Another amazing A Lee Martinez book. This guy is turning into one of my favorite authors. ( )

A light-hearted and amusing stand-alone fantasy novel, with a whole cast of fanciful and horrifying characters, and of course, loveable, sensible and responsible Nessy. ( )

Nessy, a lowly kobold, works for her dark wizard master Margle, and helps take care of the massive castle and all of its quirks and cursed inhabitants, including Echo, a poet turned into a body-less voice; Sir Thedeus, a hero turned into a bat; and even Margle's own brother, turned into a jar of body parts and stuck on a shelf. Nessy approaches her job with a practical, staid nature, and treats her inevitable demise at the hands of Margle the same. However, when a chance accident leaves Margle eaten alive by a nurgax, and Nessy unexpectedly the only non-cursed inhabitant of the castle, she has to contend with an evil wizardess who seems determined to take over, a mysterious door that wants to be opened, and break the curses of her friends. One problem at a time...

This was a delightful book, full of interesting characters and a rollicking plot. Some of it seemed to get sidetracked - for instance, the hellhound, while interesting, didn't seem to have much bearing on the ending, but they were always fun. Nessy herself is a great character and reminds me a good deal of Flora Poste of Cold Comfort Farm, with a matter-of-fact approach to the zany happenings around her. A well-ordered mind is just what the castle needs, in fact.

With a lot of humor, a little wit, and a dash of heart, this is a fun fantasy romp to enjoy. ( )

This book was really cute. I actually think my 12 year old daughter, Arlington, would like it. It was funny and an easy read, and the main character was easily likable. It starts out with a wizard named Margle the Horrendous who has a servant named Nessy who tends the castle. Margle never kills anyone - but he turns all of his victims into various forms and locks them into his castle. Nessy is in charge of the castle and all of its inhabitants (including "The Monster that Shouldn't Be" and "The Door at the End of the Hall" which apparently are terrifying).



Margle suddenly dies, and Nessy finds herself trying to care for the castle on her own. Things start to unravel. A dark Wizardess shows up and Nessy has to keep her from taking the castle and killing everyone in it.



The real strength of this book is the variety of characters. They stay by Nessy's side, and most of the inhabitants love her as much as they despised Margle.



I think this is a great book and I highly recommend it. It would make a fun summer read for just about any age.

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This a fun book - Nothing too deep, just a plucky heroine in charge of a menagerie of cursed creatures in a castle with a door that should never be opened. Nessy is a great character, she is exactly as she is potrayed, a bit stubborn, ever practical, an caring for her cursed charges. ( )