Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Sign of the Raven

Tom isn't pleased when his mom's recovery from cancer takes him from his home to his grandmother's. Soon memories of Tom's first visit to his gram's begin to surface. What did he see in the basement? What did he hear down there? Now, he thinks he's seeing the raven on the neighboring pub sign move! Is Tom going insane, or are strange things happening? Stranger still is Tom's gradual discovery of "the gap", a portal in time that allows Tom to travel back to the year 1717 where he stumbles into a group of prisoner circus attractions. According to Tom's new friends he is their only hope of getting their deceased friend, the giant, to his wanted resting place, but should Tom trust them?

Hearn's novel is excellent. In my opinion, I agree with Hearn's placement of the secret Tom discovers early on in the book. On the other hand, others might think it was given away too early. I could go on and on about the ending to Sign of the Raven, but talking about it might give it away. Understand this, if you don't understand the ending read it over until you do! It is hidden well, but it is easy to give away. This novel was spectacular the whole way through, and I've never read anything like it, so I declare it my favorite book of all time even with some English sayings and passages that are difficult to understand.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 10