Tales of Terror from the Black Ship ~Chris Priestley

–2008
–238 pages, Bloomsbury Children’s Books
–4.5/5 stars

Snail revenge, killer mud, a child with a wicked laugh, dangerous love, death ships, tattooed hands and many other grisly tales await the reader bold enough to brave the tempest.

Hot on the heels of the haunting experience I had with Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror, I sat myself down at the bar of an old inn and listened to terrifying tales of the sea with the book’s two youngsters, Ethan and Cathy. To be perfectly honest, I was so enthralled with the fun I was having with Priestley’s stories that I read half of this book on the same day that I finished Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror!

In his second book on a similar theme, Chris Priestley manages to bring the same spine-tingling fun to the reader with a shift of setting, a change of milieu, thus keeping the reader engaged and not feeling that he/she is simply getting more of the same.

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Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror ~Chris Priestly

–2007
–239 pages, Bloomsbury Children’s Books
–5/5 stars

Short Story Sunday took a slightly different turn this week with my reading concentrating on one author in particular–Chris Priestley–and his delightful collection of stories within a story. I discovered this author upon visiting the blogs of those who signed up for the R.I.P. IV Challenge (thank you whoever you are) and immediately added it to my library queue. Reading Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror was like opening a portal back to my childhood and days spent reading ghost story collections with illustrations by Edward Gorey. I read this book cover to cover, occasionally reading a story aloud to my wife, and it was a thrilling way to spend a long Sunday afternoon.

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