Tag Archives: Lockwood & Co

The Empty Grave (Lockwood and Co 5) by Jonathan Stroud

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Stars: 5 out of 5.

I loved this book and the series as a whole! What an original idea with wonderful characters that I learned to love and care about during the 5 books. And yes, even though this series is told from Lucy’s perspective, all the other characters are fully fleshed-out and lovable, even if some took a bit to grow on you, like Kipps or the Skull.

This book picks up a few months after the events of the previous book in the series and the pretty earth-shattering revelation at the end of that story. And as an aside, this book can’t be read as a standalone. In fact, all of the books in this series have to be read in order, because each book builds on the events and revelations of the previous one. But hey, who would want to start a series on the last book instead of experiencing the joy of discovering this world and the characters and growing with them from the beginning?

I will try to review this book without giving out too many spoilers for the events in this whole series, but let’s just say that things put in motion in the first book and even before then are finally getting to a head in here. Our little agency has fallen afoul of some very powerful people… with deadly consequences. Things looked pretty dire for most of the book. 

Not to mention that the whole world in this series seems to get grimmer and grimmer as the books progress. The Problem isn’t going away, no matter how many agencies fight on the frontlines to tackle the visitors. In fact, there seems to be more and more of them, and they are getting more and more vicious. People live in constant fear, and even the weather seems to get gloomier and more dismal as the series progresses. 

I am glad that everything was resolved in the end of the book, even if it’s not a neat ending and a happy ever after. The Problem still exists, and putting things right will take years and long perilous excursions into the other side. 

I also liked that Lockwood finally got all the answers about what happened to his parents and who was responsible for their deaths. It finally helped him get over this and start living instead of constantly standing with one foot in the empty grave next to the graves of his family. Everyone got a satisfying send off by the end of this book, even though I wouldn’t mind reading some short stories about the characters and how they are dealing with the aftermath of the fall of Fittes Agency.

All in all, this is a series I will definitely recommend. Even though this is more on the YA side, it lacks all of the tropes so typical to the genre. No love triangles or annoyingly immature characters acting in annoying immature and hormonal ways. Honestly, the grim reality of life with the Problem makes kids grow up so much faster in this world. You don’t have to worry about your make up or if the boy next door likes you when you literally fight for your life every night.

This is the second series I’ve read by this author, and I really loved them both. I will definitely check out anything else he produces in the future.

The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood and Co 4) by Jonathan Stroud

Stars: 4.5 out of 5.

This series continues to deliver, and we finally get some answers (and a lot more questions).

It’s wonderful to have the team back together by the end of this book. I understand why Lucy thought she needed to leave at the end of the previous book, but I think that she also learned a couple valuable lessons. First that you need a team you can count on and companions you can trust. Second, that there are situations that you simply cannot deal with on your own. And finally, that Lockwood will always be Lockwood, and he will always play with death with abandon, like he has a death wish (pun intended).

The world in this series is getting bleaker by the book. It almost seems like the whole of the UK is permeated by some kind of despair. The Problem is getting worse. More and more Visitors are manifesting almost everywhere, people are dying, so everyone just goes about their day with a sort of resigned pessimism. 

It is also rather disheartening to see that the two agencies that are supposed to be the last defense against the Problem are, in fact, using said problem for their own gains. I mean there were already hints that things were not as they seemed in previous books, but here the message comes across as loud and clear. I even wonder if Fittes and Rotwell didn’t cause the Problem in the first place, especially considering the revelation we get at the end of the book.

So it is with a certain amount of trepidation that I look forward towards reading the next and last book in the series. The lines have been drawn, and some not so subtle threats have been voiced. Will our friends from Lockwood and Co survive the confrontation with a giant like the Fittes agency? And more importantly, will they finally uncover the cause of the Problem and save England? 

The Hollow Boy (Lockwood & Co 3) by Jonathan Stroud

Stars: 5 out of 5.

This series keeps getting better and better. The intrigue behind the Orpheus Society is getting a bit more development, and we have some interpersonal drama between the three members of Lockwood & Co. 

All in all, it was a fast-paced and gripping story. The plot thickens. Now we have a (yet) unknown group of people who discovered how to weaponize ghosts. A ghost bomb, anyone? And we have another (or same group) of people who were performing some kind of ritual in a plague pit that served as a focus point for a massive haunting in the whole of Chelsea. The reasons behind these events are unknown, and that’s intriguing. I’m pretty sure a confrontation between Lockwood and Co and these people (whether they are the Orpheus Society or not) will be the endgame of the series. I am excited to see how that unfolds.

