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Dancing Jax (Dancing Jax #1)

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 254 ratings · 58 reviews

A brilliant supernatural thriller with a modern twist, and a triumphant return from one of Britain’s best-loved writers.

At the end of a track, on the outskirts of an ordinary coastal town, lies a dilapidated house. Once, a group of amateur ghost hunters spent the night there. Two of them don’t like to speak about the experience. The third can’t speak about it. He went into...more

Hardcover, 535 pages

Published February 3rd 2011 by HarperCollins UK

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May 19, 2013 Sharons Bücherparadies rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dieses Buch ist böse...sehr böse! Wer es liest, verfällt ihm!! Ja, so ging es mir auch.

Angefangen hat alles mit ein paar jungen Menschen, die in ein altes Haus einbrechen und dort eine Kiste mit Büchern finden. Diese Bücher haben den Titel "Dancing Jacks" und sie gehörten einst einem Okkultisten. Natürlich wird die Kiste durch die Menschen geöffnet und jeder bekommt ein Buch. Nach und nach verfallen sie diesem, besonders Jezza, der das Ganze ins Leben ruft, ist besessen von diesem Buch und wird...more

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May 07, 2012 Kate rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Robin Jarvis's books about people

I tried really hard to like this book. Really hard. Like an underperforming child or the cat that pees on the carpet, I made a LOT of excuses for it. Robin Jarvis was one of my all-time favourite authors as a child. I devoured the Deptford Mice and Deptford Histories and felt genuinely bereft when they were finished and there wasn’t more to come. The man can definitely spin a yarn. I have a sneaking suspicion that his novel, Thomas may have in small way changed my life as a child. And discoverin...more

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Feb 03, 2011 Darren Hartwell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, horror

If Stephen King were to write a book for young adults then I would imagine it would be something very much like Dancing Jax. Although Robin Jarvis suggests that he doesn't see himself as a horror author, this book is as chilling as anything the great King has published. Reading it certainly made me feel the same as I did when I first read 'Salem's Lot, which was very nervous indeed. I don't scare easily these days, and I totally love horror films, but both of these stories had me feeling on edge...more If Stephen King were to write a book for young adults then I would imagine it would be something very much like Dancing Jax. Although Robin Jarvis suggests that he doesn't see himself as a horror author, this book is as chilling as anything the great King has published. Reading it certainly made me feel the same as I did when I first read 'Salem's Lot, which was very nervous indeed. I don't scare easily these days, and I totally love horror films, but both of these stories had me feeling on edge pretty much from the first chapter.

I have now been sitting staring at my screen for an hour trying to come up with words that describe this book. The blurb at the top of this post says a lot about the plot, and I feel that saying much more could not so much create spoilers, but in some way diminish reading enjoyment anyway. I think this is because the plot seems unique to me; I certainly don't think that I have come across anything similar in YA literature before. The beginning of the story suggests a fairly standard horror story of ghostly/demonic possession, but Robin Jarvis very quickly dispels any thoughts that his story will be as straightforward as this. And I'm still struggling to work out the best way to describe it. To call it a horror story would, I feel, do it an injustice as it is so much more than that. Similarly, to call it fantasy does not feel right. It is a brilliant hybrid of all the best elements of horror, fantasy, fairy tales, folk lore and even social commentary, and somehow Robin Jarvis has blended all of these ingredients as if he were a master chef cooking a perfect five course meal for a panel of the world's most hard-to-please food critics.

The story revolves around a book, the (almost) titular Dancing Jacks; a book created by a truly evil man - the supposedly long missing and presumed dead Austerly Fellows. This book has the power to 'convert' anybody who reads it into a devotee of the Ismus, but not in the brainwashed cult way that we see occasionally in the media today. These converts start to believe in another world, where the Ismus is lord and master, and each new follower has a specific role to play, based upon a deck of playing cards. Therefore, we have the likes of the Jack of Diamonds, the Jill of Clubs, the Queen of Spades as main characters in this fantasy world, and the lower numbers become serfs with menial tasks. And they genuinely all believe that this world exists, thanks to the malevolent magic that permeates from the book, corrupting all who read or hear its story.

