The Grave Robber's Apprentice by Allan Stratton

“This is an exhilarating, swash-buckling adventure that’s full of humour and heart and bursting with breakneck action, set in a fantastical world with haunted forests, avalanche sledding and circus bears.” “Stratton offers up a rumbunctious new take on an old fairy-tale theme in this hugely engaging, humorous and exciting novel that is ideal for readers at upper primary level.” He also slips in some important messages: the power of imagination the redeeming quality of kindness and no matter how dire the straits, the need to believe in happy endings.” Stratton tells it all in language as rollicking as a song, with almost as many amusing moments as there are heart-stopping ones. Hans and Angela begin their quest and along the way find hermits, dancing bears, dastardly children, treachery, and friendship. To save herself, Angela finds the Necromancer, an eyeless, hairless, rotting wraith, who is not her best hope, as it turns out. And you can guess what happens to his brides. Then, suddenly, Angela is pulled from her royal world when Archduke Arnulf comes to claim her for his latest bride. Taken in by a grave robber, he learns the trade, though he looks longingly at Angela, Countess von Schwanenberg, whose passion is puppet theater. Hans is washed up on shore as a babe in a royal-crested box. But in Stratton’s capable hands, they leap from the pages (not literally, of course, but almost) and appear fascinatingly fresh. This cast of characters is not very out of the ordinary in fantasy novels.

An evil underworldly character-well, let’s make that really, really evil-who might show up in readers’ dreams. A young countess, arrogant yet remarkably brave.

“A lad who is unaware of his royal heritage.

The Grave Robber's Apprentice by Allan Stratton