The Illmoor Chronicles: The Ratastrophe Catastrophe - Book One by David Lee Stone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Title : The Ratastrophe Catastrophe

Author : David Lee Stone

Pages : 273

Series : The Illmoor Chronicles

Diek Wutspah is a normal shepard boy. That is until a dark, evil magic roots itself within him instilling him with the power to charm man and beast with his magic flute. When the ancient town of Illmoor is plagued by an infestation of giant rats, Diek offers to lead the rodents to their doom. But when the dim-witted Duke of Illmoor refuses to reward him, Diek seeks revenge by kidnapping the town's children. Just when it seems the children are gone for good, a team of misfit mercenaries - Groan, a buck-toothed Giant, Gordo, a wise-cracking dwarf, and Tambor, a has-been sorcerer - set out on a bumbling journey to stop Diek, and save the children. But will it be too late?

My thoughts on this book :

I was looking for a light read with an uplifting effect after I read The Troll Mill by Katherine Langrish. I debated if The Illmoor Chronicles will give me this effect but to my utter surprise, it was not uplifting but it was entertaining and funny. There were so many things going on, so many characters but I enjoyed every bit and felt I was in a National Lampoon or something. The story was so crazy! The characters were so hopelessly valiant or not, but it just made me laugh. It was crazy out there, living in this Illmoor realm, that is. From the forgotten sorcery of the sorcerer, the accidental villain, the hopeful thief-to-be, the mercenaries-turned-heroes, everything's just insanely comical!

The author's humor was original (I liked his style), there were bad things and good things and bad things again. The heroes didn't get their share of reward that makes it different from other stories. No, this was not a happy ending for the heroic characters, but It made you crave for more, wondering what happened to other characters who had his share of ludicrous lines. I felt, when I finished this book, that I need to read the second book.

I was surprised to see other readers gave this book low ratings. But then again, everyone has their own taste. And I have a good feeling about this Illmoor Chronicles. I like the writing style. So different from other books. Again,it does not give you the happy ending, but it will definitely give you all the entertaining you need in a book, at least for me. Kudos to the author! I will definitely read on all of the Illmoor Chronicles. It may be a corrupted place to live in the capital, Dullitch, ill-governed by a Duke with a council of different creatures and infested with thieves , but hey this place is where the extraordinary events take place. Read on!

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