I think the element I found most disturbing is that the first people who are targeted by the Ismus are the children of the secondary school on the fringes of Felixstowe. Like a clever drug dealer, the Ismus gets the book into the hands of a few and this very quickly snowballs, with 'addict' after 'addict' falling under the spell of the evil book. And before too long, so are the adults. Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive as I spend a big part of my life encouraging young people to read, and yet in Dancing Jax it is this very activity that becomes their downfall. How disturbing is that? And possibly slightly unnerving is the fact that Robin Jarvis's Dancing Jax is almost as addictive as its fictional namesake - I just did not want to stop reading it and found myself reading well into the night, and then rushing home very tired from work the next day to get it finished off.

Going back to my earlier assertion that this work is similar to that of Stephen King, I think I feel this way because of the way in which Robin Jarvis builds his story. Like King, he focuses on the minutiae of the day-to-day lives of the people of this part of Felixstowe: their hopes and fears, the way they interact with each other on a daily basis, the way they deal with tragedy. In doing so we 'meet' a huge array of characters and therefore we really do not know who is going to be the hero of the story who will eventually thwart the plans of the villain. Just as I thought it would be one particular character the plot would twist, they would fall foul of the Book's magic and become another one of the ever growing legion of Ismus devotees. This also means that just as you get attached to and start rooting for a character your hopes are violently dashed and your character allegiance has to shift. I remember thinking exactly the same thoughts as I read 'Salem's Lot, as first one member of the town became a vampire, and then another, and another, although because of the way that book opens we always know that Ben Mears is likely to be a survivor.

As I was reading Dancing Jax I couldn't help but feel that at times Robin Jarvis was commenting on how our society has degraded over the last few decades. These thoughts were confirmed by one of my favourite passages in the book, which comes towards the end as the Ismus arrogantly justifies the magic of the book and his actions by preaching:

"There are no children in this world any more. You dress and treat them as mini-adults. You let little girls play with dolls that look like Berlin prostitutes. The morality and hypocrisy I used to find so stomach-churning no longer exists. You foist on to your young people role models whose brains are never as active as their underwear, and whose talents and achievements extend only as far as the bedroom door and the ability to blurt every detail of what happens behind it. You give your precious offspring access to a lightning-fast network of corruption and danger. You immerse them in computer games far more violent than the most savage and dirty war, and target prepubescents with inappropriate music and imagery - giving them a vocabulary that would have revolted sailors back in my day. There are not stigmas, no taboos, no boundaries, no respect and certainly no innocence left. To be pregnant at thirteen is no longer an everlasting shame, merely a career choice."

Perhaps the Ismus is correct, and Dancing Jacks is the only solution to today's social problems? Scary thought. (less)

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Feb 14, 2013 lost pages rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Inhalt
Eine Kleinstadt in England. Das Leben nimmt seinen täglichen Lauf und nichts deutet darauf hin, dass irgendetwas ungewöhnliches, ja gar Böses, seinen Weg ans Tageslicht findet.

Ein verlassenes, düsteres Gemäuer. Eine Gruppe verschafft sich Eintritt, um das Haus nach wertvollem Krimskrams zu durchsuchen. Sie finden etwas im Keller - Kisten voll Bücher!
Dancing Jacks lautet der Titel jener Bücher, die ab diesem Zeitpunkt jeden in seinen Bann ziehen, der daraus liest. Ein Einwohner nach dem an...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Steffi und Kay his-and-her-books rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Zitat:
"Die Dunkelheit an sich entbehrt jeder bösartigen Substanz - sie ist nichts anderes als die Abwesenheit von Licht."
(S. 27)

