Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Review: Curse of the Harvester by Greg Grunberg & Lucas Turnbloom


Curse of the Harvester by Greg Grunberg & Lucas Turnbloom. Art by Lucas Turnbloom. Color byGuy Major. Dream Jumper Book 2. 220 p. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc. October, 2017. 9780545826082. (Review of a finished paperback courtesy of publisher.)

It is best to have read the first book in this series because Curse of the Harvester begins with a creepy-weird sequence with several characters from the first book, Nightmare Escape. That book had a resolution of sorts, but with some unfinished business. I mentioned in my review of Nightmare Escape that the bad guys were truly terrifying. They continue to be here. 

Ben and Jake have gone into the dream jumping business and seem to be doing well. Ben becomes more sure of his ability with each jump and Jake monitors things from the waking world - until he falls asleep. Jake slips into the dream world and brings something back with him. I was tripping along fine until the boys woke up - at a pool party. Who sleeps at a pool party? For some reason, that bothered me. 

Perhaps I should've reread Nightmare Escape because I didn't always follow the pivots in the story. Fans won't notice though. Still, I'm eager for the next volume as this one's ending is ominous.

The art continues to impress with vivid, energetic colors and a nice mix of panel sizes. The villains spring to hideous life here, and this is not a book to give to any reader with a clown phobia. Give this to your readers who want horror. While not relentlessly scary, it is unnerving.


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