The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 5 – The Wrath of Mulgarath | Book Review

Children’s books are one of the favourite genres for us here at Thinkerviews. We are always looking for books filled with adventure, enterprise and magic that makes childhood such a fascinating phase of life. We have reviewed a fair few series designed for young readers and shared our reviews on those here at Thinkerviews platforms.

• The Brightstorm Series by Vashti Hardy
• Friday Barnes Book Series by R.A. Spratt
• The Pandava series featuring Aru Shah by Roshani Chokshi

We added the Spiderwick Chronicles series to our reading list a while ago. Created by authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, these series has captured the readers with its tales of fairy land creatures inhabiting a derelict estate and the trio of children who go looking for them.

First published in 2003, the series has grown over time and been loved by readers old and young, inspiring a TV adaptation by the same name that’s hit the screens lately. We have shared our reviews on the previous books of the series here:

The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 1 – The Field Guide

The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 2 –

The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 3 – Lucinda’s Secret

The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 4 – The Ironwood Tree

So let’s continue through the series with this review for the fifth book called The Wrath of Mulgarath.

Book Cover:

Let us take a look at the cover page of this book.

We found the lovely hard back copies of the series. The coverpage of this fifth book in this series shows a creature out of faerie tales occupying the centre stage along with his army at the bottom. This is presumably the wrathful Mulgarath that our heroes and heroin must face in this book.

The fonts used on the coverpage will remind of classical wrought iron casting work and ancient tapestries. The authors’ names are shown in flying leaves….

Inside, this edition is filled with beautiful illustrations, almost on every page, making a very attractive read for young readers.

A classic cover page that would be more appealing to the fans of the series looking for a collector’s edition.

Storyline:

We left the Grace children witnessing Mulgarath’s army killing the dwarves at the end of the last adventure. And as the day breaks, they arrive, tired and worn out, at the gates of the Spiderwick Estate to find that the estate looks more like a battleground than their home. Their beloved griffin Byron appears to be fighting off a goblin on the roof of the house.

And as they run inside the house, worried for their Mon, they find the inside of the house is also a scene of disaster and destruction. Thimbletack is sitting in the hall, mourning the fact that he could not protect the house against the army of goblins. When they finally manage to reach Byron, they find that his prey is none other than hobgoblin Hogsqueal.

Mallory, Simon and Jarred realize that Mulgarath has taken their mother captive. With no other options left for help, Jared visits the elves. Here, he promises to return the field guide if he ever finds it and gets a few minutes to talk with Arthur Spiderwick, who has been an elven captive for all these years.

Armed with more knowledge than they previously had, Mallory, Simon, Jared, Hogsqueal, Thimbletack and Byron arrive at Mulgarath’s place. Hogsqueal pretends that he took the children as prisoners and manages to get them all inside the palace. The goblins tie all three children up and leave them with what looks like salamanders.

Mallory frees herself and together the children fight off not only goblins, but also the young dragons – with Byron’s help. It all feels rather easy as they climb up the spiral stairs to find their mother bound in chains with no guards. But the surprising bit is the other prisoner in chains – their father.

While Helen is unconscious, their father seems to have had a change of heart and wants to become part of their life. But, soon Jared realizes that it’s a trap. Mulgarath has got the whole family in his clutches.

Can the Grace children save their mother and themselves? What will happen to the world if the field guide cannot be found? Will the Spiderwick family ever get a chance to reunite?

Views and Reviews:

This being the final instalment in the series, is slightly longer that the previous books, but it is still an easy read aimed at young readers. The book is filled with illustrations to go with the text with the highlight being the glossy one featuring a griffin and a dragon locked in a fighting knot.

It is good to see our adorable young protagonists getting some help from characters from previous books – a house boggart/brownie and a hobgoblin, as they take on a formidable foe, who wants to find all their secrets and rule the world. So who and what is Mulgarath?

Ogres are master shape-shifters – clever, sly, and cruel. Strong,  too, unfortunately. One flaw is they are often vain and prone to bragging.

I really enjoyed Thimbletack’s rhyming talk, which makes the reading of this book so much enjoyable. So are Hogsqueal’s strange expressions which will make you laugh, as he unexpectedly becomes the hero of the battle.

While these are old friends, we also have dragons which are new addition to Mulgarath’s army. He is using the knowledge from Arthur Spiderwick’s field guide to raise them at fast pace.

Mulgarath also voices the sentiment that has been causing the conflict between humans and the faeries:

You humans take everything and keep the best part for yourselves. You live in palaces, dine on banquets, and clothe yourselves in fine silks and velvets like royalty. We, who live forever, who have magic, who have power; are supposed to lie down and let your kind trample us into the ground.

Although the book concludes the adventures of Simon, Jarred and Mallory for now, the authors give us a few verses at the end to tell the readers of the more stories they have in offing:

For the time is upon us
The guide is at hand
Soon Spiderwick’s opus
Will be read through the land.
So keep your eyes open
And when you see it, do choose it!
Because knowledge is good…
Just beware how you use it.

These stories have also been turned into a delightful TV adaptation and are available to stream on: The Roku Channel.

Summary:

An enjoyable segment in the series of adventures featuring three adorable children as they learn about the magical world around their new home and fight the battle to stop a formidable foe…

ThinkerViews Rating:

Around 7.5 stars out of 10.

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Over To You:

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