The Book of Dead Days

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10�Marcus Sedgwick's story (Wendy Lamb Books, 2004) about the Dead Days, the time between Christmas and New Years, is brought to life by the narration of Roger Rees. The suspenseful story is set "somewhere in the second half of the eighteenth century" in "an old city, once magnificent but now decaying, with echoes of many beautiful cities�" An odd and mysterious magician, Valerian, is a desperate man. He needs to find the key to his survival after 15 years of searching before midnight on New Year's Eve. The key is a book that Valerian hopes will give him the information he needs to hold back the demonic forces that are pursuing him as a result of a deal that was made based on a greedy love and at a cost too great for him to face now. Valerian uses his servant boy, known throughout the book only as "Boy," and Willow, an orphan, to help him search for the book. Mystery and intrigue are at every turn in this engaging story, made even (more�)