Tuesday, August 12, 2014

My Review of Jonathan Stroud : Streaming Staircase

Luckily I just read this novel, Screaming staircase, that is in original translate – English. Even though I’m not pretty good reading novel in English but because this one sounds more interesting – Stroud is one of my favorite authors – I couldn't stand to wait the translation.
Okay, let’s start. By the beginning of part one “Ghost” it was already deathly appear of some ghost Type Two young lady who eventually have murdered and burned inside the wall of her house for around fifty years. Anna Ward that’s her name.

Anna was extremely dangerous type two. She almost killed both Lucy and Lockwood, the agent of Lockwood & Co. Lockwood had his Ghost-Touch and Lucy had completely serious injury that involved her hand. And. They also succeeded burning the house. That’s what made the client really upset and claim sixty thousand pound in return as compensation. That’s also the trigger for the full-of-deathly-way of fixing the problem so that the Lockwood & Co. wouldn’t be shut down.

In part two “Before” it’s telling about how did Lucy realize her Talent of hearing and discovered another Talent of sense danger of the Visitors. Her mother also had the Talent as she had but not as stronger as hers. And there’s Jacob, her first and last supervisor that almost killed her and successfully killed his team because he wouldn’t listen to what Lucy’s instinct’s said about the Type Two Changer.

Then she runaway to London and met Lockwood & Co. after staying for two weeks, looking for another job as an agent. She apparently match Lockwood standard as his employee that was many agent failed at all. She also found that Lockwood & Co. has only two employees before she was in charge as the third as Lockwood assistance. And there’s George as the researcher who’s responsible finding information background of the cases and other clues that might be useful to keep them alive and safe as they did the mission of securing the Source of the Visitors.

And then in the next parts “necklace” and “the hall”, there’s the deathly case bought by John William Fairfax, the head of the biggest iron companies that producing safety iron for keeping the houses far for visitors. In a sudden he asked Lockwood & Co. to secure one of private asset of house called Combre Cambrey and offer to pay as much as their need to save Lockwood & Co. of falling down. Lockwood found it was very exiting along with the highest risk Mr. Fairfax added. Lucy and George also discovered their very rare agreed that this case was too dangerous and it’d lead them to their death, after what had happened to the last team of agents of Fittes –one of two big companies – that two had found dead and one reported missing.

There’s dreadful silence that have been waiting to act when the client show them around the house. Lucy could feel the danger of the place, and worse when they pass the Red Room. Lockwood and George also felt how strong the aura of The Visitors in the room. When night’s coming there’s already type one visitors came. When Lockwood said they were actually not had to enter the room, Lucy and George agreed to disapprove. With confident that they were the best team ever after all that had happened for six month since Lucy working for Lockwood there’s no that couldn’t they do. So they decide to have a quick look at the room and go fast as the one of them sense danger. They suggest there’s a hidden room inside that George pretty sure was the place of The Source.

For few moment they were in the room, the visitor came to such a shape built by blood. Something or someone had locked the door while they’re looking for the secret door. So by then the scary night had begun….

A lot of deathly blood filled the floor and the wall. They’re locked. The only their chance was to find the secret way out. Lucy found it in time before the blood changed them to a dead corpse. With not enough weapon they walked through the secret chamber. There they discover the original screaming staircase that drove them mad caused of the screaming. They run down the staircase, hoping that in the end of the staircase the screaming would stop. But then there’s deathly shadow too along the wall. In the bottom they also found the dead body of the reported missing agent. Poor him. That staircase drove him to his deathly fall.

When there’s desperation Lucy realized something that should be the main clue of the Problem they had. She found the Source. It’s the well. She went forward the screaming and luckily secure the source. Then there’s a sudden silence.

It’s three a.m. When Lockwood revealed the dreadful story of his strange behave for few days after he took this deathly case. He told Lucy and George who claimed some explanation that he found that Mr. Fairfax was intentionally offering their death here. And when they succeeded out of the chamber the no-longer suspect of Anna Ward murderer greeted them with his bodyguard. He’s the actual murderer. He admitted it while taking them as a hostage in his library.

However Lockwood seemed somehow so calm. He said he already knew and had the proofs. Our client had no choice to be ready in charge of some murdered. But of course Mr. Fairfax not that fool. He asked with the gun’s position toward Lucy to give him the proofs Lockwood talking about. It was the necklace that Lucy took from the corpse of Anna which was she kept around her neck, inside the little iron cylinder.

Lucy decided to take it and released the lady from the cylinder. There’s unbelievable expression of Lockwood. The Lady had finished transform. She looked at Lucy at first then at her murderer. When Mr. Fairfax realized what was happening, there’s too late to act. Anna has gave him her Ghost-Lock. It’s a chance of retreat. Lockwood and George and Lucy took Mr. Fairfax bodyguard out of the library. Well, I also think that they should have gave a little private time for the reunion of the old lover that had turn to a victim and a murder, shouldn’t they?

So they were trying to escape the house when Barnes, the Scotland Yard high officer block out the door in time when the bodyguard tried to escape first. Apparently Lockwood had expecting their arrival too. They came two hours earlier and that’s gave another fortune to Lockwood and his team.

That’s was the ending of book one. Everyone seemed to be happy. Lockwood & Co. had their big publicity and higher reputation, Anna had her murder, and the DEPRAC and Barnes had their cases solved without big impact.

But I guess there’ll be more deathly journey when the ghost in the jar talked to Lucy, told her that she’s different from the others. And there’s something waiting for her and her team. Something terrible that could make all upside down. The death to live and the live to death…

Well, we’ll see what will they go through in the book two, won’t we? This book really brought horror to me. And I hope a lot more in the next books of Stroud. As I expected as one of my favorite author.

Thank you for reading. Sorry for the poor English. I use English as an impact of reading in the original translation though. Lol.

But really this book was awesome. I am highly recommended you to read and feel the horror at your own. Boooo!  

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Give it a try