Johnny Dixon: The Chessmen of Doom (Paperback)

from atimco

I admit it: I sometimes judge books by their titles when deciding whether or not to buy them. That is the only explanation I have for owning two copies of John Bellairs's The Chessmen of Doom. The title's great, but that's it. What an incredibly choppy prose style Bellairs has! I got to page 14 b...

from themulhern

Typical Bellairs. It is a good formula; but a bit of a letdown after "The Trolley to Yesterday" which was kind of original for him. I always like the Gorey covers, but when the characters are too prominently shown they are a bit jarring, because they don't look like they're descriptions in the book.

from StormRaven

Johnny Dixon, Professor Childermass, and Fergie Ferguson all return for another creepy mystery as they confront a madman bent upon destroying the world. Oddly for a Johnny Dixon/Professor Childermass mystery, they don't have to go out seeking trouble, instead trouble comes directly to them. The b...

from jen.e.moore

Yep, this is the one I remember best from my childhood, and also one of my favorites. Creepy mysteries! Evil skulls! Nonsense rhymes! Random old ladies saving the day!