"Frohlocke. Wir haben einen Herrn, der uns leiten und den Dancing Jacks gebieten kann. Sobald sich der Ismus von dem großen Martyrium erholt hat, soll die Ordnung wieder hergestellt werden."
(S. 119)

Inhalt:
Auf der Suche nach etwas Brauchbarem, das sich verkaufen lassen würde, finden sie dieses Haus. Doch das Haus hat etwas Unheilvolles an sich. Shiela weiß das und versuc...more

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Nov 22, 2011 Lynne weir rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-got-from-library

When I started reading this story I did it with confidence thinking there was no way it would scare me. It was in the teenage section and with a book nothing can jump out and scare you and theres no high tension music to set you on edge. How wrong I was. It was exciting, easy to read and most important it was creepy and at parts I hold my hands up and say scary. I couldn't help but feel a little bit of a shiver on the bit about the house at the beginning and the ending...well it was amasing and...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Sarah Dean rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: murder-mystery, supernatural, new

I do have to admit, this book drags. I found it quite boring at the beginning but it has an explosive ending that left me quite happy. I predicted certain aspects of the ending but there was one thing that truly shocked me. I'm not going to write a massive review because I find those really quite annoying.
I loved the characters of Sandra, Conor Westlake, Sheila Doyle, Paul and Barry. Although only two played a major role in the book, the other characters seemed really interesting and I liked r...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Megan Pratt rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was so horrendously mediocre that it would be better if it were ridiculously bad. The whole book is cliche and predictable, and as a teen I am offended that this is considered "teen lit." Yeah, right.
The book was weak, the characters were flimsy, and it jumped around so much. The inserts about unicorns and werewolves and shepherds and whatnot were so incredibly drawn on that I needed to take a break between inserts.
I do NOT recommend this book for anyone with a high intelligence. If...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Teatimegirl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Anfangs machen wir Bekanntschaft mit einer Truppe Kleinkrimineller um Oberhaupt Jezza.
Sie steigen des Nachts in ein leerstehendes Haus ein, obwohl manch Beteiligtem das nicht geheuer ist.
Dort wird Jezza jedoch von einem Geist besessen, der ihn fortan kontrolliert. Jezza ist nun der Ismus, der Heilige Magus, Oberhaupt eines Königreichs aus dem Buch "Dancing Jacks".
Dieses ergreift Besitz vom Geist des Lesers und lässt ihn zu einer Figur aus der Geschichte mutieren. Rasend schnell verbreitet sich d...more Anfangs machen wir Bekanntschaft mit einer Truppe Kleinkrimineller um Oberhaupt Jezza.
Sie steigen des Nachts in ein leerstehendes Haus ein, obwohl manch Beteiligtem das nicht geheuer ist.
Dort wird Jezza jedoch von einem Geist besessen, der ihn fortan kontrolliert. Jezza ist nun der Ismus, der Heilige Magus, Oberhaupt eines Königreichs aus dem Buch "Dancing Jacks".
Dieses ergreift Besitz vom Geist des Lesers und lässt ihn zu einer Figur aus der Geschichte mutieren. Rasend schnell verbreitet sich die dämonische Schrift in der Kleinstadt und schon bald ist eine komplette Schule "verseucht". Einzig Martin, ein dortiger Lehrer, und seine Familie scheinen dem Wahnsinn die Stirn zu bieten, der sich schnell vom niedlichen Spiel zu bitterbösem Ernst entwickelt.

Ich habe eine Weile gebraucht, um mit Dancing Jax warm zu werden.
Die ersten 200 Seiten haben mich nicht wirklich mitgerissen, ich verharrte in stetiger Spannung, dass ja nun endlich mal was passieren sollte. Es plätschert vor sich hin, wie der Ismus die Bücher verteilt, erste Widerständler gehirnwäscht und schließlich die Schulkinder dem Buch erliegen.
Ich bemängele ich erster Linie, dass man sich zu Beginn etwas allein gelassen fühlt. Da ist diese Gruppe Krimineller und sie werden gar nicht vorgestellt. Man wird mitten in die Handlung geschmissen und ist regelrecht dankbar, wenn man auf Martin trifft, der eine längere Beschreibung genießen darf.

