Malamander (The Legends of Eerie-on-Sea)

This is the first book in a series (but only the first two have been published). I just finished reading the first one and I feel very excited with this series.I really liked both the cover of the book and the illustrations made by Tom Booth and I think it is an appropriate way to show the reader the most remarkable moments of the story. The town map that can be found at the beginning of the book is a very useful tool.I would have liked to see more determination and better decision making in the main characters; however, all the characters in general are funny and interesting.It is a mysterious and exciting story that is full of adventure. Some scenes seem based on Harry Potter, but only to the correct extent so that the reader can appreciate some similarities without feeling it excessive.This book definitely caught me from the first page and kept me reading until I could finish it. Recently the second book came out and I cannot wait to read it.I recommend this book for boys and girls ages 10 and up who like detective stories that follow clues to solve a mystery."It just needs space. It’s a wild animal, after all, and like any wild animal, it just wants to be left alone."-Thomas Taylor, Malamander

Full of adventure suspense and mystery. Read it with the narrative it's going to be even wilder. He makes it sounds as if you're in a movie.

My son loved it ! He read it in under a week !

The author has the reader captivated from the first few sentences. It's a well written, imaginative, and exciting read. Loved the names of the characters. I found it hard to put down, read it in a few days that's how good a read it was. Highly recommend this book to all ages.

I’m 72 and I loved this audio book. The reader did a great job. I also ordered the sequel. It’s an imaginative and charming read (or listen).I look forward to the next adventure! A real fun group of characters.

I really enjoyed my visit to eerie on sea and meeting violet and the lost and founder at the grand Natalistis hotel. This as a delightful children's fantasy story . storyline was filled with suspense and the whole importance of found can of and friends.

I had a neighbor who made his own beer. It was plain and based on classic recipes, and delicious. But then he discovered hops. He went nuts experimenting with hops and made more and more complex, and less drinkable, beer. Eventually the stuff was like perfume, with bubbles. That's a little bit like what I felt here.The book starts out extremely well. Eerie-on-Sea is the perfect adventure locale. Cold and damp and misty; perched on a dark and threatening sea; off season; loaded with odd buildings and odder people. The author never loses his grip on the great mood and atmosphere of the place, and you just know that this little city will be crammed with adventures, quirky residents, and cool twists.Then we get two great hero characters. Herbie Lemon is a foundling who was taken in by the owner of the grand hotel in the middle of town. Appropriately, (and with the sort of sly humorous touch that distinguishes this book), he has been put in charge of the hotel's lost and found. He takes his job very seriously. He is clever, resourceful, good natured, and observant. A bit on the cautious side, you know he has sterner stuff within. He's our first person narrator, and he tells this tale in a dry, deadpan sort of style where much of the tension and humor is enhanced by his tendency toward understatement. An excellent character all around.One day Violet Parma, who is being chased by a hulking pirate type guy with a boat hook for a hand, tumbles through the casement window of Herbie's basement "office". She lost her parents twelve years before, when they just disappeared and she was found abandoned in this very hotel. Violet, who declares herself "found" directs Herbie that it's his job to now find her parents and return her to her rightful owners. Violet is smart, feisty, headstrong, and impulsive. She and Herbie immediately click, and their game is afoot.At this point we get a real tour of Eerie, and meet literally a dozen colorful and engaging characters. Most of these people are odd but dependable and kind sorts, a few are clearly villains, and a few could go either way, which sets up the rest of the action.At this point, though, we go what might be a bridge too far. Violet's father was researching "The Malamander", a legendary local sea beast. Is the monster real? Better consult the mermonkey machine that hands out cryptic clues in the form of odd rare books. Or skulk around town. Or talk to the white cat. Or consult at least four different adults who offer extended speeches about the Malamander. Or watch the action from a secret cameraluna. And the Beast lays a magic egg once a year. The egg grants wishes. And it looks like everybody is searching for it. And we all start running around. And on, and on. Whew.The thing is that each individual wrinkle is well done, interesting, effectively presented, and very imaginative. The mermonkey machine is captivating. The Book Dispensary, where books are prescribed and handed out like medicine for what ails your mind, is subtley but beautifully conceived. Any individual adult's Beast story is fascinating. Even the breathless skulking and hiding and escaping is fun, until the twelfth time.There's just so much going on that you almost lose track of the fact that this is a Herbie/Violet buddy action adventure tale. Their dialogue is funny and sometimes touching, and almost always authentic feeling. They don't need quite so many exotic hops added to the brew.So my bottom line was that I very much admired the crisp, effective, and evocative writing. I liked and enjoyed following the main characters. I appreciated the many clever and whimsical touches. The sly humor and subtle puns were a delight. I was impressed by the depth of personality reflected in the secondary characters. And I loved Eerie-on-Sea. Maybe I'm not giving enough credit to the need to keep the wheels constantly spinning for young readers. Maybe, after Harry Potter type books, you need fantasy and magic and exotic beasts in every tale. I don't know. I do know that I'd like to give this book to as many kids as I could, and see what they think.And I'm very keen to see where we go in the two promised sequels.(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Bought this for my 10 year old daughter for Christmas. She finished it that day! Loved it. She found it exciting, suspenseful, scary at times and cried telling me some details. My 8 year old son is reading it now.