On the interpersonal front, a wrench is thrown into the relationships between the trio in the person of Holly Munro. I found it rather hilarious to watch Lucy get all bent over the axel over the presence of another girl in what she considers her domain. This brings home the fact that even though they deal with horrible things that even adults would have nightmares about, Lockwood, Lucy and George are still basically children. They are teenagers with raging hormones, unbridled emotions, and rampant insecurities. 

Lucy especially has a huge chip on her shoulder, so she tends to be very judgmental of anyone she feels threatened by. Which means all females she comes across, unless they are absolutely ugly. So seeing how efficient, organized, and put together Holly is would rub her the wrong way. It was a bit funny to see Lucy assume so many things about Holly and then be an absolute snotty b… to her because of those assumptions. Hopefully, the events of this book showed her the dangers of assumptions, lack of honest communication, and what happens when you let your feelings fester. Maybe she will be nicer to other people now. 

We also learned what happened to Lockwood’s sister, and why he behaves the way he does most of the time. We still don’t know what happened to his parents, but the insinuations thrown in book 2 point towards the fact that it was nothing good and that it wasn’t an accident. 

I will definitely be continuing with this series and learning more about the Problem, the mysterious groups trying to weaponize it, and how our trio of friends can survive the aftermath.

The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co 2) by Jonathan Stroud

Stars: 5 out of 5

I really like this series so far, and that must be worth something coming from someone who doesn’t usually read YA books. Yet this is how YA should be – smart, interesting, with engaging characters and a developing plotline that evolves from book to book.

The characters are engaging and feel like real people, even if Lucy can come across as rather snotty and judgmental at times, especially when she describes other women they encounter. But I think that stems from deep insecurities she has about her appearance and her worth as a woman. After all, she has never been valued as anything other than an Agent, so that’s what she tries to build her whole personality around.

Lockwood is charming and charismatic as ever. And he is smart. He is the brains of this company, even if George is the one who does all the research. And as it often happens with very smart people, he has no patience for those who are a bit less smart them him, or who fail to do what he wants them to do. Thus why he was so irritated with George throughout this book and failed to see that his friend was getting more and more enthralled by the mirror.

All in all, I love the dynamics within this group. They feel like excellent partners, but more then that, they are becoming good friends, even sort of surrogate family to each other. 

The world depicted in this series is fascinating, in a gruesome and depressing kind of way. The adults live a state of constant fear, and the children are robbed of their childhood and forced to confront the horrors of the Visitors. Let’s be honest, the Rat House was terrifying. I like that we discover more and more details about what it means to live day to day with the Problem, and how people cope and adapt. I also like the little hints we get in each book that there is something bigger going on behind the scenes.

I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series as soon as possible to learn more about Lockwood’s sister, and the mysterious Orpheus society and its ties to Marissa Fittes.

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co 1) by Jonathan Stroud

Stars: 5 out of 5.

I watched the Netflix series based on these books and liked them, so I decided to check out the original works as well. Especially since there was a lot less backstory and worldbuilding in the tv series then I would have liked. Well, I’m glad I picked up the books, even if they are technically YA. This is quality storytelling, and I loved every minute of it.

I also noticed that while the tv series follow the first book almost word for word when it comes to the events that happen, they are a lot less effective at describing the character motivations. I honestly thought that Lockwood was a pretentious ass when I watched the series. And an ass who constantly puts others in danger to boot. Well, I’m glad to say that he isn’t like that in the books. Reckless, yes. Excitable – definitely. But also brilliant, smart, and with nerves of steel. I actually liked his character in the book while in the tv series I found him mildly irritating at best. 

Same goes for George. The way he is and the way he behaves in the book is much more natural than how they portrayed him in the series. And I’m not against race-swapping characters, but they could have found an actor who fit George’s description a bit better. After all, the fact that he is overweight and not particularly handsome weights heavily on his character and his behavior. That’s where a lot of his insecurities come from. And that opportunity was completely lost in the tv series.

Also, is it me, or is the book a lot more scary and more… cinematic, shall we say? I mean the Red Room episode in the series just made me shrug, but when I was reading about it in the book, I literally had shivers. That whole night in the most haunted house in England was extremely well-written. And showed all the team members at their best, especially Lockwood and Lucy. The whole Annie Ward story was also better presented than in the TV series, in my opinion. 

I also loved that we get a lot more backstory on the Problem and more examples of the Visitors, as well as how everyday life is in a world where nights aren’t safe, and ghosts that the majority of the population can’t see can still seriously harm and even kill them. I would like to know more about this. I also would like to know if this Problem is only local to England or if it spread to the rest of Europe as well. It was mentioned that it had started in London and was slowly spreading into more rural parts of the country over the last fifty years, so maybe it hasn’t made it across the Channel just yet. 

I’m sure I will get answers to at least some of my questions if I continue with the series, which I most certainly will!