Dann aber entfaltet Dancing Jax eine ähnliche saugende Wirkung, wie das Buch im Buch.
Man ist richtig drin in der irrwitzigen Handlung und kann sich dank der bildlichen Sprache, alles wunderbar vorstellen. Lediglich die Seiten, die Seiten aus Dancing Jacks wiedergeben, habe ich übersprungen. Sie haben für mich ein wenig die Spannung ausgebremst. Dass ich sie nicht gelesen habe, tat dem späteren Verständnis aber keinen Abbruch. Man kann auf sie verzichten.

Nachdem ich also erst befürchtet, einen Fehlkauf getätigt zu haben, hat mich das Buch überzeugt.
Man fiebert mit mit den paar wenigen Persoen, die erfolgreich Gegenwehr leisten. Man ist fasziniert von der Selbstverständlichkeit des kurioses Ismus. Ein Feuerwerk der Charaktere, denn schließlich sind alle Spielkarten zu besetzen und die Figuren derer sind schillernd und schräg.

Ich habe das Buch sehr gerne gelesen und freue mich nun auf den nächsten Band der Trilogie.(less)

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Mar 04, 2013 Polly rated it 2 of 5 stars

За жалост след сравнително обещаващото начало, книгата беше доста мудна и откровено скучна на места. Към края се пооживи, но все пак не успя да си заслужи 3 звезди от мен. Доста предвидима, с приятни, но прекалено очевидни послания (остава усещането, че автора те мисли за тъп и ти смила значението на всичко), емоционалните уж моменти ми седяха някак изкуствено и не можаха да ме трогнат. Очаквах на края финалът да е по-силен, предвид че повествованието вървеше така че развръзката да е в най-най-п...more

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Sep 06, 2012 Screaming Angel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow, such an unexpectedly dark and mysterious book from Robin Jarvis, I absolutely adored it! I think it was easily comparable to Steven King in the twists and turns you just don't expect. The language and description are fabulous and the characters are instantly likable. I loved the idea of a book that possesses those that read it as books in general are where we do go to escape the dreary reality we live in. I definitely found myself possessed just as much by this book and could not stop readi...more

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Feb 26, 2012 Baisakhi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-books

I loved the story of this book. The mythology was superb, as was the writing. The zombie-like card-captives, their mindset and one boy's struggle to escape it, really captivated me. Add to that the short stories that was depicted in the book - the court jester's tricks, the Jack of Diamonds' knavery and the story of the horse.

But amidst it all was the lurking presence of the vile magician and the evil that was the book, slowly ensnaring and captivating its readers...but with a twist ;)

Needless t...more

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Oct 11, 2010 Gina Brown rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit I enjoyed this book, it was gripping from start to finish, I really wanted to know what was going to happen to each of the characters, but by the end I was disappointed by what had gradually become obvious - the book was just thinly veiled Pagan bashing. It seems that readers are to believe that anyone that likes to dress in medieval clothing, watch morris dancing, or dare to say 'Blessed be' is actually a devil worshipper....Yawn. Move over Dennis Wheatley, Robin Jarvis has turn...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Jessie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: buchchallenge-20-13

Wirklich schön geschriebenes und spannendes Buch. War zunächst etwas skeptisch - ich habe ja bisher nicht viel aus dem Horror/Fantasy Genre gelesen und wusste nicht so recht, was mich erwarten würde - aber letztendlich konnte das Buch mich trotz allem in seinen Bann ziehen. Ich konnte gar nicht warten um herauszufinden, was als nächstes passiert. Auch der Erzählstil hat mir sehr gut gefallen, der Wechsel zwischen den Perspektiven war sehr gelungen und die einzelnen Charaktere waren gut zu unters...more

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May 15, 2013 Matthew Hodge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, hard-copy, kids

When the Harry Potter books came out, there were some Christian parents that worried that their kids would get sucked into Satanism because of it.

