This is post 200!! Woo hoo!
I read this book for the R.I.P. II Challenge.
I don’t usually read scary books, YA or otherwise but the blurb sounded interesting so I chose this book as my 3rd RIP book.
Here’s a synopsis:
“Jack’s best mate, Charlie, has always been effortlessly cool. When Charlie wakes up one day and finds a mysterious, moving BLACK TATTOO on his back, it’s a clear sign that he’s even cooler than Jack thought. To top it off, Charlie is suddenly able to fight like a kung fu master, fly, and control the minds of others. Yes, he’s got super powers. Or does he?
Jack soon learns the terrifying truth: Charlie’s incredible powers come from an age-old demon called the Scourge, who is using Charlie to bring about its evil masterplan. To stop the Scourge, Jack and Charlie join forces with Esme, a girl with super powers of her own, trained from birth to fight the demon. But time is running out, as Charlie falls deeper under the Scourge’s dark spell.
When the Scourge vanishes with Charlie, Jack and Esme follow their friend from the streets of London into Hell itself, where they face horrors that may well cost them their lives. Can they survive to outwit the Scourge, save Charlie, and stop an even greater evil?”
It’s long for a YA book because it was originally made into three seperate books but was then put into one long book. It was interesting but not quite what I was expecting. A large portion of the book takes place in Hell which isn’t the same as what most people think of. God is in the book but he’s nothing like most people believe, no matter what religion. Many times in the book Jack or Charlie makes a comment or asks a question and is told that their earthly beliefs are wrong and to stop being held back by them. I found this very interesting. Sam Enthoven was very creative in this book, creating worlds and ideas that I’d never heard before. It was nice not to have the same old demons are evil creatures of hell which is where you go when you die if you’ve been bad etc…. He’s created something new.
I didn’t have the can’t put it down feeling till near the end but this is probably because demons are not the sort of thing I usually care to read about. I did enjoy the book though and am curious about his upcoming book.
What was really cool was the kung fu and weapons. It was like the fight scenes in Kill Bill but a little less gruesome. The whole tattoo thing was cool too.
It was scary in parts and I wouldn’t allow my child to read it till at least 13, possibly 15 if they scare/upset easily.
Website: http://www.theblacktattoo.com/
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