The Face in the Frost
Author: John Bellairs
Year: 1969
Abstract:
Something's amiss in the land and Prospero and Roger Bacon are the only two who seem to be doing anything about it. When even
Prospero's home becomes hostile, they must journey to find the source of the menace and hopefully banish it before the two kingdoms
become swallowed up in evil.
| Advanced Mind | |
| Exploration/Quest |  |
| Military/Fighting | |
| Horror | |
| Magic | |
| Advanced Technology | |
| Time Travel/Alternate History | |
| Science | |
| Aliens/Beasties | |
| Contemporality |
Other books in this series:
None
tyranist's Review
Written back before John Bellairs found his true calling (writing gothic horror/magic tales centered on generally pudgy little boys) he wrote
a couple fantasy novels. I grew up reading his other fiction and was delighted to stumble onto one of his two adult fantasy novels in
a collection I inherited from an uncle.
The fantasy and tone of the book is irreverent much like James Blaylock's fiction and definitely foreshadows the novels that would
come later. Unfortunately, it also shows a little the novice hand of Bellairs. This was his second novel and it really doesn't live up
to his later reputation. While the story is somewhat interesting and the narrative keeps a good pace, there are elements that are just
plain underdone. I found myself wishing he had embellished parts a little. The novel is very short and really, it wouldn't have hurt
to include a little more descriptive material.
In light of his later fiction, this really falls short. It wasn't a bad novel, but it wasn't compelling and it didn't really capture my
imagination as I had hoped it would. Perhaps I should stop complaining and review some of his later work instead.