BARNABY GRIMES IS a tick-tock lad, running errands in his city, day and night, and “highstacking” around the rooftops in search of new ...
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reviews
Jun 12, 2008
Elizabeth
rated it: 
Undoubtedly my favorite Paul Stewart book. He's always kind of disappointed me in the past, y'know? Never really lived up this potential. This book marks a change, delving into a pseudo-Victorian style that's fun, fast-paced, and far better than anything he's done before.
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Apr 25, 2009
Eva
rated it: 
This first installment in the Barnaby Grimes series starts like this:
“Have you ever felt your skin being peeled slowly away from your arms and legs? Your muscles being torn and shredded as every bone in your body fights to burst through your flesh? Have you ever felt every tendon and sinew stretched to breaking point as your skeleton attempts to rip itself apart from the inside?
I have, and I’ll never forget it.”
With that, we are whirled into the action-packe More...
“Have you ever felt your skin being peeled slowly away from your arms and legs? Your muscles being torn and shredded as every bone in your body fights to burst through your flesh? Have you ever felt every tendon and sinew stretched to breaking point as your skeleton attempts to rip itself apart from the inside?
I have, and I’ll never forget it.”
With that, we are whirled into the action-packe More...
Oct 15, 2011
Morgan
rated it:
It's not the destination, but the journey, that counts. I hope folks remember that when they criticize this book for not being suspenseful enough. So you knew where the plot was headed only a chapter into the book? So what? That's not what makes this book totally charming and a worthwhile read.
Barnaby Grimes is a fun, loyal, thoughtful, and wily character. I LOVED the idea of high-stacking and wished I could go with him, adventuring across the rooftops of Victorian era London. (And wh More...
Barnaby Grimes is a fun, loyal, thoughtful, and wily character. I LOVED the idea of high-stacking and wished I could go with him, adventuring across the rooftops of Victorian era London. (And wh More...
Jun 20, 2009
CURSE OF THE NIGHT WOLF is the first in the new BARNABY GRIMES series from the authors of THE EDGE
CHRONICLES. The story combines mystery, history, horror, action-adventure, and the paranormal into a perfectly
scary story for tweens. The black and white drawings add a chilling effect to the story. The characters are brilliantly
drawn and the villain is perfectly evil.
Barnaby’s story will continue in RETURN OF THE EMERALD SKULL, and from the preview in my copy o More...
CHRONICLES. The story combines mystery, history, horror, action-adventure, and the paranormal into a perfectly
scary story for tweens. The black and white drawings add a chilling effect to the story. The characters are brilliantly
drawn and the villain is perfectly evil.
Barnaby’s story will continue in RETURN OF THE EMERALD SKULL, and from the preview in my copy o More...
Jan 11, 2012
Kell
rated it:
If you’re a fan of The Edge Chronicles, you will love this! The wit and flair of this writer and illustrator are perfectly matched, combining an exciting, adventurous story with whimsical and evocative line drawings. Although the city remains unnamed, it’s most certainly based on Victorian London, filled with hansom cabs, messenger boys, ruffians and nobility. The supernatural twist will keep young readers hooked (especially boys – this is perfectly suited to them!), and the antics of Barnaby Gr
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Dec 20, 2011
Sarri
rated it:
Barnaby Grimes on nuori "tick-tock lad", pikalähetti, joka oikaisee kattojen kautta viedäkseen viestit nopeasti vastaanottajille. Mukanaan Barnabyllä on aina kävelykeppi, jonka sisältä paljastuu tarvittaessa miekka. Barnaby on neuvokas ja osaa pitää itsestään huolta. Vaikka kirjassa ei erikseen mainita aikakautta, eletään aikoja, jolloin hevoskuskit odottelivat kyytejään katujen varsilla.
Kirja alkaa hengästyttävällä kuvauksella siitä, kun päähenkilö kokee kivuliaan muodonmuutoksen. Ku More...
Kirja alkaa hengästyttävällä kuvauksella siitä, kun päähenkilö kokee kivuliaan muodonmuutoksen. Ku More...
Jan 24, 2011
★ Jess
rated it: 
I wanted to love this book. I really did.
Unfortunately, i did not.
This looked so promising. Written by a superb author. Brilliant illustrations. Set in a wonderful place. Great sounding plot. So, was it brilliant? No.
Though i enjoyed reading most parts, i was disappointed.
The scenery lightened up this book-along with the concept of TICK TOCK LAD.
The reason i did not like it i am oblivious too. Perhaps it was to simple? I do enjoy short books for a quick read-bu More...
Unfortunately, i did not.
This looked so promising. Written by a superb author. Brilliant illustrations. Set in a wonderful place. Great sounding plot. So, was it brilliant? No.
Though i enjoyed reading most parts, i was disappointed.
The scenery lightened up this book-along with the concept of TICK TOCK LAD.
