Once you get into the story, there's no way out.
Everyone's heard the rumors. If you gather the right things and say the right words, yo...
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reviews
May 29, 2011
Mitchel
rated it: 
I never thought a book aimed at such a young audience could be as dark, smart and exciting as Malice. Combining elements of both the comic and novel mediums, Malice thrusts us into the sinister world of the evil comic; a place where nothing is as it seems.
The book opens with a very Jumanji-like scene where a guy tries to impress a girl he has a crush on with a neat, but somehow creepy object he's found. Here it's Malice, a creepy comic that details the trials of children being chased, More...
The book opens with a very Jumanji-like scene where a guy tries to impress a girl he has a crush on with a neat, but somehow creepy object he's found. Here it's Malice, a creepy comic that details the trials of children being chased, More...
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Mar 23, 2010
Grace
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Oct 25, 2011
"Es curioso ver como coinciden en un corto espacio de tiempo dos obras con una temática similar. Hace algunos números hablamos de Poliedrum, cuya historia tenía como punto de partida la desaparición de un misterioso y reputado dibujante de cómics. Tres jóvenes fans suyos iniciaban su búsqueda. Aquí, en cambio, los que desaparecen son los jóvenes que se topan con un misterioso cómic (llamado Malice, título original de esta novela) difícil de obtener. En realidad, no es que al leerlo atravies
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Aug 30, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
Imagine Coraline meets The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Malice is that and more. Our protagonists are lured into a dark and dangerous mostly mechanical other-world from which return is rare and comes at a deep cost. The villains who create, run, invent, and illustrate (through the comic book Malice) this alternate reality live in both worlds. There is non-stop action, tension, and terror as the protagonists work in both worlds to understand what is going on, track down and stop the villains, an
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Apr 16, 2011
William
rated it:
For a book that tries to incorporate a comic into its plot, you think they would have found a better illustrator. Chris Wooding actually does a nice job as a writer, the story is plotted well and fairly gripping, but the illustrations just fall so flat I wish they weren't integral to the plot.
The plot, in summary, is that a kids have begun disappearing without a trace across Britain. There are rumors of a secret dark comic book called 'Malice' that features the missing kids, and a my More...
The plot, in summary, is that a kids have begun disappearing without a trace across Britain. There are rumors of a secret dark comic book called 'Malice' that features the missing kids, and a my More...
Apr 07, 2011
Simon
rated it:
This book is about a creepy comic book called Malice that traps a lot of children in the real world, if they read it and do the ritual. The comic book is called Malice and it is a secret comic that is about a strange world full of traps and tricks. The ruler of Malice is named Tall Jack and if you do the rituals that is said in the comic, then Tall Jack will take you to the strange world, Malice. Also, to escape and go back to the real world once again, kids have to get a ticket, but when they g
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Dec 30, 2010
Karissa
rated it:
When I saw that Wooding had released a book that was part graphic novel and part book I was very excited. Not to mention the cool premise of the book. So when I was offered this book through the Amazon Vine program I was ecstatic. It ended up being a great book; I didn't realize that it is the first book in a duology. The second book "Havoc" is supposed to be released some time in 2010. Overall it is an interesting read and a pretty cool idea, it has some issues but for the most part t
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Sep 27, 2010
Tina
rated it: 
There is a persistent rumor about a comic book called Malice. If you make the right offerings and say the right words during the correct ritual then the ruler of Malice, a man only known as Tall Jake will come and take you there. It is only a rumor, though. Right?
Luke and Heather, two London kids decide to try the ritual and promptly disappear. Seth is a friend of Luke's and the only clue he has about Luke's disappearance is that he mentioned Malice once. He and Kady, another frie More...
Luke and Heather, two London kids decide to try the ritual and promptly disappear. Seth is a friend of Luke's and the only clue he has about Luke's disappearance is that he mentioned Malice once. He and Kady, another frie More...
Sep 15, 2010
Chris
rated it:
Three-and-a-half stars. So here's my debate in trying to tip the scales to either three or four:
Con: The start didn't hook me. The premise is unoriginal and felt formulaic at first. Not as appealingly dark and atmospheric as Wooding's other books I've liked so well. Struck me as younger and tamer.
Pro: The writing is still excellent in places with passages I really loved. While I didn't get chills from the atmospheric darkness, it was still there. The bad guys are re More...
Con: The start didn't hook me. The premise is unoriginal and felt formulaic at first. Not as appealingly dark and atmospheric as Wooding's other books I've liked so well. Struck me as younger and tamer.
Pro: The writing is still excellent in places with passages I really loved. While I didn't get chills from the atmospheric darkness, it was still there. The bad guys are re More...
