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The House at Skirl #1
The Master of the Fallen Chairs
Soon after thirteen-year-old Kim Greenwood arrives at Skirl, a vast old family house, he becomes aware of a frantic scurrying in the corridors, which hints at another dimension. Skirl has a house within a house and it teems with terrifying creatures.
This is the domain of the ageless Alba Hockmuth, who glides with demonic ease between the dead and the living, the past and the present, and is hellbent on Kim's demise.
But help arrives in the most unusual form of Iggy Ma-tuu Clava. In a race against time, he and Kim must discover the secrets of the curse which lies in a painting by the Master of the Fallen Chairs.
This is to say nothing - well, as little as possible - about the Great Auk, the last and undoubtedly the most indignant of her species, who somehow manages to remain alive and flipping in the strange conditions of the House at Skirl.
This is the domain of the ageless Alba Hockmuth, who glides with demonic ease between the dead and the living, the past and the present, and is hellbent on Kim's demise.
But help arrives in the most unusual form of Iggy Ma-tuu Clava. In a race against time, he and Kim must discover the secrets of the curse which lies in a painting by the Master of the Fallen Chairs.
This is to say nothing - well, as little as possible - about the Great Auk, the last and undoubtedly the most indignant of her species, who somehow manages to remain alive and flipping in the strange conditions of the House at Skirl.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2008
5 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Henry Porter
48 books242 followersHenry Porter has written for most national broadsheet newspapers. He contributes commentary and reportage to the Guardian, Observer, Evening Standard and Sunday Telegraph. He is the British editor of Vanity Fair, and lives in London with his wife and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 19, 2012
Could you imagine another world, full of mystery, murder, magic, suspense and terrifying creatures?
Well, this is Kim's reality. Kim Drago, a young thirteen year old boy in grievance of his mother's mysterious death is sent to live with his secretive guardians who own the curious House of Skirl. This cryptic House is teeming with creatures of the unknown. Only days after Kim's arrival in Skirl, numerous occupants of the unforgiving House encounter untimely and unexplainable disappearances. As if in consequence of this, a strange man by the name of Igthy Ma-tuu Clava comes calling upon Kim, claiming that he is a blood relative, a brother in fact. Igthy Ma-tuu Clava or Iggy for short, recalls to Kim the many mysteries surrounding the house including the Legend of the Talking Auk, The Ghosts of Skirl and the incomprehensible Ever-changing Painting. At first glance of this mystical painting anyone would believe it to be an ordinary portrait,nevertheless, look closer and you will discover the thirteen chairs of which eleven have been knocked over. These toppled chairs represent the deaths of eleven occupants of the Skirl house. Shown in the painting are these deaths, hidden from the eyes of undeserving people but protruding from the painting when one is seeking adventure. Iggy and Kim decide soon after unveiling the painting to sport an adventurous expedition to decipher the true meanings of the countless mysteries surrounding the House of Skirl. On their journey however they discover an evil being far greater than anything they have ever faced and along with him are his evil plans... Whose deaths will topple the last chairs? What magical being is lurking in the shadows? Will Kim and Iggy ever succeed in uncovering the mysteries? Or will it be too late?
The Master of the Fallen Chairs is an enticing and suspenseful story equipped with brilliant expression and intelligent writing. Producing an amazing story for everyone, Henry Porter includes elements of magic, suspense, fantasy and humour throughout the book. This story in its entirety is one of the best real children's and young adult's stories I have ever read! The epic adventure, the mysterious setting and the unfathomable plot line provides a new mystery on every page, this book is the perfect recipe for a bestseller. This is why I would rate it generously with four and a half stars. Well Done, Henry Porter, I look forward to the sequel.
Well, this is Kim's reality. Kim Drago, a young thirteen year old boy in grievance of his mother's mysterious death is sent to live with his secretive guardians who own the curious House of Skirl. This cryptic House is teeming with creatures of the unknown. Only days after Kim's arrival in Skirl, numerous occupants of the unforgiving House encounter untimely and unexplainable disappearances. As if in consequence of this, a strange man by the name of Igthy Ma-tuu Clava comes calling upon Kim, claiming that he is a blood relative, a brother in fact. Igthy Ma-tuu Clava or Iggy for short, recalls to Kim the many mysteries surrounding the house including the Legend of the Talking Auk, The Ghosts of Skirl and the incomprehensible Ever-changing Painting. At first glance of this mystical painting anyone would believe it to be an ordinary portrait,nevertheless, look closer and you will discover the thirteen chairs of which eleven have been knocked over. These toppled chairs represent the deaths of eleven occupants of the Skirl house. Shown in the painting are these deaths, hidden from the eyes of undeserving people but protruding from the painting when one is seeking adventure. Iggy and Kim decide soon after unveiling the painting to sport an adventurous expedition to decipher the true meanings of the countless mysteries surrounding the House of Skirl. On their journey however they discover an evil being far greater than anything they have ever faced and along with him are his evil plans... Whose deaths will topple the last chairs? What magical being is lurking in the shadows? Will Kim and Iggy ever succeed in uncovering the mysteries? Or will it be too late?
