Books › The beast of buckingham palace
The beast of buckingham palace
496 pages
A cheeky, fast-paced romp through a ruined, monster-infested future London where a timid hero must find his courage.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like riding a ghost train through a funhouse—it is thrillingly spooky, delightfully silly, and moves at a breakneck speed. The atmosphere is steeped in a cartoonish gothic dread, balancing shadowy corridors and terrifying beasts with signature cheeky humor and exaggerated theatricality. The prose is highly visual and energetic, practically leaping off the page with dramatic typography that keeps the chapters flying by effortlessly. It is an experience defined by its emotional journey from sheltered timidity to roaring bravery, making the reader feel like they are conquering their own fears. Perfect for middle-grade readers who crave a blend of dystopian adventure, monstrous villains, and laugh-out-loud moments, it delivers a wildly entertaining, popcorn-movie feel in book form.
- Mood
- spooky
- energetic
- thrilling
- fantastical
- Tone
- humorous
- cheeky
- dramatic
- earnest
- playful
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- finding inner courage · good versus evil · family loyalty · overcoming fears · dystopian adventure
- The writing
- Accessible, highly visual, and peppered with exaggerated humor and dramatic typography.
- The arc
- Moves from sheltered trepidation and powerlessness to thrilling, monster-battling bravery.
- Who it's for
- Middle-grade readers who love fast-paced, slightly spooky adventures with a heavy dose of silly humor.
Content notes
- mild peril
- scary monsters
- parental separation
About the book
Fly into a fiery and fantastical future with No. 1 bestselling author David Walliams, in an epic adventure of myth and legend, good and evil, and one small boy who must save the world... Illustrated by the artistic genius Tony Ross! It is 2120 and London is in ruins. The young Prince Alfred has never known a life outside Buckingham Palace - but when strange goings-on breach its walls and stalk the corridors in the dead of night, he is thrust into a world of mystery, adventure and monsters. And when his mother, the Queen, is dragged away to the Tower of London, Alfred must screw up his courage and battle to save her, himself... and the entire city.
Description from Open Library.
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