Book Review - Jonathan Stroud's The Empty Grave
Published by: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy
Their enemies are closing in. But if there's one thing that George believes deep in his soul it's that knowledge is power. They cannot go into their final confrontation without knowing all the facts. And that's why they are breaking into the Fittes Mausoleum, where the legendary Marissa Fittes is buried. Because if the skull is right, the woman they know as Marissa Fittes's granddaughter, Penelope, is actually Marissa herself. Which makes it highly suspect that she only "discovered" The Problem. And if everything was above board the Fittes Mausoleum wouldn't have been booby-trapped now would it? Lockwood and Co. which bafflingly now includes Quill Kipps finds the Mausoleum occupied, but not by Marissa. It seems the skull was right. Now that they know they are dealing with Marissa they can make their plans accordingly. Plans that now include vengeance from Julius Winkman, just sprung from jail. Their only viable move is to lure all their enemies to Portland Row and then work a miracle. But seeing as Lucy is the first person since Marissa Fittes who can talk to Type Three ghosts, they know they have the power, they just need the nerve. As their enemies descend on their home, destroying their beloved headquarters, they retreat to the room where Lockwood's sister met her end. Just like Rotwell was doing down at the research center in Aldbury Castle they make an opening to the Other Side. They have gone where they can not be followed. Their plan is to cross through the bleak and desolate landscape and gain entry into the Fittes building and end Marissa's reign of terror. The Problem will be removed. But crossing through this liminal space isn't easy. Every step is laborious, the protection they have can only last so long, and Quill was injured, but oddly he seems to be doing the best of all of them, which is when they realize how serious this is. Not all of them might make it out alive. But they have to try. They are the only hope for this to end once and for all.
This is it! The big final showdown! This is for all the stakes people! And maybe, in the end, that's what let me down most, because I didn't feel like there were that many stakes. I have always disliked stories that have no stakes. Look to the Gothic classics The Woman in Black or The Turn of the Screw, both of these stories use a framing device that takes place after the events of the book so we know that Arthur Kipps (last name probably not coincidental) and the unnamed governess survive. Throughout The Empty Grave Lucy is dropping hints about the future. She'll become a preeminent figure in studying the Other Side, which is great for her, not so great for creating any kind of tension. But we have hopes with Quill, he's badly injured and the only way that he is doing better than everyone else on the Other Side is that he is dying. But guess what? He doesn't die. I'm not saying I wanted him to die, but him somehow pulling through after doing a total hero move and joining Lockwood and Co. and risking everything to right his wrongs, well, he should have died is all I'm saying. Sometimes the best thing a character can do is die. I know that might sound harsh but it's the truth. A prime example is L.A. Confidential, Bud White should have died. He should have gone out in a blaze of glory. But no, he's a battered man in the back of a car. I'm even one of those rare people who think Thomas Magnum should have died because it was more satisfying than the ending we got. But it is what it is. At least Stroud was willing to let the villains die. And while this book is kind of just a headlong rush of tying up all the loose ends I did enjoy the vibe in shares with Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Firstly we have windows into other worlds that are used for escape, one uses powerful sources the other uses Æsahættr. Secondly we have a laborious journey through the land of the dead. And I know at the time I thought up more but I think those two are enough justification for the comparison. But I do love that while The Empty Grave has this similar vibe it's also totally it's own thing. Though I kind of would like a further glimpse into the future... Just a little more for Lucy... Is that too much to ask? I mean Philip Pullman is doing it...
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