The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship

by Philip Pullman, Beth Manley (Illustrator)

Overview

Trapped in the mists of time by a terrible research experiment gone wrong, John Blake and his mysterious ship are doomed to sail between the centuries, searching for a way home. In the ocean of the modern day, John rescues a shipwrecked young girl his own age, Serena, and promises to help.

But returning Serena to her own time means traveling to the one place where the ship is in most danger of destruction. The all-powerful Dahlberg Corporation has an ambitious leader with plans far greater and more terrible than anyone has realized, and he is hot on their trail. For only John, Serena, and the crew know Dahlberg's true intentions, and only they have the power to stop him from bending the world to his will...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338149111
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	05/29/2018
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	164,611
Product dimensions:	7.18(w) x 9.31(h) x (d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Philip Pullman is the internationally acclaimed author of many books for children and adults, including the forthcoming Book of Dust. His trilogy His Dark Materials has been published in more than forty languages, has sold close to 17.5 million copies worldwide, and won innumerable awards and accolades. The Golden Compass was named an "All-Time Greatest Novel" by Entertainment Weekly and a "Top 100 Book of All Time" by Newsweek. The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship is his first original graphic novel.

Fred Fordham first discovered comics after reading Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. That book sparked an interest in the form generally but particularly in the French Bande Dessinee tradition. His first graphic novel, Nightfall, was published in France. He has also written and illustrated strips for David Lloyd's online comics-art magazine, Aces Weekly, and worked as an illustrator for The Phoenix comic.

Hometown:

Oxford, England

Date of Birth:

October 19, 1946

Place of Birth:

Norwich, England

Education:

Exeter College, Oxford University

Website:

http://www.philip-pullman.com/

Editorial Reviews

* “With obvious affection for Tintin, Pullman threads this complicated skein of plot with customary measures of awe and menace... he proves an expert visual storyteller. Fordham animates with characters who have the detail and agility of a Studio Ghibli cast... Anything new from Pullman is big news, and his first original graphic novel won't disappoint.” -- Booklist, starred review

* "The various plot threads coalesce into a powerful tale, with the artwork creating a soaring, cinematic feel. A modern seafaring epic, highly recommended for all Pullman and fantasy fans and more than worthy of its author's oeuvre." -- School Library Journal, starred review

“Pullman has created an intricate blend of science fiction and adventure, skillfully weaving together many disparate elements into a cohesive and exciting tale. Fordham's art, although realistic and spare, is cinematic in scope, imbuing this with all the momentum of a Hollywood blockbuster.” -- Kirkus Reviews

“The graphic novel format lets Pullman's (the His Dark Materials series) dialogue shine, and Fordham's lucid panels are strong, legible, and charged with energy.” -- Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship…opens with the sort of cinematic flourish fans of the [Pullman's] His Dark Materials series have come to expect…It's a hell of an opening scene, and Pullman and Fred Fordham, who has done the illustrations, do not disappoint from there…Pullman never writes down to his readers. In fact it's really only because he focuses his tales on young protagonists that his books are marked as intended for children. His dialogue here is sharp and smart and, yes, adult. The story propels along naturalistically, no small feat given the fantastic world we are entering.

The New York Times Book Review - George O'Connor

03/13/2017
Washed overboard when a storm hits her family’s sailboat, young Serena Henderson is saved by John Blake, a mysterious teenager aboard a time-traveling ghost ship called the Mary Alice. Elsewhere, investigator Danielle Quayle and British navy commander Roger Blake seek to learn more about John and the strange timepiece he carries; a tech billionaire, Carlos Dahlberg, is also after John—with darker intentions. Once John reveals to Serena the secret that he knows will bring the billionaire down, the story shifts into high gear. Outside of some well-timed assistance from Serena, it’s the men who get to have most of the fun in action scenes ranging from hand-to-hand combat to the dramatic disarming of a giant missile. The graphic novel format lets Pullman’s (the His Dark Materials series) dialogue shine, and Fordham’s lucid panels are strong, legible, and charged with energy. Originally published serially by the Phoenix in the U.K., the adventure reads like a tautly paced film script. While the story isn’t as wildly imaginative as some of Pullman’s previous work, it will undoubtedly hold readers’ attention. Ages 8–12. (May)

Publishers Weekly

★ 05/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—When Harvard student Danielle succeeds in tracking the legendary Mary Alice, a pirate ship that disappears and reappears across time, she becomes drawn into a conspiracy headed by the menacing Dahlberg Corporation. The Dahlbergs are after the secrets of the Mary Alice, and only Royal Navy agent Roger Blake opposes them. Drawn into this web of intrigue is Serena, an Australian teenager who is swept off her parents' yacht and rescued by the Mary Alice crew. Serena learns of the mysterious vessel's ability to travel across time as well as the nature of its ragtag crew. While Roger Blake and Danielle race to find the ship before the Dahlbergs can, Serena unravels the true mystery aboard the Mary Alice: a teenage boy named John Blake. This is Pullman's first original graphic novel, and fans of "His Dark Materials" will recognize such plot elements as the use of futuristic gadgets and the role of father figures. Fordham's paneling and artwork initially read like storyboards, with a static appearance that relaxes as the fairly complex narrative progresses. The various plot threads coalesce into a powerful tale, with the artwork creating a soaring, cinematic feel. VERDICT A modern seafaring epic, highly recommended for all Pullman and fantasy fans and more than worthy of its author's oeuvre.—Matisse Mozer, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

2017-03-06
Purloined technology, time travelers, ghost ships, and deception converge in this graphic page-turner. In a world not too unlike our own, most everyone is connected by Apparators, smartphonelike devices that can also project images, created by technology mogul Carlos Dahlberg. A member of the crew on the ghost ship Mary Alice, white time traveler John Blake is doomed to ride in and out of different time periods after an accident suffered during an experiment conducted by his scientist father. Young Blake knows Dahlberg's darkest secret and has the evidence and desire to expose him. Serena Anderson, a white Australian teenager lost at sea, Danielle Quayle Reid, a black Harvard Law graduate, and Roger Blake, a white commander in the Royal Navy, all become caught up in Dahlberg and Blake's tangled web. High-adrenaline chases, blazing explosions, and gunfights abound as they come to discover their shocking connections. Will they be able to stop Dahlberg before his nefarious plans come to fruition? Pullman has created an intricate blend of science fiction and adventure, skillfully weaving together many disparate elements into a cohesive and exciting tale. Fordham's art, although realistic and spare, is cinematic in scope, imbuing this with all the momentum of a Hollywood blockbuster. Some of the finer plot details have a tendency to be quickly glossed over, but expect readers to be too caught up in this whirlwind ride to care. A richly imagined high-octane thriller. (Science fiction/adventure. 13-adult)

Kirkus Reviews