Mar 07, 2010
Cathe
rated it:
It took me almost a week to finish this book--but that's only because my 5th grade daughter kept sneaking it away from me and when we took a car trip with friends, the 5th grade son of my friend kept sneaking it away from her. Of course the flashy 3-D cover caught their eyes right away but it was the inside that hooked them. This book starts right out so creepy and mysterious that it pulls you right in. The mystery of the comic book featuring kids from missing children flyers and the chant to ha
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Feb 20, 2010
Mel
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Jan 29, 2010
Lj
rated it:
Chris Wooding and Dan Chernett's Malice is one of those genre blending novels that is part graphic novel and part prose. It blends these two fairly well, as the story line is also intrinsically involved in these two formats. The story starts out with two kids, Luke and Heather, playing a daring game involving ritual and chant, the goal of which is to enter the grotesque comic book world of "Malice." We don't know much about their motivation, but that doesn't matter. Chalk it up to mor
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Jan 19, 2010
Julia
rated it:
Malice is a semi-secret comic book set in a strange universe where kids & teens face terrifying situations and few survive. Rumors about it run around, and the most persistant and creepy is that if you say certain words and burn a few of the right things, Tall Jake (master of the world of Malice) will take you away into the comic book. Most people don't believe these rumors, but a few still try the spell - just to see what happens.
This is the story of a pair of friends who lose ano More...
This is the story of a pair of friends who lose ano More...
Dec 31, 2009
Alison
rated it:
So scary and so much fun!
Remember when we would dare each other at sleep-overs to look into a mirror in the dark and say "Bloody Mary" three times? Well, such is the urban legend of Tall Jake in Malice.
Imaginative, suspenseful, original, exciting, and, yes, a wee bit scary!
I really enjoyed Chris Wooding's Malice, a story about an underground comic book named Malice and an urban legend called Tall Jake. All the kids have heard about Malice and Tall Ja More...
Remember when we would dare each other at sleep-overs to look into a mirror in the dark and say "Bloody Mary" three times? Well, such is the urban legend of Tall Jake in Malice.
Imaginative, suspenseful, original, exciting, and, yes, a wee bit scary!
I really enjoyed Chris Wooding's Malice, a story about an underground comic book named Malice and an urban legend called Tall Jake. All the kids have heard about Malice and Tall Ja More...
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Dec 05, 2009
Ariel
rated it:
Anyone who knows me well knows that while I might like action movies and adventure stories, I don't like creepy and scary stories. After the opening chapter I was worried that Malice would be too much for me, but I thought Wooding walked the line between too scary and delightfully scary perfectly. The main characters are quirky and sweet, and they are caught up in a really page turning adventure- in those two ways it reminded me of Harry Potter. It also seems a bit like a more boy-focused, fa
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Oct 29, 2009
Myckyee
rated it:
First of all I have to say that the cover of this book is startlingly creepy. It’s bold red with the title and an antagonist in eye-catching relief. I love it! I’ve traced the lines of that character (Tall Jake) a hundred times while reading it!
The description on the back cover pretty well sums up the plot of this YA horror novel. It says: “Once you get into the story, there’s no way out.” Well, the truth couldn’t be any plainer. Malice is the name of a comic book but it’s also the n More...
The description on the back cover pretty well sums up the plot of this YA horror novel. It says: “Once you get into the story, there’s no way out.” Well, the truth couldn’t be any plainer. Malice is the name of a comic book but it’s also the n More...
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Oct 18, 2011
Patrick
rated it:
First impression: I think the writing and set-up of this one are done perfectly creepily. You know what is going to happen in the first chapter from the summary on the back of the book, but the execution is intense and suspenseful. I think I am always much more creeped out by fantasy-horror that purports to take place in "normal" settings. These kids disappearing is much more creepy than a magic school or world.
I think the "hook" for young readers is both coo More...
I think the "hook" for young readers is both coo More...
Sep 26, 2010
Erika
rated it: 
I think this book got too hyped up for me and so it was a bit of a disappointment. I really liked the concept and the sort of post-modern feel of the characters in "Malice" (the comic book) being aware of other people reading about their existence in Tall Jake's nightmare world. However, I had a real problem with the pacing of the book. There was always something exciting happening, so that wasn't the problem; it was more that Chris Wooding didn't reveal the complexity of the world of
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Jan 15, 2011
Krystl
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 21, 2010
Tina DC
rated it:
"Malice" by Chris Wooding is just the ticket for middle grade readers. This YA novel is part comic, and the plot and action will keep readers riveted to the pages. The characters are likable, daring, and believable, including their less than perfect parents.
I struggled when deciding how to rate this on the scale. It was written for younger teens and pre-teens, and it hits the mark perfectly, so that's a plus. This is the type of adventure I would have loved at that age, an More...
I struggled when deciding how to rate this on the scale. It was written for younger teens and pre-teens, and it hits the mark perfectly, so that's a plus. This is the type of adventure I would have loved at that age, an More...
