Barnaby Grimes: Return of the Emerald Skull
by Chris Riddell & Paul Stewart

Release Date: 3rd Jan 2008
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 978 0 385 61189 3
RRP: £8.99

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Another highstacking performance by Barnaby Grimes

Barnaby Grimes is the affable highstacker or tick-tock lad with the tall hat, swordstick and ability to jump across the rooftops delivering parcels and letters... And this is the latest adventure he finds himself on. It’s a hazardous job being a tick-tock lad, who knows what’s in those parcels you’re delivering...

This time, Barnaby gets caught up in ancient jungle evil via the Emerald Skull. He unknowingly delivers it to the headmaster of a local school only to discover that his delivery has taken a hold on the entire school and is threatening to get out of control. In a few days or weeks (it’s not that clear on the timescale), Barnaby manages to secure a new friendship with Mei Ling, an unusual girl with tremendous martial arts skills, which she invariables teaches Barnaby. Of course, these skills happen to save him at a pivotal moment and all is left well that ends well.

Return of the Emerald Skull is more akin to a short story than novel, in that it can be easily read within a matter of an hour or so if given complete focus and attention, which is not difficult as it moves along at such a pace and with so little detail to distract the reader that you almost reach the end of the story before you realise it. That isn’t to say that the plot is lacking – it is actually a very imaginative adventure, but there is something of the mini about it. It isn’t quite enough, and perhaps this is intentional on the part of the authors. It is rather like a quick shot of caffeine via an expresso, rather than a soft long iced tea.

Almost exclusively written by boys for boys, it does have plenty of appeal. The illustrations help bring the characters to life, where the textual descriptions are somewhat flat – they also help create the spooky atmosphere with the silhouettes throughout. This is definitely a book where the visual plays an almost equal part to the textual. And for that reason, I am left feeling a little unmoved. I don’t dislike the book and I am sure the series will do well – it targets its audience well – but neither am I irrepressibly drawn back to it. Good, harmless reading in a nutshell. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

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