The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral

by Robert Westall Narrated by Ron Keith

Overview

Steeplejack Joe Clark climbed his first factory chimney when he was four years old. Steeplejacking had been in his family for five generations. Not much frightened him. Certainly not stone. So when Joe is offered the lucrative job of repairing the weathercock and stonework on one of Muncaster Cathedral's spires, he can't believe his good fortune. But from the moment he saw the medieval gargoyle-lichen colored and hollowed-eyed-he felt uneasy, as if he were being watched. But he wasn't going to let a few superstitious fears get in the way of his job. Stone was stone, it was all the same. Then terrible things begin to happen, including the deaths of two innocent boys who fell from the cathedral tower. What terrible evil had them in its grip, and why does the gargoyle seem to be drawing Joe to his doom?

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Chilly, concise and utterly spooky, this novel is among the late British author's best works. A first-person narrative--liberally larded with bits of Northern English slang--propels the story at a headlong pace, at the same time incorporating intriguing hints of musty medieval history. Not long after he takes on the job of restoring the southwest tower of Muncaster Cathedral, steeplejack Joe Clarke senses--in the very stonework itself--a sinister force that seems to emanate from one particularly foul-looking gargoyle. Joe's suspicions are confirmed when his young son, Kevin, sleepwalks to the tower, spouts archaic Latin and, with much tooth-baring, fights all efforts to remove him. Though Joe eventually succeeds in rescuing his ``lad,'' the entity in the tower finds easier prey in another little boy, discovered dead, having either fallen or jumped from the spire. With the help of a curmudgeonly detective-sergeant and the trendy but essentially good Reverend Morris, Joe searches through the cathedral's history for the knowledge that will enable him to destroy the bloodthirsty gargoyle's power. The tower's secret is indeed a whopper, fittingly capping the unrelenting suspense that precedes its revelation. Ages 10-up. (Apr.)

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-- Soon after English steeplejack Joe Clark begins work on one of the towers of Muncaster's medieval cathedral, terrible things happen. Eventually he realizes that a malevolent force that is out to claim human victims is trapped in the old building's stones, and connected with one particularly grotesque gargoyle. This ancient horror captures Joe's son and kills his friend and coworker, leaving the man to grapple alone in a thrilling climax. This very short novel is sparely told in a distinct voice, combining zesty working-class slang with vivid imagery (``a nut-and-bolt falling from our height can smash a skull like a bullet smashes a pumpkin''). Readers will remember the gargoyle's lichen-mottled face and blind, hollow eyes and shiver with pleasure. Top-notch horror. --Lyle Blake Smythers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC NONFICTION

JAN 95 - AudioFile

After a malevolent force lurking in the medieval stones of Muncaster Cathedral lures two small boys to their death, a steeplejack searches through early records to find the source of the evil. The events that follow take on the aura of a nightmare. This terrifying struggle described in his own simple words is captured by a gifted narrator. Ron Keith captures his working-class accent and Northern English slang so accurately that the story becomes as convincing as it is frightening. The result is believable magic. J.C. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171823993
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	03/15/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged

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