Chuck Davis:I'm reviewing this book because it was our class book and we have come to the end of the story. This is an interesting book written by Thomas Taylor.This is a book about an ancient creature, The malamander. The two main characters are Herbert Lemon and Violet Parmer. My favorite part is the first chapter where they try to encourage the reader by saying `This book isn't for you, wrap it up in a box and throw it off the pier.` I kept reading the book because it was action-packed.My favorite characters are Violet and Herbie. My favorite bits are the first and last chapter because in the last chapter they say they will try to find more adventures together and I'm excited about its sequel.I give this book 4.25 stars out of 5I would add to the story by having more dramatic scenes.Donita Korthe:I’m reviewing this book as it is one of the best books out there and to tell you the best parts. It’s set on a beachfront town of Cheerie (eerie ) on sea and the two main characters are a boy Herbert ( herby ) lemon and a girl violet Parma .In the book it’s violet trying to find her parents as they went missing when she was a baby ( like Herbert ) . But the place herby worked at once catered for the father and mother of violet which is how Herbert met violet. One of my favourite parts is when violet sees her parents on the beach after spotting the unctuous malamander in the ocean. My favourite character in this book was Violet as she was determined to find her parents or what happened to them. One of the things that got me hooked it always ended on a cliff hanger and you wanted to read more.My rating out of five stars ⭐️ would be ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I wish it was longer or had other books in a series of events to find both the malamander and the missing parents.PJ Wyndorf:I am reviewing this book because I would like to tell people how amazing this book is.The story is mainly set in a place called earie on sea. The main characters are Violet and Herbie. Violet and Herbie are good friends who try to stop Eels stealing a special egg. The egg is so special it can grant you any wish and it belongs to the Malamander. My favourite characters are Violet and Herbie because they are in the story a lot. The book kept me hooked and intrested, at the end of every chapter I had so many question and wanted to, carry on reading. I would'nt change anything about the book so I would rate this book 5/5.

I found Malamander to be a wonderful read with rich storytelling throughout. I have every intention of using passages from this book as models when teaching writing this year (for my Year 4s).The language is both vividly descriptive and just the right shade of challenging, and there are more than a handful of phrases that caught my eye for how wonderfully well-crafted they are.The overall plot was engaging and I could see my previous class (now moving into year 5) enjoying this book simply for the story itself.I will definitely be recommending it to my class from this year onwards.

Violet turns up at the Lost and Found of Eerie-on -Sea Hotel looking for her parents, what is uncovered is the legend of a Warminster and Captain Boathook. The tale zips along scarily.

Our book-mad ten-year old daughter enjoyed every page of this book. The fast paced adventure story is very engaging with enjoyable characters that each have a peculiar name and that are vividly brought to life. The dark and spooky atmosphere of the setting Eerie-on-sea provides a great backdrop for story telling. Our young reader found the plot slightly predictable and the main villain a little one dimensional I suppose. Still it is a tense and exciting read overall.We ordered the softcover version that comes with a lovely decorated cover. The book also contains a helpful mapMalamander apparently is a the first of a series, so our daughter can’t wait to get her literary hands on the second volume.

Second story of the summer for me and the 9 year old...well originally the 3,6,9 year old and I all began but the younger two said it was scary so we continued without them!A great mystery story set in a seaside town. The characters often had nautical names, some we liked but others were a bit too much for me. We loved the crazy monkey that chooses your book and lots of other little imaginative touches. The ending wasn't what we expected but maybe it's setting up for a series..?We read a lot of it in a wonderful apartment in Kingsand Cornwall which looked over the sea and it added to the atmosphere of the book and made it really enjoyable, great excuse for a seaside holiday if you need one!Next up we will finally get round to reading Journey to the River Sea...