I'm not sure that the they had to worry that much about the Potter books, but this first book in Robin Jarvis' latest trilogy deals with an evil children's book that possesses the minds of all those who read it.

The brightly-coloured "Dancing Jacks", written by English occultist Austerley Fellows, starts to do the rounds of the town of Felixstowe and gr...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Shiku rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Die deutsche Rezension findet ihr hier.
___________________________

Words are powerful and some books are so dangerous they should never be read. The Dancing Jacks’ is such a book, but so far nobody knows that. When it is put into circulation few are interested and nobody realizes how much it changes its readers: they start to manically rock back and forth while reading, express themselves in an odd way and act illogically, but those are only the most prominent symptoms. People start to believe th...more Die deutsche Rezension findet ihr hier.
___________________________

Words are powerful and some books are so dangerous they should never be read. The Dancing Jacks’ is such a book, but so far nobody knows that. When it is put into circulation few are interested and nobody realizes how much it changes its readers: they start to manically rock back and forth while reading, express themselves in an odd way and act illogically, but those are only the most prominent symptoms. People start to believe they are characters of the book, that the reality they live in is only a dream. Not many can resist the book, and those who can are persecuted and persuaded with violence of the “truth”.
Time is getting short in order to do something against those developments, but rarely anybody sees them or takes them seriously. Young Paul is one of those who realize what is going on, but who is supposed to give credit to a child that is telling such a fantastic story?

“Dancing Jax” is a book that wants much and achieves only some of it. To name the positive things first: there are some passages important issues are addressed in, often only in a subordinate clause or a short remark – which is the good thing about it. The author is not trying to lecture you but offers thoughts that might lead to other ideas. It is up to you.
Furthermore, the book has kind of a negative presence. You will often find passages that hint towards a coming disaster; in addition, “Dancing Jax” will not give you many reasons to laugh but even starts with a scene even I found hard to stomach. The situation simply was too perfidiously planned and extremely cruel in its consequences.

The book within the book seems to be interesting at first, too, but that is all that can be said about it. Each chapter starts with a little excerpt which is very confusing at the beginning; later, when you found your way into the story, you have already forgotten all the details. This leaves us with the later excerpts and those included in the main text – those are not many, though.

A big problem of the book is that there are too many characters who get introduced but whom we do not get to know properly. There is never any depth even though the potential is there, I guess. I never felt as if those were stereotypes; however, I was never really interested in them either.
This is why there is no balance to the parts you will find rather boring because you do not care about the narrators at all.

To make matters worse, the plot never really thickens. What we get is an introduction; the main problem is established very thoroughly, unfortunately. The author does not alter his approach to that: it is always the same when people get lured into the book’s world, some show resistance but give way in the end all the same. When this pattern is repeated for the third or fourth time, you cannot even pretend to be surprised any longer. And it gets really boring, of course.

In the end, barely any interest in the future events is left, so I do not feel the need to continue reading this series. It is a pity if you think of how thrilling this book could have been if Robin Jarvis had concentrated on the progress of the story instead of the numerous characters.

It has been a good idea and an unsatisfying realization: too many characters and an uneventful story that keeps repeating itself often take all the joy of reading “Dancing Jax”. I am sorry for the good moments this books had; all in all, this is not a terrible book but it left me utterly unimpressed.
(less)

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Dec 05, 2012 Sabrina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Um was geht es?

Felixstowe ist eine ruhige und verschlafene Stadt an der Südostküste Englands, doch innerhalb nur einer Woche wird das Leben des Stadtbewohner komplett auf den Kopf gestellt, als eine Buch aus einem geheimnisvollen Geisterhaus auftaucht.

Plötzlich verhalten sich viele Bürger merkwürdig und scheinen wie besessen von diesem Buch zu sein.

