Barnaby Grimes: Legion of the Dead
This third entry in the historical-horror Barnaby Grimes series pits the tick-tock hero (a sort of elite messenger boy) against an army of Victorian-era zombies. The funeral of a master criminal brings a dozen squabbling gangs together for a moment of peace, but when Barnaby shortcuts through the graveyard and sees the body rise from the earth, a terrifying mystery is born. Stewart ramps up the ick factor in his decadent descriptions of rotting corpses, and Riddell matches him note for note in devilishly detailed ink drawings. Barnaby’s pervading good cheer and chim-chiminey rooftop skittering again make for tremendously entertaining reading. Grades 4-6. --Ian Chipman