Gift of Evil, The

LoveReading4Kids Says

The nineteenth book in the Tales of Ramion series, penned by a QC.

Sir Tancred Grunch might be dead and “preserved in a special fluid” but, “as with other members of the Grunch family to be dead was not to be completely dead: there was always a chance of coming back to life.” In Sir Tancred’s case, he wants an heir and to that end he claims his soon-to-be-born granddaughter, Griselda, who quickly grows into a petulant child with potential for evil.

Regrettably women fare unfavourably in this world. “Girlie” is used as an insult, there’s mention of men being “blinded by a woman’s beauty”, and the tired trope of women with outer beauty belying inner evil looms large too, with child-witch Griselda described as looking like an angel but given to being drawn “towards the path of evil”. And this is all in the context of a story world in which “there was not a single good woman amongst them”, with “them” being all females in the Grunch family line.

Still, there are touches of droll humour, a tangled plot stuffed with strange magic, a little light swearing (“Bloody crystal ball!”) and a cast of curious characters.

LoveReading4Kids

About Gift of Evil, The

A new story, the first in a prequel series showing how a (relatively) sweet little girl grew up to become the evil witch Griselda the Grunch. At birth the powers of good can save only one of the twins: they save her sister Susan. Every year on Griselda’s birthday, the Princess of the Night sends gifts to ensure she follows the path of evil.

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