Malice by Chris Wooding

Malice by Chris Wooding
Illustrator:  Dan Chernett
Publisher:  Scholastic Press
Publish Date:  October 2009
ISBN:  978-0545160438
Pages:  379

 The story starts out simply enough - two friends, Heather and Luke - messing around trying to scare each other...or at least Luke is.


 Do you remember the urban legend of Bloody Bloody Mary?  Or maybe the urban legend made up for the movie Candyman?  The book is a little like those...only it really happens.  Luke gathers up the simple ingredients, burns them and chants 'Tall Jake, take me away.' six times.  The lights go out and things get weird, but Tall Jake only takes you when you're alone.

Soon, Luke is missing and his friends, Kady and Seth, are trying to figure it out.  See, Tall Jake figures prominently in a comic book series named 'Malice'.  The kids in the comics are often missing children.  Rumor has it that the artist looks at photos of missing children before drawing the scenes.  The comic never hits one storyline repeatedly, but gives you a glimpse of someone now and then.

When Kady and Seth look at Seth's copy of 'Malice' - it's all blank.  Every page.  But they find a map and follow it to the comic book store.  This is where things get crazy.  See - Tall Jake IS real.  Well, as real as any comic book character can be.  He does take children, but only if they ask.  *insert evil laugh*

The book is a combination of regular story and comic book.  Mr. Wooding did a wonderful job of meshing the two and the storyline is fantastic.  There is a sequel, HAVOC that I haven't been able to lay my hands on yet, but trust me, I will.

The cover is amazing!  It's completely 3D!  I know it's probably a bugger to shelve, but I love that I could feel Tall Jakes robes and it was also a little creepy and weirded me out during the scary parts. I actually held the book by the edges so I wouldn't touch it.  Yep, that's how weird I am!