The reason i did not like it i am oblivious too. Perhaps it was to simple? I do enjoy short books for a quick read-bu More...
Feb 23, 2009
Henry
rated it:
This was a fun, quick Sunday afternoon read. In fact, I could read an adventure of Barnaby Grimes, the tick-tock lad (basically a roof-hopping messenger) in his weird, Victorian London-esque city, every Sunday afternoon. Though a predictable plot, I found the ideas and details clever and still rewarding. It definitely fed my hunger for stories set in quasi-dickensian worlds. It's basically the Artful Dodger doing parkour (wikipedia if you don't know what this is): two of my absolute favorite
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Sep 20, 2008
Jennifer
rated it:
Reviewed by Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen for TeensReadToo.com
Barnaby Grimes is a tock-tock lad. He'll deliver any message for any client, anywhere, anytime. He's the fastest messenger around and he'll even climb on rooftops to deliver his messages on time.
One night, while Barnaby is traveling by rooftop, he is attacked by a huge wolf-like beast. When Barnaby's friend, Old Benjamin, disappears, Barnaby suspects the wolf had something to do with it and sets out to More...
Barnaby Grimes is a tock-tock lad. He'll deliver any message for any client, anywhere, anytime. He's the fastest messenger around and he'll even climb on rooftops to deliver his messages on time.
One night, while Barnaby is traveling by rooftop, he is attacked by a huge wolf-like beast. When Barnaby's friend, Old Benjamin, disappears, Barnaby suspects the wolf had something to do with it and sets out to More...
Dec 29, 2011
Sharyn
rated it:
The first in a steampunkish, Dickensian horror series set in an alternate London (Black Chapel instead of White Chapel and so on). Barnaby Grimes is a likeable character who makes his living as a tick-tock lad and in the course of his work encounters more than his fair share of the dark side of the city.
The writing is crisp and fresh and though the mystery is not too difficult to figure out it's the rollicking adventure that really carries this book. Not for the squeamish.
The writing is crisp and fresh and though the mystery is not too difficult to figure out it's the rollicking adventure that really carries this book. Not for the squeamish.
Sep 08, 2011
Andrew
rated it:
This was a fun read - ok its aimed at +11 so i was in with a chance. the writings big and spaced out and at only just over 200 pages its a fast read. I wont spoil the storyline but if you like victorian London with a twisted view then this is actually a very entertaining read. It does not take a genius to work out the story and in the number of pages thats a good thing rather its one long plunge in to the story rushing you to the conclusion. I really enjoyed it and drove me on to buy the rest in
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Aug 16, 2011
Shayla
rated it:
It was an entertaining book. To be fair, I listened to it on CD while driving home from a trip so I didn't really read it. Also, the disk was scratched so I missed some of the book at the end. Barnaby Grimes is an entertaining character and I liked his narration of the story and getting his percpective. The book wasn't super extraordinary, and I had a hard time getting into it. The mystery was easy to figure out. Super quick and entertaining. Boys will probably like it a lot.
May 13, 2010
Viktoria
rated it: 
the first one in the series. and a very promissing start (to also very good follow ups!).
paul stewart starts with the most thrilling part of the story and on the point when it's getting the most dangerous for barnaby or when the secret is nearly revealed he makes a cut and starts telling the story from the beginning. very easy technique to draw the reader in from the beginning and it works very good! the atmosphere of the book is great: a big not really clean city (it's not clear which on More...
paul stewart starts with the most thrilling part of the story and on the point when it's getting the most dangerous for barnaby or when the secret is nearly revealed he makes a cut and starts telling the story from the beginning. very easy technique to draw the reader in from the beginning and it works very good! the atmosphere of the book is great: a big not really clean city (it's not clear which on More...
Aug 07, 2010
Ash
rated it:
The story is ok-ish for younger readers but I read it within about 2 hours and knew right from the start how it would end. The main reason for the two stars is that the author, IMHO, fails to create a certain atmosphere. He made this nice world but he could have done so much more with it. I felt like there were huge holes but maybe that's because of the simple language and it being aimed at readers 10+.
Nov 06, 2011
Larissa
rated it:
I love love LOVE the Edge Chronicles, although none of my friends have ever heard of or read any of them. I'm working on changing that.
This book was quite different to that, and perhaps I was expecting something similar, so I might need to re-read it later. I did enjoy it, but it seemed to be over almost too quickly. I would and I will read it again, but not too soon.
This book was quite different to that, and perhaps I was expecting something similar, so I might need to re-read it later. I did enjoy it, but it seemed to be over almost too quickly. I would and I will read it again, but not too soon.
Feb 23, 2010
Chris
rated it:
I bought this for my 13 year old son but ended up reading it myself. The writing is tremendous and the tension in the story is palpable. True to the horror genre, bad things happen to good people and no one is safe. Fans of Gothic horror should grab up every book in this series. The bonus comes in the form of the excellent pen and ink illustrations - excellent value!!
