Three wishes go awry in a middle-grade debut as comical as it is spooky.
Toxic Vapor Worms. Shark Hounds. King-Crab Spiders. Two-Headed Mutant Rodents.These are just a few of the beasts featured in the pages of Scare Scape, the creepiest comic book around. They are vicious. They are terrifying. They are, luckily, totally made up.Morton Clay is a huge fan of Scare Scape, so he isn't easily frightened. He's not afraid of the dark, or grossed-out by bugs and slugs. But when Morton and his siblings, James and Melissa, find an old stone statue buried in their yard, they discover that there is good reason to be afraid. . . .Spooky, funny, and fresh, Sam Fisher's middle-grade debut explores the bonds and rivalries that are unique to siblings . . . even as it revels in monstrous mayhem! "Fisher's debut's an imaginative, not-too-dark urban fantasy. . . . Fans of spooky fiction and comics will be in a dark and happy place." - KIRKUS REVIEWS"This scary, but not too scary, horror novel has excellent characters; a well-developed plot; and clear, well-paced writing. . . . A fun supplement to the classic tale ["The Monkey's Paw"], but it will more likely find a home with horror-fiction lovers, filling the gap between R. L. Stine's Goosebumps and Darren Shan's The Demonata series." - SLJ"Straddling the genres of horror, low fantasy, and action thriller, with slight nods to The Twilight Zone and E. Nesbit, this book holds high appeal for kids like Morton who are fascinated with the creepy and the weird, and the strong characterization, authentic conflict within a family reeling from the loss of a mother, and Morton's impressive inner strength while under pressure add dimension. . . . Give this one to kids looking for something a step up from Goosebumps." - BCCB"A Lovecraft-lite debut full of monster-fighting action and a dark-magic mystery." - BOOKLIST Sam Fisher worked as a scenic carpenter on movie sets before quitting his day job to become a writer and teacher. A native of England, Sam now lives with his wife and children in Canada, where he teaches screenwriting and film production at NSCAD University. SCARE SCAPE is his first novel. "What was that noise?" Melissa asked. She then spotted the smoking lawnmower with the twisted blade sticking out like some menacing metal claw. "Uh oh! Dad's going to blow his top now. That lawnmower was his most prized possession. He loves it far more than he loves us, you know.""More than he loves you, maybe," James said, and he winked at Morton. "What have you found, anyway? Some kind of creepy garden gnome?"Morton started brushing dirt from the statue and took another look. It had three goatish horns, a nasty, mocking grin, and hollow but somehow penetrating eyes."I think it's some kind of gargoyle," he said. "Fisher's debut's an imaginative, not-too-dark urban fantasy. . . . Fans of spooky fiction and comics will be in a dark and happy place." - KIRKUS REVIEWS"This scary, but not too scary, horror novel has excellent characters; a well-developed plot; and clear, well-paced writing. . . . A fun supplement to the classic tale ["The Monkey's Paw"], but it will more likely find a home with horror-fiction lovers, filling the gap between R. L. Stine's Goosebumps and Darren Shan's The Demonata series." - SLJ"Straddling the genres of horror, low fantasy, and action thriller, with slight nods to The Twilight Zone and E. Nesbit, this book holds high appeal for kids like Morton who are fascinated with the creepy and the weird, and the strong characterization, authentic conflict within a family reeling from the loss of a mother, and Morton's impressive inner strength while under pressure add dimension. . . . Give this one to kids looking for something a step up from Goosebumps." - BCCB"A Lovecraft-lite debut full of monster-fighting action and a dark-magic mystery." - BOOKLIST
