The Eyeball Collector

Hector Fitzbaudly is fascinated by the bad side of town until his wealthy father is ruined by a one-eyed blackmailer. Forced to sell everything they own, Hector is soon left an orphan and has to live among the desperate people he had been so curious about. He finds friends, but he swears to avenge his father by making the man responsible pay. As it turns out, the villain is currently living among the depraved local nobility, and Hector finds there's a job opening. Living among them, he can observe and carry out his revenge.
A grim and well-written tale of revenge set in a fictional version of the Victorian era.

THE EYEBALL COLLECTOR - Great read with lots of twists and turns. I like the way that Higgins writes about the dark, dank streets of Urbs Umida and the filthy putrid Foedus River. Higgins cleverly adds excerpts from letters that Hector has penned to Polly; these are great to better understand the various tenses of the story, past life tales of young Hector. This is a story of a young Hector whose life goes from Ritches to Rags in one foul swoop by the hands of Gulliver Truepin (alias Baron Bovrik de Vandolin). When his butterfly-collector father is swindled to within an inch of his life , a vengeful Hector leaves the city of Urbs Umida in pursuit of a fiendish villain with a glass eye known as Baron Bovrik de Vandolin. The trail leads show more to Withypitts Hall, a forbidding Gothic mansion as warped as its inhabitants and their secret schemes. Soon Hector finds himself embroiled in mysterious deeds more poisonous than his worst imaginings, but every twist and turn brings him closer to his revenge ...but does it, will Hector have revenge or will he heed the words of his father ... show less

I have not read the other two books in the series but it did not matter as only 1 character revealed himself at the end to have been in any of the other books. Set in a place called Urbs Umida ;think 1800's grimy London where the river Thames(in this book called Foedus) decides who has and doesn't have wealth - The North is Wealthy, the South a crime ridden slum. Hector is one of the lucky ones who lives on the wealthy side of the river with his father, an extremely successful wine merchant who collects butterflies. Enter the vile, one-eyed con man Gulliver Truepin, who blackmails Hector's father and causes them to lose the business, the house, their wealth and then finally Hector's father dies a pauper's death. Despite telling his show more father otherwise, Hector swears revenge on his father's death. He finds himself on the poor side of the river in a house for orphans where he meets Polly to whom much of the story is told through letters. Through a twist of fate, Hector finds himself in the employ of Baron de Vandolin (Truepin in one of his schemes) and the truly sinister Lady Mandible. Hector is employed to help prepare a huge cache of butterflies to hatch exactly on time for the MidWinter Feast but while at Mandible Hall to do this, he discovers a truly gruesome aspect to Lady Mandible and knows that Truepin (aka the Baron) is up to something also. The "eyeball collector" in the title refers to Truepin's ambition to be so wealthy that he can afford a new prosthetic bejewelled eyeball for every day of the week. Excellent book in a similar vein to The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher. show less

Hector Fitzbaudly gets his wish to experience the seedier side of Urbs Umida when his father is blackmailed with a secret form his past. Finding himself penniless and homeless, Hector realizes this is not the life he wants and he decides to seek revenge. Unfortunately, the Eyeball Collector is a master of disguise! This book is called a “polyquel” by the author, as it contains elements from both The Black Book of Secrets and The Bone Magician as well as its own mysteries. This book may not interest readers who haven't read the two previous books but it can stand alone. More than likely readers will be intrigued by this book to go an pick up the other works which I feel are stronger and more fun to read.

Having read the other two books written by F.E. Higgins I didn’t find this instalment as good but it was still a great read. Although it isn’t a sequel it definitely helps if you’ve read the other two books written before it – ‘The Black Book of Secrets’ and ‘The Bone Magician’ - as previous characters make an appearance and locations and incidents are referred to.

In this story, we have Hector who has been cruelly orphaned. His life takes a change when he discovers Withypitts Hall and he is faced with some difficult decisions. Hector is very different from Ludlow and Pin (characters featuring in the previous two novels) in that he is from across the river and has experienced a different and more prosperous life that show more Ludlow and Pin.

F.E. Higgins makes use of letters found from Hector to Polly (a character from TBBOS). She explains in her introduction that these were discovered on her travels and along with other items she has found she is able to tell the story of Hector. Even this concept, of the author being part of the story seems somewhat unusual in comparison to some fiction for younger readers. It is a clever idea that makes the reader feel more involved.

Although I didn’t enjoy this story as much it does require slightly more investment from the reader in that you need to link everything together as you’re going. There are even riddles along the way to solve should you desire as Hector enjoyed riddling with his father and continues the tradition once orphaned.

A recommended read for adults and children, however this is the first one out of the three where it will help to read the others. show less

When his butterfly-collector father is swindled to within an inch of his life, a vengeful Hector leaves the city of Urbs Umida in pursuit of a fiendish villain with a glass eye. The trail leads to Withypitts Hall, a forbidding Gothic mansion as warped as its inhabitants and their secret schemes. Soon Hector finds himself embroiled in mysterious deeds more poisonous than his worst imaginings, but every twist and turn brings him closer to his revenge...

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