The Boggart and the Monster

The Boggart of Castle Keep returns in this follow-up to his first fantastical adventure—chronicled in the eponymous The Boggart—this time reuniting with a long-lost relative. Emily and Jessup Volnik, with whom the Boggart lived in Canada for a time, return to Scotland, and are reunited with their magical friend, as well as Tommy Cameron and Mr. Maconochie, the lawyer who purchased their ancestral home (and home of the Boggart). A camping trip to Loch Ness soon involves the four of them in an unexpected reunion, as the Boggart (tagging along) discovers that his long-forgotten but once beloved cousin, Nessie, has descended into a sleepy existence in the loch, no longer able to shape shift as he once did, and trapped in a monstrous show more shape. Can the Boggart, with the help of human friends, save Nessie from his lonely existence? Will the teams searching for the Loch Ness Monster get in the way?

Although not quite the equal of its predecessor, which had a sharp poignancy and deeper emotional pull, due to its eponymous character's displacement and eventual homesickness in a foreign human-dominated world, I do think The Boggart and the Monster makes for an appealing fantasy. I enjoyed the story, and was rooting for Nessie to make a recovery, and shake off the centuries of lethargy which had settled upon him, after the loss of his human Urquhart family and his subsequent grief. I also appreciated getting to visit with the human characters again, and found the incipient romance between Emily and Tommy—handled by Susan Cooper with a light touch—quite charming. The sub-plot with the Nessie-hunters was also fun, and I particularly liked the sub-plot involving Tommy's report father, whose deepest wish was granted. As someone who dreams of flight as a child (some of the few dreams I can ever recall having), I sympathized with his resultant delight a great deal. Recommended to anyone who has read and enjoyed the first Boggart book. show less

A neat little tale of magic, mayhem and the soul of ancient things. It made me yearn for something nameless.

Another nice story. The boggarts are...slightly less alien, because their behavior is more human, though it's repeatedly described as unusual for them. The side characters are excellent - they read like complete people who have just dropped in to play a part here, not props set up to take the role. Again, I had apparently read it long before, but didn't remember it at all.

Unfortunately this isn't my favorite Susan Cooper book. I prefer the timeless theme in The Dark is Rising, for instance. However, this is an imaginative, playful story, and is worth reading once.

This was a suprise find for a me a few years back. I enjoyed it maybe even more than the Dark is Rising series.

Another great reading by David Rintoul. I liked the Boggart better, but I just wanted him to keep reading.

The same, unadulterated Scotland that I fell in love with.