Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke

You cannot imagine my excitement at being offered a proof copy of Cornelia Funke's latest children's book to review. I haven't read one of her books for a while but I knew I would be in for something special. I can still remember reading Dragon Rider to my daughter when she was little and the misty imagery of The Thief Lord will haunt my idea of Venice forever.

And I mention those two books, rather than the, perhaps, more famous Inkheart series, because this book, Ghost Knight, seems to me to be more in their style.

Here's the blurb:

Eleven year old Jon Whitcroft never expected to enjoy boarding school. He never expected to be confronted by a pack of vengeful ghosts either. And then he meets Ella, a quirky new friend with a atste for adventure... Together, Jon and Ella must work to uncover the secrets of a centuries-old murder, while being haunted by ghosts intent on revenge. So when Jon summons the ghost of the knight Longspee for his protection, there's one question - can Longspee himelf really be trusted?

So, here we have a gothic adventure in the literary sense, set amongst the architecturally gothic buildings of Salisbury Cathedral and its school. This is perfect territory for Funke. The setting is dark and mysterious and provides no end of opportunity for Funke's ability to conjure up mists and shadows and generally send a thrill down the reader's spine. But the young protagonist and his friend sail through the horror with a wry sense of humour and a pretty solid, on the part of the girl, dose of good sense. This stops the story getting too dark and keeps it well-suited to its 9+ readership.

The proof copy I have is paperback, but the real thing will be released in hardback in October 2012, and it strikes me that this will be another of Orion's little masterpieces. They seem to have a knack of producing something that you want to handle and cherish. And there will be even more reason to value this book. For Funke's delightful and thrilling, in all senses, story is superbly illustrated by Andrea Offermann in a style that steers a perfect line between that ever-present gothic horror and a childish naivete. It pleases me no end that more children's novels are being illustrated and I am glad Orion is taking a lead in this area.

 The lovely people at Orion Books provided this review copy. If you would like to get your own please click through from here and Amazon will kindly send a small contribution towards maintaining this blog.