The Master of the Fallen Chairs is an enticing and suspenseful story equipped with brilliant expression and intelligent writing. Producing an amazing story for everyone, Henry Porter includes elements of magic, suspense, fantasy and humour throughout the book. This story in its entirety is one of the best real children's and young adult's stories I have ever read! The epic adventure, the mysterious setting and the unfathomable plot line provides a new mystery on every page, this book is the perfect recipe for a bestseller. This is why I would rate it generously with four and a half stars. Well Done, Henry Porter, I look forward to the sequel.
May 19, 2008
After the death of his mother, thirteen year old Kim goes to live with his guardian in Skirl,a huge old house situated in a remote Scottish glen. Skirl has been built on a chrolonogical fault line and Kim soon finds himself going backwards and forwards in time in a battle between good and evil. Forced to confront all sorts of ghosts and evil spirits , Kim is aided by a mysterious stanger with magical powers who turns up at the house claiming to be a long lost relative.
There is some evocative writing here and some good use of detail but there are far too many characters, too much is unexplained, some of the writing seems hurried and the editing is careless.
There is some evocative writing here and some good use of detail but there are far too many characters, too much is unexplained, some of the writing seems hurried and the editing is careless.
May 26, 2022
A review in the Guardian (UK newspaper) said it “has something for everybody.” That could be why I was not convinced by it as a story. In trying to please everyone, almost everyone finds there is something missing or left incomplete. A part of the problem could be that as the story was meant to be volume one of a trilogy many of the missing explanations may have been planned for the subsequent volumes, which have yet to be published.
The story is set very precisely in 1962, yet there is no information to explain why. Kim's father runs a farm in Kenya and that is where Kim has been brought up. He must have heard stories of the Mau Mau as he was growing up and by the age of 13 been aware that the white settlers were increasingly unwelcome in a country that would gain its independence the following year. There is no evidence of that at all in the story. Then there is Igthy Ma-tuu Clava. He is a Pacific islander, but why is that important? And what is his role? Is he the comic relief? Kim's heroic protector? Some sort of South Seas island magician there to counteract Alba Hockmuth's necromancy? Then there is that annoying stuffed bird that can come to life when it wants and, thankfully, appears to have no recollection of the trauma of taxidermy. Its role in the story is that of a helpful adventurer's assistant. Why is it important that such a partner should be a stuffed Great Auk rather than a human or any other creature?
As I said, volumes two and three may have all the answers. Judging volume one as a standalone, it's interesting, at times exciting and even a little gruesome, but more than anything it comes across to me as incomplete.
The story is set very precisely in 1962, yet there is no information to explain why. Kim's father runs a farm in Kenya and that is where Kim has been brought up. He must have heard stories of the Mau Mau as he was growing up and by the age of 13 been aware that the white settlers were increasingly unwelcome in a country that would gain its independence the following year. There is no evidence of that at all in the story. Then there is Igthy Ma-tuu Clava. He is a Pacific islander, but why is that important? And what is his role? Is he the comic relief? Kim's heroic protector? Some sort of South Seas island magician there to counteract Alba Hockmuth's necromancy? Then there is that annoying stuffed bird that can come to life when it wants and, thankfully, appears to have no recollection of the trauma of taxidermy. Its role in the story is that of a helpful adventurer's assistant. Why is it important that such a partner should be a stuffed Great Auk rather than a human or any other creature?
As I said, volumes two and three may have all the answers. Judging volume one as a standalone, it's interesting, at times exciting and even a little gruesome, but more than anything it comes across to me as incomplete.
February 21, 2017
when the hell is next book coming out.
July 1, 2025
If you like to read about boys going on adventures and encountering evil ghosts and female villains and if aren't bothered by an open ending to which the author never wrote a sequel, this might be for you. It's a nice little quest to prevent the boy and his new adult friend from dying over Christmas. Some things are never really explained, although the boy asks a lot of questions - often about things we already now about and which need no further clarification. The important stuff, however, is kept secret.