Als auch sein Stiefsohn Paul von "Dancing Jax" in seinen Bann gezogen wird, ist dem Mathelehrer Martin Baxter schnell klar, dass er etwas unternehmen...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dancing Jax by Robin Jarvis

Now I like books, a lot but I’ve never read a book and fallen in love with it quite as quickly and quite as hard as this book. Not to say it’s all thrills from the start. It’s a book with an opening that although vital to the story doesn’t quite en-keep with how I felt the rest of the novel went. However I’ll cut that there otherwise this will be on overly long review with me drooling over how brilliant it is. Dancing Jax is in simple terms is a book about a book. How...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Kerstin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: re-2012

Kurzbeschreibung:
Einige Bücher sind schädlich, sogar gefährlich. Sie verdrehen einem den Kopf und geben den dunkelsten Seiten der menschlichen Seele Nahrung. Sie sollten verbannt oder vernichtet werden. Diese Geschichte handelt von solch einem Buch. Ich hoffe, es gibt noch genug von euch da draußen, die das hier lesen und mir glauben und sich zur Wehr setzen können - bevor es zu spät ist. Ein altertümlich wirkendes und zunächst harmlos erscheinendes Buch taucht in einer englischen Kleinstadt auf...more

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Apr 13, 2011 Jesse Owen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review

Dancing Jax starts with the discovery of an old children’s book which has been hidden away in a kind of haunted house which hasn’t been lived in or touched in years. And that’s quite frankly where it should have stayed. You see the book is not just any book and in the words of some of the characters it’s not even that good a book. But it has captured the hearts and minds of many people in a way that can not be healthy.

It’s a dark story and the house that houses the book matches the tone of the b...more Dancing Jax starts with the discovery of an old children’s book which has been hidden away in a kind of haunted house which hasn’t been lived in or touched in years. And that’s quite frankly where it should have stayed. You see the book is not just any book and in the words of some of the characters it’s not even that good a book. But it has captured the hearts and minds of many people in a way that can not be healthy.

It’s a dark story and the house that houses the book matches the tone of the book, it’s atmospheric, creepy, dark and feels dangerous – really the last place you’d ever want to go and certainly somewhere to stay away from at night.

As more and more of the children in the local comprehensive start reading and getting hooked on the book things start getting seriously out of control.

I immediately liked Matin Baxter, a teacher at the local comprehensive – I loved the way his character went from seeing the stable, happy life he knew crumble before him and being powerless to stop it to somebody who had to try and stop it and possibly being the only person who could.

I loved the way the writing switches effortlessly between the characters views allowing us to see the story as a whole and to feel how the characters felt as the landscape and the people of the world around was changing. It felt truly creepy as you realised the extent to which the books power had spread.

As much as I loved the story as a whole I had one minor issue and that was the snippets of the Dancing Jax (the book featured) were scattered throughout. Now I loved the tiny paragraphs and images which were used at the start of each chapter – they made the book feel real but I wasn’t too keen on the couple of pages worth which appeared in italics from time to time. I felt they slowed the story down and I didn’t really get anything from them.

The ending was left on a bit of a cliffhanger and I desperately want to know what happens next but that will have to wait until next February (NEXT FEBRUARY – how am I going to wait that long?).(less)

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Apr 20, 2013 Sabrina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Verückt, durchgedreht und wirklich so böse wie angekündigt! Ein tolles Buch für alle Fans von Alice im Wunderland, den wahren Märchen und einem guten Mix Horror.

Es war eindeutig einmal etwas anderes und ungewöhnliches diese Mischung aus Fantasy und Jugendbuch, aber man konnte es stellenweise auch nicht beiseite legen.
Die Geschichte von den geheimnisvollen Büchern "Dancing Jax" und ihrem noch viel geheimnisvolleren, aber vor allem auch unheimlichen Autor Austerly Fellows ist auf jeden Fall nichts...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Nicky Turner rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent read, even though it's written for teen market!
Well written, dark book that I couldn't put down as I felt compelled to know what happened next (read in 2 days!)
Thought has gone into each character and from the descriptions I could picture Mooncaster and all the weird and wondrous creatures
If you're a fan of Stephen King or Dean Koontz you'll love this.....