Jan 24, 2010
Noor
rated it:
Malice is a fresh take on the crossover fantasy, but done really well. It starts with a scene that is worthy of a slasher movie, leaving you creeped out and wanting to read more. The idea of Malice is similar to the 80s movie, The Labyrinth (starring David Bowie), except its not full of goblins that are at best annoying, rather its more like a Hellraiser version. Malice is the name of the world as well as the comic book, which forms a number of sections in the book (v cool).
Malice al More...
Malice al More...
Nov 02, 2009
Ms.
rated it:
I picked up this book to read because of the really cool cover. It has a 3-D look with the character actually coming out of the cover. The story too is a pretty neat concept of combining a novel with a comic book.
Malice tells the story of three kids that find themselves trapped in a comic called Malice. The kids hear rumors about this story and the urban legends surrounding the summoning of "Tall Jake" to take them away. The kids discover that the urban legend is real More...
Malice tells the story of three kids that find themselves trapped in a comic called Malice. The kids hear rumors about this story and the urban legends surrounding the summoning of "Tall Jake" to take them away. The kids discover that the urban legend is real More...
Feb 15, 2010
melydia
rated it:
I received this book for Christmas and was surprised to find that the embossing on the cover protruded a half a centimeter, which is way too thick to fit very well on a bookshelf. But that’s neither here nor there in the long run. The story itself has a pretty standard set-up: Luke gets his hands on a supposedly dangerous comic-book that turns out to actually be dangerous. He gets sucked into its horrific world and his friends go in after him. Luckily, there are plenty of twists to keep things i
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Jan 11, 2011
Tony
rated it:
As young adult books go, Malice's plot line is fantastic. Mixing the urban legends we all grew up with (ours was Bloody Mary in the bathroom mirror) and the fantasy world of a comic book. Wooding does a good job of fleshing out the alternate reality, making it feel real and threatening. And integrating the graphical novel with the written is a superb change of pace, although I wanted more quality from the comic panels that felt rushed and, sometimes, difficult to discern. I'm guessing the qualit
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Dec 07, 2011
Doyle
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 17, 2012
Alison
rated it:
Malice by Chris Wooding tells the story of a rumoured but hardly ever seen comic book called – you’ve guessed it – Malice.
A comic book that’s near on impossible to get hold of – what teenager could resist? Not only that but the rumour is that if perform a simple ceremony and say a little chant (not unlike “Bloody Mary”) Tall Jake will come and take you away, into the world of Malice – into the comic book itself.
But that’s all just rumours – isn’t it? Where are all those children that More...
A comic book that’s near on impossible to get hold of – what teenager could resist? Not only that but the rumour is that if perform a simple ceremony and say a little chant (not unlike “Bloody Mary”) Tall Jake will come and take you away, into the world of Malice – into the comic book itself.
But that’s all just rumours – isn’t it? Where are all those children that More...
Oct 12, 2010
Dan
rated it:
Tall Jake take me away, Tall Jake Take me away, Tall Ja..(cough, cough). The smoke gets me every time. I’m really not scared about ending up in Malice, it just that this whole burning things insid,e makes me choke every time and can never finish. Fortunately for Tall Jake, many kids don’t have that problem, Malice is one of those places where you get there by doing a little ritual and saying “Tall Jake take me away” six times (then wait around for creepy Tall Jake to whisk you away to the fun li
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Sep 04, 2010
Micah
rated it:
THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER. malice is about a legendary comic that says if you burn cat hair your hair a tear drop a black feather and a twig and chant TALL JAKE COME AND GET ME 6 times Tall Jake the guy on the cover he will take you to malice but only when your alone. this book gave me a nightmare that i was in malice and fell in to one of tall Jakes traps.I would recommend this book to anyone that likes horror.this book has a equal called havoc i look forward to reading this book. this book is
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Jan 10, 2010
Becky
rated it:
The cover grabs your attention. It's blood-red, with the title and drawing of a sinister-looking man(?) done in extreme relief. The premise is intriguing--kids are disappearing and ending up as characters inside a terrifying comic book set in a horrible place called Malice. There are a several graphic sections in the novel that depict the comic book action, but most of the book is traditional text.
There are problems with the book, however. The characters are not well drawn. The story More...
There are problems with the book, however. The characters are not well drawn. The story More...
Nov 27, 2011
Belann
rated it:
Malice was recommended to me in a workshop for creating middle school readers by Chris Hales. He said he recommends Malice to his middle school boys, and has found it never disappoints. Based on my first young reader at Union, I think he may be right. The reader absolutely loved the book and insists we get the sequel Havoc right away. Malice is an engaging story about teens who find this underground comic and end up in the middle of the evil world it portrays. Luke is the first to disappear
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