The Dreadful Fate of Jonathan York
A Yarn for the Strange at Heart
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Jonathan York has led a boring life – a pointless degree from the community college, a lackluster job at the General Store, and never any desire for something more exciting. But when fate leaves him stranded in a sinister land,
he finds himself seeking an adventure of his own. Along the way he encounters ghoulish thieves, ravenous swamp monsters, a dastardly ice cream conspiracy, and a necromancer bent on human sacrifice.
In this beautifully illustrated, four-color novel, Jonathan York's life takes a decidedly spooky turn!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Originally published online as "No Story, No Room," Merritt's print debut follows the misadventures of a meek store clerk named Jonathan York, whose life takes a turn for the worse or does it? when he gets lost in a forbidding swamp. Along with three strange travelers, Jonathan finds his way to the Cankerbury Inn, whose elderly owners demand a story in exchange for a night's stay. While Jonathan's companions share accounts of diabolical ice-cream factories, daredevil undersea escapades, and alien abduction/vivisection, Jonathan's dull life leaves him without anything to contribute. All that changes when he is tossed back into the swamp, falls in with merciless thieves, outwits a giant terrapin, and more. Terrifying and skillfully drafted, Merritt's illustrations conjure a world of hideous creatures replete with tentacles, saberlike fangs, and leering eyes. References to Sean Connery and Willy Wonka sit a bit oddly in the Lovecraftian gothic world Merritt has created, and underneath all the supernatural horror, the message that what doesn't kill, digest, or zombify you makes you stronger (and gives you a story to tell) is actually quite conventional. Ages 8 12.
Customer Reviews
IT WAS GREAT!
Read this with my 9 year old (in 2 days). It was creepy and fun. The art is cool and so creative. We both enjoyed it and now want to buy a copy to add to his bookshelf :)