less believable or gorey just to make the reader sleep better at night. The story was good, though. The whole idea of cursed artifacts and an evil man on the hunt for them was cool, although I prefer Fergie to Sarah anyday. Also, the characters seem to be changing...Higgie is not as dark, the Prof is trying to quit smoking and Johnny...well, no one can totally become Bellairs and Strickland does do a pretty good job of emulating his style. It's worth a read and if you love the characters, and you'll be happy to see them out adventuring again. Oh yeah, bring back Gorey's cover art!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as good as Bellairs...
Review: Strickland does have a good sense of Bellairs' style, and yet he doesn't. He has a need to make Johnny's life happier in each book, which really does nothing for the stories. Also, the villians and plots get a little hokier each time. Bellairs' stories were all DARK. He had no need to make it seem less believable or gorey just to make the reader sleep better at night. The story was good, though. The whole idea of cursed artifacts and an evil man on the hunt for them was cool, although I prefer Fergie to Sarah anyday. Also, the characters seem to be changing...Higgie is not as dark, the Prof is trying to quit smoking and Johnny...well, no one can totally become Bellairs and Strickland does do a pretty good job of emulating his style. It's worth a read and if you love the characters, and you'll be happy to see them out adventuring again. Oh yeah, bring back Gorey's cover art!

Rating:
Summary: Fairly good spooky thriller
Review: There may have been only one John Bellairs, but Brad Strickland hits pretty close to the mark. Although it lacks in some areas, it overall gets the feeling of a Bellairs kids' thriller, full of the various ghoulish visions and villains and offbeat humor.

Johnny Dixon is quite depressed when his best friend Fergie leaves for a while. In an effort to cheer his friend up, Professor Childermass gets a job for Johnny at the Gudge Museum, where he has just donated several artifacts from the malignant wizard Esdrias Leach. Among them is a lightweight wooden hand -- which grips Johnny's fingers when he touches it. He's frightened, but it seems harmless otherwise -- and the professor begins to have nightmares about it.

After Johnny takes the job, things begin to go wrong. A strange man comes to the museum to see the artifacts, and seems to know a great deal about Esdrias Leach and his sorcerous ways. Matthias Mergal continues pursuing the artifacts, until the museum is robbed. Now the only people who can hope to stop Mergal are Johnny, the professor, and his new friend Sarah.

In many ways, this fits easily into the Bellairs mold. There is a sinister, talkative villain who lurks around the edges until the climax, weird dreams and visions, hideous magic and weird artifacts that are linked to the main plot. Strickland seems to have a good grasp on the correct pacing, descriptions, and dialogue without ever becoming cheesy or cliched. Sometimes his references to things in the 1950s (such as the "Howdy Doody" show) are a little too forced, as if he's trying very hard to place it in the correct time frame.

Johnny is a little more highly-strung than one would expect, but otherwise is well-characterized. The Professor is delightfully crabby and knowledgeable, as always. The main stumbling block is Sarah, but seems like a pale copy of the rough-edged, athletic Rose Rita. I think Fergie would have suited the plot far better. Mergal is a classic Bellairs-type villain, with insanely dark intentions and a very spooky manner.

Despite its flaws and the rather anemic Sarah, "Hand of the Necromancer is a good, spooky read by a talented author. Just so long as Sarah isn't brought back, Strickland will do fine.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Bellairs/Strickland
Review: This book is a classic Bellairs/Strickland! Probably one of the best that Strickland's done so far! The story unfolds fast, and the characters develop at the same pace. A new character was introduced in this title, which might have been a little ambitious on the part of Brad Strickland since it was the first true Bellairs book that he wrote. I think that if he had waited a few more years, once people started to get used to the idea of him writing the books, then he could introduce the new character. It's great that Strickland has continued the Bellairs series like this, and I can't wait for the next title in the series!

Rating:
Summary: a good find
Review: this is the kind of book i really engoy because of the good writing style and plot. i enjoyed this book because of the idea of the nacromancer. if you enjoy this type of book i recomend reading "Sabriel" by Garth nix and his other books too.