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Jul 24, 2011
NumberLord
rated it:
My son checked this out at the library, and after reading it thought I should give it a read. So I did.
It's a decent story set in Victorian London, a little bit of a mystery with werewolves. My son has recently gotten into Sherlock Holmes, and he loved this and has started the second book in the series. Can't say I liked it as much as he, but it was a fun read.
It's a decent story set in Victorian London, a little bit of a mystery with werewolves. My son has recently gotten into Sherlock Holmes, and he loved this and has started the second book in the series. Can't say I liked it as much as he, but it was a fun read.
Jul 23, 2010
± Colleen of the Crawling Chaos ±
rated it:
2.5
Surprisingly gruesome for being a kids book, but not overly gory. I think younger kids would love it, and maybe find it a little frightening - though the easily frightened, in a bad way, and over-protective parents might stear away from it.
I wish I liked it more than I did, though. It's one of those books that, while told in first person, feels distant. I never really clicked with it, and never really felt the terror of the situation. Also, I had the mystery figure More...
Surprisingly gruesome for being a kids book, but not overly gory. I think younger kids would love it, and maybe find it a little frightening - though the easily frightened, in a bad way, and over-protective parents might stear away from it.
I wish I liked it more than I did, though. It's one of those books that, while told in first person, feels distant. I never really clicked with it, and never really felt the terror of the situation. Also, I had the mystery figure More...
Oct 20, 2011
Chelsy
rated it:
So amazing! If there's any book series I keep going back to it's most definitely "Barnaby Grimes!"
This one creeped me out a lot. <spoiler>I mean when he turns into a wolf at the end, and they have this huge wolf on wolf throwdown!</spoiler> Barnaby is the most loveable character in this series, and the most courageous. He is my favourite hero.
This one creeped me out a lot. <spoiler>I mean when he turns into a wolf at the end, and they have this huge wolf on wolf throwdown!</spoiler> Barnaby is the most loveable character in this series, and the most courageous. He is my favourite hero.
Dec 27, 2011
Paty
rated it:
Loved it! From the beginning, it had me hooked. Loved the character of Barnaby Grimes, the setting, plot, and developing mystery. It's a fast paced read with enought clues and action to keep you going. The illustrations are fantastic. Recommended for ages 8 through 11, especially those looking for novels about werewolves.
Jun 26, 2011
Duane
rated it: 
Paul Stewart is one of my all time favorite authors which is why it's painful for me to rate this book so poorly. From the beginning, you can pretty much figure out the premise of the book. Nothing really surprised me as I read this because the storyline is so predictable. I hope others enjoyed this book more than I did.
Oct 23, 2011
AnEyeSpy
rated it:
Paul Stewart narrates scarily in first person and Chris Riddell inks fine-lined fancies. A short shiver perfect for Halloween. A tick-tock boy, courier in Victorian London, is always in a hurry to make deliveries on time. Clues are in our face up front, so we easily guess where the trendy lush fur trims originate, where the impoverished sickly patients with luxurious manes disappear, and why our brave orphan lad suffers for confronting the clever doctor alone. I am a chicken-heart and already ha
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Aug 06, 2011
excellent shortish story, perfectly sets up the charecters and environment for a series. the illustrations are also, as usual, excellent- makes you wish more books were illustrated, especially one not classified as 'teen' reading...
May 17, 2010
Antonia
rated it:
read in one day... didn't even have the time to update the pages. thanks to my dear sister for recommending, it was very good.
easy to read, captivating storyline, short and snappish, likeable main character and a nice story.
will definitely read more.
easy to read, captivating storyline, short and snappish, likeable main character and a nice story.
will definitely read more.
Feb 07, 2009
Langdon
rated it:
Very exciting and a lot of fun, especially for kids who know who Sherlock Holmes was and anything about Victorian London. It starts with a young man turning into a werewolf that is more graphic and frightening than the beginning of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. More murders here, too.
Oct 25, 2009
Helen
rated it:
I listened to this one and enjoyed the action and intrigue but felt the kids would be too weighed down in period language and references since it takes place in 1800s England.
Jul 22, 2011
Hannah
rated it:
Paul Stewart's character Barnaby is brilliantly full of himself. His dialogue is hilarious and the plot will have you bouncing in your seat with excitement!
Jul 28, 2009
Janie
rated it:
I liked this one just as much as the second (yes, I read them out of order.) The mystery was a bi easier to figure out, but it was just as enthralling.
Mar 24, 2011
Ben
rated it:
I guess I am not quite the right demographic for this one, but I found it really quite boring. Fortunately, a quick skim and the book was done.
Jul 26, 2011
Heather
rated it:
I liked how Barnaby went into great detail to explain how it felt when he transformed. This book had me hooked from the very first page.
