Review: Candle Man: The Society of Dread by Glenn Dakin

When Theo defeated his old guardian, Dr Saint, in a fierce, fiery battle, he thought his enemies were routed and the bad old days were over for good. But now the terrible slithering, seething crelp are bubbling up from below ground to snatch people and harvest their bones. Deep beneath the city, an ancient force – one that could threaten even Theo the Candle Man’s power – is getting ready to burn, burn, burn. Twisted, charred, faceless Dr Pyre has a plan, and a secret that will shock Theo to the core. Theo will have to descend once more into the dark, slimy tunnels to fight strange creatures and ally with old enemies. Can the Candle Man find a way in the dark this time?

Back in November 2009, in the dark, early days of The Book Zone, I posted a review of the first book from Glenn Dakin featuring his young hero, and subtitled The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance. It was a book that I loved for its dark humour, fast pace and colourful characters, and I waited impatiently for the sequel. Unfortunately patience is not a virtue I possess in bucketfuls when it comes to books, and my willpower weakened to the point where I ordered the sequel from the US, as for some reason the books have been published over there some time before they are unleashed on the UK. I read it at a time when things were really busy at work and so I just never got around to writing a review, and then a copy of the UK paperback edition arrived from the generous people at Egmont, and has sat on my desk as a reminder to post that review ever since.

I have just re-read the sequel, subtitled The Society of Dread, so that it is fresh in my mind for writing this review, and please me when I say that it is just as good second time around. I loved this book, possibly even more than I loved the first in the series, as it has all the great elements of the first book plus more. More great characters. More horrible creatures. More dark, dark humour. And best of all, more of Theo, a main character with flaws, and one of the great underdogs of modern children's literature.

In preparation for writing this I also re-read my review of the first book in the series. At the time I wrote that I had struggled to get a feel for the place in which the story was set, and that I was a little confused about it. I wonder whether that was just the mood I was in at the time, as there was certainly none of that in this book, and the setting was this time a stand-out element of the story for me. If you haven't read the first book (you really should), the story is set in a modern day London, but there are many elements that give the reader a feeling that some of its characters are firmly rooted in the traditions of the Victorian era, and it certainly has the feel of some of the classic crime and adventure books from the beginning of the 20th Century. It is the kind of book that I would really love to see turned into a film, directed by the likes of Terry Gilliam or Jean-Pierre Jeunet, directors who would lavish care and attention on creating the perfect setting, down to the smallest detail. Although perhaps the scenes where Theo uses his powers might be a little too icky for this, so maybe an animated films by someone like Sylvain Chomet (creator of the totally brilliant Belleville Rendez-vous).

To tell you more about the plot than is mentioned in the publisher's blurb at the top of this post would be risking giving away spoilers from the first book, so instead you should read my review of that first book and then go out and get your hands on the book, in the knowledge that there is an even better sequel already waiting in the wings. If you have already read the first book then you probably don't need to read my waffling about the plot of the sequel anyway. What I will say is that the ending of The Society of Dread leaves us with a number of hints that suggest that there will hopefully be a third Candle Man book some time in the future, although I am not privy to when that may be. If I get any more information about this I will be sure to let you know.

Review: Candle Man: The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance by Glenn Dakin

Murder, mystery, and adventure aren’t your typical birthday presents . . .But for Theo, anything that breaks up his ordinary routine is the perfect gift. A mysterious “illness” and Theo’s guardians force him into a life indoors, where gloves must be worn and daily medical treatments are the norm. When Theo discovers a suspicious package on his birthday, one person from the past will unlock the secret behind Theo’s “illness” and change his life forever. Molded into an exhilarating steampunk adventure that gives birth to the next great fantasy hero, Theo Wickland, Candle Man: The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance is the first book in a trilogy by debut author Glenn Dakin.

After finishing Leviathan I was very much in a steampunk mood and this book had just arrived from Amazon so without any hesitation I completely ignored the rest of the books on my ‘still to read’ list and dived straight into Candle Man: The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance. Beautifully presented book cover aside, the title alone was enough to grab my attention, conjuring up mental images of Edgar Wallace’s ‘Four Just Men’ books and 1930s pulps such as ‘The Shadow’ and ‘Doc Savage’. However, I have to say I was a little disappointed though only because despite this being marketed as a steampunk story there are few, if any, steampunk elements to this story, or at least what I personally would consider to be essentials of the steampunk genre. As I have previously explained, steampunk is generally set in the past (usually, but not exclusively, in the Victorian era) with anachronistic technology, whereas this book has a modern setting, with modern technology such as laptops. At least I think it is a modern setting – the author makes subtle references throughout to that effect, but there are also some passages that make you wonder whether it is actually a Victorian setting. Confused? So was I at times. But..... and this is a big but, don’t let this put you off reading this book because the story is wonderful.

The hero of the story is Theo, a boy who has spent his whole life in secluded from other people, except for his guardian, a butler/bodyguard and the maid. His reading and viewing material is very carefully chosen and so he has grown up to be a naive and neurotic young man whose annual visits to a graveyard on his birthday are his only contact with the outside world. Until, that is, a couple of burglars enter his world one night when his guardian is away from home. During this burglary Theo discovers a) a secret room in the house and b) that he has a ‘super power’. I won’t go into any more detail about this power as I would hate to give away any spoilers, but the story from this moment on becomes a voyage of discovery for Theo. Who is he? Why does he have this power? Why has he been secluded from the rest of society all of his life?

As Theo sets out on this journey we are introduced to new characters and new creatures, including the wonderfully feisty Chloe - she's no damsel in distress; it's Chloe who gets the feeble Theo out of trouble! However, despite the thoroughness put into creating Theo’s character, not all of these secondary characters are fully developed, but this is Glenn Dakin’s first book, and also the first in a series of Candle Man books, so I expect we will see further development of these characters in the future. The story has a great pace to it, and this may also contribute towards this lack of character development in places, and also the confused feeling I had regarding the setting – in places descriptive writing may have been sacrificed in order to keep the story moving at such a fast pace. This will really appeal to some readers and, if I am perfectly honest, it caught me in just the right frame of mind. After Leviathan I was still in the mood for a fast paced, enjoyable story with lots of humour and this suited that mood perfectly.

The humour in this book is perfectly suited to middle grade readers. It varies from quirky, to dark, to gruesome - `Sorry, sir, but I thought you might like to know. Your face is melting' is a one-liner worthy of a classic Bond film or Carry on Screaming! Mr Dakin uses this humour very well – he knows when and, more importantly, when not to use it; some authors try to put too much humour in to their stories, but this is not evident in this book. The author even manages to use humour in some of the darker scenes, through the almost comical actions of his Smoglodytes. Think ‘Gremlins’ – even when they are at their most menacing in the movie Joe Dante and Chris Columbus still keep the laughter flowing.

Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read. I was so hooked by the story that I finished it in one sitting (sadly an increasingly rare feat these days due to work pressures) and I am really looking forward to the next instalment in the series. Just one thing Mr Dakin….. please ask your publishers to be more careful with their use of the term ‘steampunk’.