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Mar 04, 2012 crazingonmanga111 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow.
I picked up 'Dancing Jax' from my small local library, hardly knowing what to expect. It was sitting on my pile of to-read books, and when I finally picked up the book, I was instantly drawn to every aspect in it- the imagery, the 'quotes' that begin each chapter, and especially the snippets of the actual book 'Dancing Jax.'
What a fantastic read- I'm currently engrossed in the sequel 'Freax and Rejex'!

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Feb 04, 2013 Marcel Shi rated it 5 of 5 stars

mein erstes fantasy/horror buch. ich bin begeistert. habe mit diesem buch eine emotionale achterbahnfahrt erlebt. richtig los gehen tut es zwar erst ab seite 300, was aber nicht heißen soll, das es vorher langweilig ist. es fesselt nur noch nicht so.mitunter wurde es so spannend, das ich nicht mehr weiterlesen konnte. ich war richtig außer atem. selbst die "dancing jack" buchausschnitte gefielen mir sehr gut obwohl ich überhaupt nicht auf fantasy stehe.

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Aug 08, 2012 Alexandra rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is another excellent read; however, prepare to be sickened. This dark book with such an interesting title shows its sinister plot through the very cover picture. Full of extraordinarily detailed yet twisted scenes, Dancing Jax pulls you into a world you have never encountered before.

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Apr 16, 2013 Kalilah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Things I especially like about this book are; the writing style (it's confident and witty, and there're some awfully lovely descriptions of the fictitious world within Dancing Jax. Quite hypnotic - heheh), the satire commentary on society (which some people may find preachy, but I found it both amusing and insightful) and the quotations heading each chapter (they can be quite poetical).

I know a lot of people think this book is creepy, and that is the main reason why I picked it up (I wanted a sc...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Mira rated it 3 of 5 stars

Беше интересна, увлекателна, леко страховита на места и...край,нищо не се случи. Все очаквах нещо повече да стане(освен зомбирането на цяло училище). Може би, ако знаех докато четях, че е трилогия щях да съм с други очаквания, но...Все пак ще чакам следващата.

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Apr 28, 2013 Lolo Ruii rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's a really intense, interesting and, in some ways, creepy story of how an old fairytale story takes control of people's lives as they're reading it. It is definitely one of my favourite books and I reccommend reading it.

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Feb 11, 2012 Matthew rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazing book. Loved the way the story moves between the different characters and gradually gets darker and darker. By the end of the book still the story has hardly even begun and apparently the sequel is due for Feb 2012 :O All the characters are amazing in their own way and basically can't wait for more :D

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Jul 12, 2011 Tess rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens, favorite-read

Robin Jarvis is a children's version of a Stephen King. The book involves alot of characters, great imagination and down right freaking scary! There is a sequel to this book coming next year ~ Feb. 2012.

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Horror

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Fantasy

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About Robin Jarvis

Robin Jarvis (born May 8, 1963) is a British children's novelist, who writes fantasy novels, often about anthropomorphic rodents and small mammals – especially mice – and Tudor times. A lot of his works are based in London, in and around Deptford and Greenwich where he used to live, or in Whitby.

His first novel – The Dark Portal, featuring the popular Deptford Mice – was the runner up for the Smar...more

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Books by Robin Jarvis

The Crystal Prison (The Deptford Mice, #2)

The Final Reckoning (The Deptford Mice, #3)

The Alchemist's Cat (The Deptford Histories, #1)

The Woven Path (Tales from the Wyrd Museum, #1)

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BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8713020-dancing-jax?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327995539l/8713020.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8713020-dancing-jax?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Dancing Jax by Robin Jarvis[/url]

Dancing Jax (Dancing Jax #1)

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