A review by corncobwebs
The Mansion in the Mist by John Bellairs, Edward Gorey

3.0

I didn't like this one as much as The House With the Clock in its Walls. I read it in spurts with a lot of interruptions, so that probably didn't help. But the plot was just so inconceivable, and along those lines, I noticed something about Bellairs' plot construction: He will pull things out of thin air to suit the needs of the story. An example is the protective amulets: At first, no one (including Emerson, the owner of the amulets) thought that they had any power. But then, out of the blue, they gain magical powers that help Anthony smash the Logos Cube and get out of the Autarch's world alive. There are many similar plot elements with very thin explanations that left me scratching my head. I'll still recommend his books to kids, though, because I don't think leaps in logic are as hard to accept for a younger audience.