By: Jenny Nimmo

Publisher: Orchard Books

Published: in the U.S. May 2010

ISBN: 978-0-439-84672-1

Hardcover – 466 pages

Charlie Bone and the Red Knight is the 8th and last book in the Charlie Bone series. Here’s a little back ground info on these books. Charlie Bone, in the first few books, lives with his mom, two grandmas, and his uncle Paton. His father, Lyell, is missing in the first few books. Charlie is endowed, which means he has some magic in him, and that means that he is a descendant of the Red King who ruled 900 years ago. The Red King had 10 children, some good and some turned bad. The children all inherited powers from the Red King, and their children’s children children, etc. Charlie’s gift is traveling through pictures and photos. Once his “evil” grandmother, finds out he’s endowed, she rushes him off to the Bloor Academy where all the endowed children go. There he meets more descendants of the Red King. Again, some are good, some aren’t. Some of the endowments are: a girl who can turn into a bird, a boy who can summon storms, a boy with fighting ancestors, a boy who can talk to animals, tele-kinetic twins, a boy who can drown, a girl who can bewitch clothes, a boy who is a psychic. The list goes on… The worst is Manfred, he can hypnotize. He is the great-grandson of the evil Ezekiel Bloor. Ezekiel wants to do the town harm, but why and how we don’t really find out until a few books into the series.

There are many great characters in the these books, that really keep the story going. Charlie also has friends that aren’t endowed, Fidelio and Benjamin with his faithful Runner Bean. The evil ones really are mean, but the good guys are smart and resourceful. Uncle Paton is one of my favorites, he is also endowed. He’s a power booster, no light bulbs are safe when he’s around. I think my favorite bad guys are the nasty sisters of Grandma Bone.

I like that each book has a family tree, and a list of the endowed children and what they can do. It’s nice to be able to keep track of who belongs where.

Many exciting things happen in this book. An evil enchanter with a sword that can act on it’s own, a father and son that have to destroy each other, an evil Count, family fighting, a missing box with all the answers, and the “Red Knight” who tries to help the kids.

I was really happy with the ending, and the “big reveal” was great too. This book, and Book 7, “Charlie Bone and the Shadow” are my favorites of the series.

Book 8: Four stars. Series average: 3 1/2 stars.

I would read them again, and recommend them.

Along with the Charlie Bone series, Jenny Nimmo has written five other books, and I have read all but one.

FTC FYI- borrowed from the library