The revenue generated from the adverts on the site is a critical part of our funding - and it's because of these ads that I can offer the site for free.
But using the site for free AND blocking the ads doesn't feel like a great thing to do, which is why this box is so large and inconvenient.
Some sites will completely block your access, but I'm not doing that - I'm appealing to your good nature instead.
Did you know that you can allow ads for specific sites, whilst still blocking them on others?
I read this book quite a few years ago and I remember that I enjoyed it but couldn't remember much of the story. This is normal for me which at least means it's not too repetitive
Following Scribbler's suggestion I decided to listen to Neil Gaiman read the book. It took a while to get used to this, not helped by flaky internet for the first chapter. I mainly listened to it on my laptop while doing online jigsaws which was strangely relaxing.
For me this is a mainly faultless read. I guess it's a YA book as probably a bit scary for small children but it's still engrossing as a grown-up read. I loved all the inhabitants of the graveyard with their inscriptions and old fashioned manners. I liked the episodic nature of the book with a self-contained story for each chapter as Bod grew up and slowly discovered that Silas was a vampire. It was a great mix of funny and touching bits with some genuinely scary and disturbing moments.
It's unsentimental and doesn't deliver a happy ending in every situation. I love the ending of the book with Bod sent out to properly live his life while the inhabitants of the graveyard fade away from him. I may have had a tear in my eye...
I gave this book a 9 and I have to give a big thank you to Scribbler for choosing it. Once I got going with listening to it, it turned out to be the perfect read in the strange times we're living through.
I didn't get the similarities with HP, it feels a very different sort of book to me. I suppose the starting point is similar but this feels more like the most important part was how everyone helped Bod grow up. The confrontation with the Jacks is just one small part of this not the driving point of the story. I can see now that the inspiration of The Jungle Book is much more important.
If we're talking orphans in fiction I have to add Ged in The Wizard of Earthsea
You can report any content you believe to be unsafe.
Please let me know why you believe this content is unsafe by choosing a category below.
Thank you for your report. The content will be assessed as soon as possible.
Back To Top
Tag A User
To tag a user, start typing their name here:
X
Free training & racing tools for runners, cyclists, swimmers & walkers.
Fetcheveryone lets you analyse your training, find races, plot routes, chat in our forum, get advice, play games - and more!
Nothing is behind a paywall, and it'll stay that way thanks to our awesome community!
His Dark Materials
May 2025