The school of night : Demon storm by Justin Richards
Faber, 2010. ISBN 978 0571245086.
Suggested reading age 13. Samantha and Ben Foundling are orphaned
siblings who reside at a children's home following a series of
unsuccessful placements with foster families. Samantha has a paranormal
gift, being able to observe spirits of dead people and despite her
reticence to speak of the matter, Ben is aware that she is conscious of
troubling presences which he cannot see.
A mysterious Mr. Knight conducts a specific test on those children
noticed by his agents working in the community and it is in this
fashion that Samantha comes to his attention. Suddenly Samantha
disappears and cannot be located, except on the occasion of Ben's
birthday when she honours a pact made previously with him when they
promised to observe this special event. Sadly for Ben, their time
together is fleeting and Samantha reveals nothing, causing him to
commence a determined search which leads him to stumble across the
'School of night'.
In this institution, children possessing powers to detect evil and
threatening spirits are trained to control and overpower them for the
benefit of the wider community. Accordingly, Knight and his teachers
are provided with discrete assistance by government, the military and
religious figures, however this help is insufficient to repel a
determined attack by hundreds of demons summoned by the evil Carstairs
Endeavour.
Resident pupils at the school of night have certain skills, senses and
capacities which are developed by their tutors. Unfortunately, as Ben
has no special powers, having gained access by deception in the search
for his sister, it transpires that he must utilise intelligence and
technology to support his fellows in their battle.
Justin Richards has compiled a horror story which will appeal to
younger readers, founded upon a reasonable plot involving a range of
solid characters.
Magical elements within the story are limited beyond the presence of
supernatural spirits and readers may be reassured that this is no
shoddy imitation of the Harry Potter concept.
Teenagers will enjoy this story and I was gratified that this author
demonstrated a capacity to work within the horror genre whilst
refraining from presenting repugnant terror, violence or the extremely
grotesque as a substitute for an imaginative story line. Readers will
eagerly follow Ben in his quest to be reunited with his sister and are
likely to seek the next title in the series Creeping terror.
Rob Welsh