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August 9, 2011This is one of the most enjoyable books for children/teens that I have read in a while. To paraphrase another online reviewer, you have the feeling that you are reading a book that has always been around. Unlike some of the more recent "children's" books that have been epic in scale, this is a story in miniature - it takes place in the House of Skirl and concerns itself with (relatively) few characters: there's Kim, who's had to come to live with his uncle in England after the death of his mother in India, there's Igthy Ma-tuu Clava (AKA Iggy), from the Ro-Torva Islands, who shows up on the doorstep of the House of Skirl one day around Christmas claiming to be a long-lost relative, and there's the Great Auk, the last of her species. Together, they battle dark forces and try to discover the mystery behind the Master of the Fallen Chairs before it is too late!
November 14, 2012
This is an odd book. The title sounds like it's going to be on the whimsical and/or absurd side. The orphaned hero sent to live in a house full of ghosts reminds me a bit of Joan Aiken's "The Shadow Guests". The house full of ghosts - and several of the non-ghostly characters - also reminds me of Gormenghast. But the great auk tips back towards whimsy. And then there's the time travel, and the picture, and the bloke on the bridge, and the weird-but-cool Iggy...
...and like "Tanglewreck", it a book that's too full of stuff for the author to really do any of it justice. Which is disappointing, because the bits are all potentially very cool, if only they weren't all jostling each other for space.
...and like "Tanglewreck", it a book that's too full of stuff for the author to really do any of it justice. Which is disappointing, because the bits are all potentially very cool, if only they weren't all jostling each other for space.
July 20, 2012
Der Schreibstil des Autors hat mir sehr gut gefallen und auch die Atmosphäre zog mich voll und ganz in ihren Bann. Die Spannung war von Anfang an da.
Allerdings bleiben nach dem Lesen deutlich zu viele Fragen offen. Zwar handelt es sich hier offensichtlich um den ersten Band einer Reihe (Trilogie?), aber von Folgebänden ist bisher noch keine Spur zu entdecken. Ich würde gern weiterlesen, um eben jene offenen Fragen beantwortet zu wissen.
An dem Buch gab es gute sowie schlechten Seiten, daher kann ich ihm lediglich 3 von 5 Sternen geben.
November 8, 2014
I know lots of people did not like this book or had mixed feelings about it but i just want to say i loved this book and this was my first time reading something that was written by Henry Porter and i think he is an amazing author and i would love to read something else by him.I thought this book was amazing and the unexpected plot twist was awesome and the story was just so captivating and hilarious and thrilling i could not put it down and when i did i just wanted to re-read it over and over again overall it was an amazing book.
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November 2, 2018Der Schreibstil des Autors hat mir sehr gut gefallen und auch die Atmosphäre zog mich voll und ganz in ihren Bann. Die Spannung war von Anfang an da.
Allerdings bleiben nach dem Lesen deutlich zu viele Fragen offen. Zwar handelt es sich hier offensichtlich um den ersten Band einer Reihe (Trilogie?), aber von Folgebänden ist bisher noch keine Spur zu entdecken. Ich würde gern weiterlesen, um eben jene offenen Fragen beantwortet zu wissen.
An dem Buch gab es gute sowie schlechten Seiten.
Allerdings bleiben nach dem Lesen deutlich zu viele Fragen offen. Zwar handelt es sich hier offensichtlich um den ersten Band einer Reihe (Trilogie?), aber von Folgebänden ist bisher noch keine Spur zu entdecken. Ich würde gern weiterlesen, um eben jene offenen Fragen beantwortet zu wissen.
An dem Buch gab es gute sowie schlechten Seiten.
July 10, 2014
Original and catchy story about time travel, well written with interesting characters and surprising twists.
I would have given 3.5 stars but I take away one star because the main character was talking about insect collections as if they were something nice and cool to look at. Oh, you idiot, insects or animals in general are not items and surely they are not to be collected.
2.5 stars
I would have given 3.5 stars but I take away one star because the main character was talking about insect collections as if they were something nice and cool to look at. Oh, you idiot, insects or animals in general are not items and surely they are not to be collected.
2.5 stars
July 23, 2014
Nicely written and thrillingly told story about an old mansion, a painting and a young man who wants to save his family from a deadly curse. And there are time travels involved. Again. Seems to be a trend. But the ghosts are real, and so are the witches and the curse. I am pretty happy about that.
May 19, 2009
fab Young adult selection
February 16, 2011
A very nicer teaser for what I am sure will be a great series of books.
September 9, 2013
This was awesome. I read it for 3days.its one of those books dat leave u with a huge sense ov adventure. Huge fun
April 21, 2010
SLOW TO START BUT REALLY GOOD WEN U GET INTO IT
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews