100 Cupboards: Amazon.ca: N. D. Wilson, Russell Horton: Books

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Review

“Well crafted and gratifying.”—School Library Journal

“A highly imaginative tale.”—Kirkus Reviews

From the Hardcover edition.

Book Description

Twelve-year-old Henry York wakes up one night to find bits of plaster in his hair. Two knobs have broken through the wall above his bed and one of them is slowly turning . . .Henry scrapes the plaster off the wall and discovers cupboards of all different sizes and shapes. Through one he can hear the sound of falling rain. Through another he sees a glowing room–with a man pacing back and forth! Henry soon understands that these are not just cupboards, but portals to other worlds.

100 Cupboards is the first book of a new fantasy adventure, written in the best world-hopping tradition and reinvented in N. D. Wilson’s inimitable style.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

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4 star:		(4)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great potential !, Oct 10 2010

By

Ronald W. Maron "pilgrim" (Nova Scotia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Ce commentaire est de: 100 Cupboards: Book 1 (Paperback)

As shown through the first half of the book, the author, N.D. Wilson, has great potential. During this early section his writing style is fluid and borders on the poetic. His descriptions are beautifully written and is comparable to Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine". Unfortunately when the thick of the plot begins he abandons this style to a more 'facts and events' type of reporting rather than staying with his previous poetic writings. His characterizations, at this point, become choppy and, at times, somewhat unclear.

The idea, plot and imagination within the book itself is nearly pure genious; an abandoned room that is found to have 99 small doors that can lead to other worlds is fascinating and thought provoking. As a reader we know that not all of these worlds are pleasant. Pure evil, strange lands, and confusing characters must lie behind a large number of them. I hope the author, after having allowed his poetic nature to dominate his writing style, allows us, the readers, to explore each doorway individually.

As an fan of adult fantasy I recommend this book for the sheer creativity it went into concept behind it.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Knock Knock, April 3 2009

By

Steven R. McEvoy "MCWPP" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME) (REAL NAME)

Ce commentaire est de: 100 Cupboards: Book 1 (Paperback)

This was a fascinating, fabulous and fantastic book. To be honest, I was intrigued by the cover, and the write-up about the book. The story focuses around Henry, a 12 year old boy who arrives to stay with his cousins in Henry, Kansas. His parents are travel writers and have been kidnapped. So he is staying with his uncle Frank, aunt Dotty and his three cousins, Anastasia, Henrietta and Penelope. Henry gets the attic as his bedroom. Then while Henry lies in bed, he starts hearing some thumping from the outside wall, and the plaster starts crumbing off. He finds two dial knobs on an elaborate door. With some scraping and hard work he uncovers a whole wall of cupboard doors, all different shapes, sizes and styles.

Henry and Henrietta begin to try to find out what they can about the doors; they each seem to lead to different places and times. And now the adventure begins in earnest. They learn many things, and have a great adventure but maybe some doors should never be opened.

This story is masterfully told, and the sense of amazement, awe and adventure it arises in the reader is magnificent. Wilson has constructed a wonderful story that starts in our world and has so many possibilities. The reader finds himself racing ahead wanting to find where the story will go. I found myself cheering on Henry and Henrietta as they moved through the story. The characters are believable, the story well written and excellently paced. It is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew, except instead of magic pools that lead to different worlds it is the magic of the cupboards.

This book would be an excellent read for your summer break, and book 2 has just come out - Dandelion Fire. So if you like it as much as I do, you have even more to read.

(First published in Imprint 2009-04-03.)

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Page-Turner, Jan 26 2009

By

Nicola Manning (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME) (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Ce commentaire est de: 100 Cupboards: Book 1 of the 100 Cupboards (Hardcover)

Henry's parent's are missing while on assignment in South America and he is sent to live with his Aunt, Uncle and three girl cousins way out in a small rural town. Henry is given an attic room and discovers something is not quite right with one wall. He chips away at the plaster with his knife and finds a cupboard and as he continues and uncovers the whole wall, he ends up with 99 cupboards on his wall. Most are locked, but when he looks through one he sees a yellow room and a man walking around and then mail is put into his cupboard.

Henry confides the secret with his cousin Henrietta, and they continue to find secrets in the house that lead to clues on opening the other cupboards, but not all cupboards are as innocent as the first one that Henry looked through and they unknowingly unleash an evil power.

This was quite the read! A very unique premise and well-written. It is refreshing to read about a main character who is not the usual orphan with no likeable adults around. Though his parents are missing his aunt and uncle play a big part in the story and the family he stays with is a very loving, close one. This was a page-turner that I couldn't put down. I really enjoyed the characters. Henry, his uncle and Henrietta were the most fleshed out but I presume we'll get to know the others better in the next book. The story also ends with a definite ending, no cliff-hanger ending, which I like. But there are numerous threads left hanging that leave the reader anxious for Book 2, which will be out in February of this year. I have no idea whether this is going to be a trilogy or part of a longer series but I can tell you I am definitely hooked and ready for the next book.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Channeling C.S. Lewis
N.D. Wilson is channelling the spirit of C.S. Lewis in this instant classic. Not to worry, he is not copying him but rather writing a very original, engaging and enthralling yarn... Lisez davantage

Published 15 months ago by D Glover

5.0 out of 5 stars Great children's fantasy in a crowded genre
and well enough written that adults won't be bored or irritated. This imaginative spin on the idea of hopping to different worlds mixes the familiar with the innovative in grand... Lisez davantage

Published 20 months ago by Rodge